How to Order at Juice Generation.

Courtesy of Juice Generation

Juice Generation can be one of the easiest places to grab a protein-forward meal on the go, but not everything on the menu is built the same way. For blood sugar balance and weight loss, I skip the juices and açaí bowls and start with one of the higher-protein smoothies.

Then I modify the fruit. When a smoothie stacks banana, dates and other fruit together, swap the banana for berries or cauliflower rice where available, and the dates for stevia if you want the sweetness.

Build Your Meal

Quality Protein
Choose one of the higher-protein smoothies:
Protein Knockout
Hustle + Muscle
Mega Matcha

Non-Starchy Veggies
Spinach or kale where available
Cauliflower rice as a swap for banana where available

Healthy Fats
Peanut butter
Almond butter
Probiotic coconut yogurt
Other nut or seed butter options

Complex Carbs (Optional), choose one
Blueberries
Tart cherries
Berries
Banana
Dates

Skipping the Complex Carb?
Swap the fruit for cauliflower rice where available and choose an additional Healthy Fat if you want one.

Make It Your Own

Protein Knockout
Water, blueberries, banana, peanut butter and vanilla whey protein. Remove the banana and keep the blueberries. You still get the berries as your Complex Carb, peanut butter as your Healthy Fat and plenty of Quality Protein.

Hustle + Muscle
Cold brew coffee, banana, tart cherries, almond butter and chocolate whey protein. Remove the banana and keep the tart cherries. Almond butter gives you your Healthy Fat. Contains caffeine.

Mega Matcha
Matcha, plant milk, banana, dates, spinach, vanilla, blue spirulina, probiotic coconut yogurt and plant protein. Remove the banana and dates. Ask for stevia if you want additional sweetness. You can also ask whether berries or cauliflower rice are available as a swap. Contains caffeine.

Build Your Own Modification
The formula is simple: start with protein, keep one fruit if having your Complex Carb, add vegetables where they make sense, and include a Healthy Fat. You do not need banana + dates + additional fruit in the same smoothie.

Watch Out For

• Juices. Juicing removes much of the fiber found in whole fruits and vegetables, and juice generally does not provide enough Quality Protein to make a Balanced Meal on its own. If you want a green juice, have it alongside a meal rather than using it as the meal.

• Açaí bowls. I skip these for an everyday weight-loss meal. They typically start with blended fruit and then add more fruit, granola and other toppings while providing less Quality Protein than the smoothies I recommend.

• Banana + dates. Neither food is inherently a problem. The issue is stacking several sources of blended fruit and concentrated carbohydrate into the same drink when you could build it around protein instead.

• Fruit stacking. If your smoothie already contains blueberries or tart cherries, you do not automatically need banana too.

• The word “smoothie.” A smoothie can be a protein-forward meal or mostly blended fruit. Look at what is actually in the cup.

Notes

• For the general rules, see how to order at a restaurant for weight loss.

• You do not need to eliminate fruit for blood sugar balance or weight loss. The goal is to choose the fruit you actually want rather than automatically blending several sources together.

• Berries are my preferred fruit swap when available. Cauliflower rice can add body and volume without adding another fruit.

• Protein Knockout and Hustle + Muscle contain whey. Mega Matcha uses plant protein.

• Skipping your Complex Carb? Ask whether cauliflower rice is available as a fruit swap and choose an additional Healthy Fat if you want one.

• Smoothie modifications can vary by location, so ask what substitutions are available when ordering.

• Menus and ingredients change, so check current ingredients and allergen information when ordering.

• This is your Protein Smoothie, made at a counter.