Juicing it the healthy way

Krysta Anderson, Gleaner Writer

"What you consume is so very important, because food is medicine." These are the words from entrepreneur and experienced natural 'juicologist' Cherie Dowdie. Out of her sheer love for food, the love for making juices unfolded and it became a fulfilling business for her. Food spoke to Dowdie in a recent interview about her revolutionary juicing journey, using a traditional technique of preparing deliciously natural beverages.

Dowdie explained that her business, Live! Juice Bar, just fell into her lap, so to speak, and was created by mere chance. "People had booths at events and I thought that was so cool, but I had no idea what I would sell." She would later find out that her calling was making natural juices, "My friend had a gathering and I decided to contribute by providing live refreshments with my juicer. I had so much fun that I decided that this was what I wanted to do."

She started out with the idea that she was just going to do it as a hobby, but after designing and building her own bar and creating a menu, she had invested more than she had expected, making the decision to turn her hobby into a rewarding production. Dowdie then started booking events, and people started complaining that having these juices at events just was not enough to fulfil their requests, so she expanded even further to making juices on a weekly basis.

juice regimens

Live! Juice Bar is a mobile juice bar that makes 100 per cent juices and smoothies live offering, different personalised juice regimens and detox programmes. "The regimens are tailor-made, as it is all about what you the customer would like to have for a specific period of time," says Dowdie. For her detox programme, she asserts that while many often complain about being hungry on other programmes, she can hardly relate to that since her programme keeps the customer nourished.

Other juice programmes include weight loss, hypertension, blood sugar and nutritional deficiencies programmes. "For more serious concerns, I actually consult with Dr Becker for any specific deficiencies beyond my comfort level, and we work together to come up with a suitable juice program for the client," she says.

The juices are made with predominantly local ingredients as she believes in eating locally. She presents her live juices as a healthy alternative, "People need to think about what they are consuming when they are thinking about their health. The food you eat has a much more significant impact on you than you think, so Live! Juice seeks to make people more aware as it relates to their health," Dowdie affirmed.

She has participated in RADA's Farmers' Market, Mind, Body and Soul Wellness Fair in Montego Bay, Liguanea Art Festival and All Jamaica Grill Off, just to name a few.

Customers have requested different juices, and she has openly tried those combinations and is amazed at the flavoursome outcome. As it relates to challenges in the juice business, she confessed, "I haven't faced many challenges because I took it from a different perspective, doing what I love to do for fun, and viewing everything as an opportunity. I've been greatly blessed when I look at all these different opportunities," declared Dowdie. She enjoys sharing with people, making them more aware of their health, as it is all a work in progress for everyone. Live! Juice Bar ultimately seeks to encourage people to take a fun outlook on a healthy lifestyle.

krysta.anderson@gleanerjm.com