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MNfusion: Daily Greens Pairs Seasonal Cleanse With Juicing

Minnesotans are hearty, and we expect our food to be the same. So when it comes to juicing, it's no surprise that it took the trend a little bit of time to catch on in the Midwest.

But more and more we're hearing about cold pressed juice bars that are popping up around the Twin Cities. And more and more we're hearing about juice cleanses.

While some consider them a fad, others swear by them. The trick, as founder and CEO of Daily Greens Shauna Martin said, is finding one that balances juice and foods.

"Just juice isn't safe," Martin said. "You need food to move your bowels. Otherwise the toxins can build up. Plus, it just makes it more doable."

Shauna Martin - CEO of Daily Greens
(credit: CBS)

Martin first began juicing after she was diagnosed with breast cancer 10 years ago. After going through chemotherapy sessions, Martin would create juices from produce she found at her local farmers market to help cleanse her body from the harsh radiation toxins.

After chemotherapy, and once into remission, Martin continued to juice.

Once a month she would go to the farmers market for her produce. Half of it would go to juices and the other half would go to a salad.

As Martin refined her palate, and her juices, she turned them into a business. After 18 years as a corporate lawyer she took the plunge and began selling her juices at her local farmers market.

Then, two-and-a-half years ago, she began selling her Core Greens juices. Each juice is 16 ounces and contains six pounds of raw vegetables.

Daily Greens Demo
(credit: CBS)

Although she had created and perfected the recipe for her first ever juice, later released as Purity, her first juice released was Vitality – a mix of kale, jalapeno, pineapple, cucumber, cilantro, celery and lime.

"I was like 'How am I going to get people to drink green juice?' And then when I was at a barbecue I had an epiphany," Martin said. "Maybe if I give it a sort of barbecue taste…so we added in the Himalayan Pink Salt and the pineapple and the jalapeno to give it a kick."

As her juice business continued to grow, more and more consumers came to Martin with questions about cleansing.

People continuously wanted to know how to incorporate it into their juicing and what method Martin followed.

"Even though the mission of Daily Greens is about the daily consumption of your greens, I decided to put up my version of a cleanse on our website. And it was a massive hit," Martin said.

Raw Salad - Daily Greens
(credit: CBS)

Martin crafted her cleanse to follow the seasons and after four seasons a publisher reached out to her asking Martin to turn it into a book.

"And so I wrote the book this past summer. Mayim Bialik, from Big Bang Theory, wrote the forward and nutritionist Lauren Minchen wrote an introduction," Martin said. "And then it just tells my story."

Martin laid out recipes for each season, so no matter what time of year you decide to cleanse you could find produce that will work. For instance, in winter Martin created a salad with red cabbage and walnuts, topped with a light vinaigrette.

She also laid out steps to take prior to cleansing and after cleansing to help ease you in and out of the process.

Martin says anyone can cleanse. She said that people who already are healthy eaters can begin cleansing with relative ease, but those who are just beginning to transition into healthy eating should start by juicing.

"I actually recommend that everyone create their own juices at first," Martin said. "Because when you connect with your food on that level you really appreciate it much more."

Martin has grown her juices to include more protein based drinks as well, so those who are very active can still cleanse without worrying about changing their activity levels.

Martin created a line of Green-Infused Hemp Milks and Chia-Infused Greens. Both the hemp and the chai offer proteins and iron for those who are very active.

She's even begun creating a kids line to help children get more greens into their daily diet as well.

The whole line now consists of six Core Green juices, three Chia-Infused Greens, three Green-Infused Hemp Milks and three Half Pints (kid friendly smoothies.)

"My mission is to get greens into everybody's lives. It's just about how I can get greens into the form of drinkable beverages and into peoples mouths," Martin said.

Martin's Core Greens, Green-Infused Hemp Milks and Half Pints can be found at local Whole Foods stores. Her book "Daily Greens 4-Day Cleanse" hits stores on June 1. It can be purchased through the publisher, Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Whole Foods.

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