I am so excited to share today’s Foodemental Friday, we have Annie Lawless  Co-founder of Suja Juice and her own new Blog BLAWNDE talking wellness!

When Peter and I first moved to San Diego almost 2 years ago we kept hearing about this company, Suja, and how fast they were taking off.

We found out it was started by Annie and her partner Eric; two people with a passion for health, wellness and juice… Peter and I could relate:)

So we followed them and kept buying Suja Juice anytime we didn’t get around to making our own. Needless to say, they took off! It’s been really awesome to see the company grow… you can now get Suja pretty much everywhere!

But today we are talking to Annie! I wanted to know how she does it all: Runs this huge company, eats healthy, continues to look good and keep her cool. 

You’re probably thinking what I’m thinking… it’s in the juice;)

Meet Annie Lawless

1). Your Food Secret: Avoid added sugars. You won’t believe how much that one thing can do for you.

2). Favorite thing to Eat: Avocados.

3). How often do you Cook: Daily.

4). Favorite Restaurant of all time: Nobu in downtown San Diego.

5). Why is that your favorite Restaurant: They use ingredients in such a clean, pure, and unique way that each dish is so simple with such a complex flavor.

6). Your ideal food day consists of: 3 satisfying square meals featuring healthy fats with nutrient dense hydration in between.

7). Someone you look up to: Dr. Norman Walker. He was the pioneer of the cold pressed juicing movement, I also love Charlotte Gerson for her guts to attack cancer with nutrition and get people thinking more about how strongly food can affect health.

8). Do you buy Organic? Local? Both? BOTH! Whenever possible! I love the La Jolla Farmer’s Market every Sunday!  However, I like to enjoy my life and I don’t stress when I’m traveling or eating out and don’t have as much control over where my food is coming from.

9). If we were to look in your kitchen, what would we be most impressed by? The abundance of fresh, perishable foods. I really don’t buy anything in a package.

10). If we were to look in your kitchen, what would we be most surprised by? The amount of goat’s butter, ghee, and coconut oil I have on hand at any given time. I am a freak about fats and those are my ultimate favorites that I use with basically every meal.

11). Where did your passion for juice come from? I was diagnosed with Celiac’s Disease and had a really hard time absorbing nutrients from my food even after changing my diet. The microvilli in my intestines were severely damaged. Juicing was a miracle because it was the easiest way for me to flood my body with easily assimilable nutrition with very little abrasion on my digestive tract. It completely turned my health around.

12). Some of our members are interested in weight loss, would you recommend a juice cleanse? Yes and no. I think a juice cleanse is a great tool for re-setting the taste buds, understanding portions again, and appreciating simplicity in food. These things are so lost on many people who are overweight. Often, they have overstimulated their tastebuds by eating a lot of salted, processed, modified, and MSG filled foods and they become addicted to that kind of flavor. They also don’t remember how little food it actually takes for your body to be satiated and satisfied. Additionally, they’ve lost appreciation for things like a handful of almonds or an apple because meals have been so large and complicated.

A cleanse can really help a person step back and recognize these behaviors. However, juice cleanses are not a means to an end and need to be treated as a jumpstart to an overall lifestyle shift – not a one and done kind of quick fix. If used that way, old behaviors will cause the weight to pile back on and a yo yo will become a vicious cycle.

13). Which Suja juice is your favorite? Twelve Essentials! It’s 10 different greens plus lemon and ginger with zero fruit. I love it’s earthy green flavor smoothed out by mint leaf and brightened up by lemon. I also love how many greens I am getting into my body in one fell swoop!

14). Any advice for staying healthy while running a business Aka being Super busy!? Yes, this is something I still struggle with because I know all of the things I like to do when I am feeling my best and they don’t always happen. Stress will kill, so I don’t like to stress about the times when I’m not able to check every wellness box I’d like. I make a major effort to sleep as much as I can because I am always on the go and can feel easily run down without proper rest. I always make sure to hydrate with lots of pure water and juices. I do yoga every single morning even if just for 20 minutes. I also meditate every single morning before doing anything.

15). How do you stay fit? Yoga! It’s so funny because I don’t even consider it exercise, but it totally keeps my body flexible, strong, and slim. I love yoga because it’s a moving meditation for me and creates so much space in my mind and body. I feel like I’ve just been wrung out and am a clean slate by the time I’ve left class. It’s amazing.

16). Morning Person or Night Owl? Morning person! I am usually up before the sun on my mat. I love that time when the world is still sleeping and I am soaking up the stillness and peace.

17). Do you have any fun new projects you are working on? Always! I am constantly working on ideas for my blog which is fairly new and we have lots of fun stuff in the works at Suja! You will see what I mean very soon :)

18). Where can our readers find more about you? BLAWNDE.com

Thanks for giving us the 411 Annie! 

Ok guys, what did you think? She’s pretty sweet, down to earth and knows a thing or 2 about health!

Leave a comment below and let me know: Have you tried Suja? Have you tried a juice cleanse? Would you be interested in one?