Pure Natural Juices is a cool, quiet juice bar at the intersection of Lakeview and the Orcutt Expressway. Stop by for juices, paninis, wraps, waffles, salads, or smoothies. The juice bar is the brainchild of local chef Erik Lachino.
“I really like to eat healthy, especially at this time when there’s many diseases,” Lachino said. He started Pure Natural Juices in 2013 after spending more than a decade working at the Radisson as a cook. The produce is from local growers, and everything is prepared fresh.
“My thing is speed, and his thing is like perfection,” said employee Cindy Rosales. “When we combine together, it’s just perfect.”
Rosales explained that what you buy at Pure Natural Juices is made at Pure Natural Juices. “Everything, he makes it from scratch,” she said. The cilantro-jalapeño sauce for his meats, for example—“he makes it, everyone loves it. You really get to experience a different taste.”
“A lot of our clients are detoxing,” Rosales said. “It’s not on the menu, but we made up this one and a lot of regulars know about it. It’s called spring detox. It has cucumbers, celery, spinach, ginger, green apple, kale, and spinach. I add two slices of pineapple just to make it sweet. And lemon.”
There’s an element of invention here that Lachino loves. “I really like customer service, and making new juices all the time,” he said. “You can combine vegetables and fruits together and have a really good flavor. That’s probably my favorite part. It makes you feel really good.”
Eating healthfully, Rosales added, isn’t just tasty—it fits with the basic facts of our biology.
“You need healthy food because you intake energy and use energy as you work harder,” Rosales said. “If you just eat sugar, fat, and plastic, if you’re just eating that, it’s kind of like you’re not working with your natural Earth body. The Bible says we’re made out of soil—vitamins and minerals—and that’s what we need to keep taking in to get stronger.”
And, she pointed out, what you have for lunch doesn’t just pass through your body. It becomes your body, and that should give people pause the next time they’re choosing between the juice bar and a lunch alternative.
“It’s just food,” she added. “You are what you eat. And if you eat healthy, you feel really good. Veggies, fruit, organic is good for the body, and you can use that.”
This article appears in Jun 11-18, 2015.
