As part of Longevity Live’s Instagram series, Wellness Wednesday, we were joined by Leslie Zinn, founder of Arden’s Garden. Arden’s Garden is a cold-pressed juice and plant-based food company that’s on a mission to deliver the healthiest and most nutritionally dense products to consumers.
Background on Arden’s Garden
Leslie Zinn’s mother, Arden, was a huge health nut from when she could remember. She adds how she and her brother were being fed the grossest combination of things that her mother was into, such as juices and smoothies.
Every morning for breakfast there would be a plate or a glass they would call a concoction, and it would consist of anything Leslie’s mother was into at that moment. Leslie shares how her mother had read about a juicer back in 1963 called Norwalk and how she dreamt of owning one but couldn’t afford it at the time. Fast-forward 30 years later, her mother bought the juicer on credit, called all of her friends and family, and started making juices and smoothies for them, forming what we know now as Arden’s Garden.
The Process of Preserving Juicing
Arden’s Garden uses a cold-pressed juicer, as heat can affect the juice’s nutritional profile.
To make the juice, Leslie explains that you use a blade to cut the fruit or vegetable down finely and create a mush. The mush is then squeezed into a filter bag, with the juice dropping to the bottom, with the juice having to be drunk right away. Thanks to this process, the juice quality is optimal as opposed to a centrifugal juicer which is easier to use.
For many years, Arden’s Garden used to make only fresh juices, until technology introduced a new process called HPP (High-Pressure Processing) which doesn’t use any heat. The technology is designed to use pressure to the exact amount where the bacterial cell walls will explode and kill the bacteria without killing the nutrients, minerals, and micro-nutrients. This helps with having a longer shelf life for your product and preserves the nutrients in your juice.
If you’re hoping to get a lot of nutrients in a very easy package, then juicing can be a great way to do so. However, it’s important to remember that there is no such thing as living on juices and smoothies alone. Rather, embracing plant-based foods and incorporating juicing into your lifestyle can help boost your health and wellness.
Purpose of Arden’s Garden
Arden’s Garden’s mission has solely been about health and wellness, and Leslie remembers how, in 1996, fresh juice was considered dangerous due to a certain company having a bad batch. She added that the FDA was all over companies that were producing fresh juices. “98% of the fresh juice companies at that moment became pasteurized juice companies“.
Arden’s Garden has had a relatively small footprint as it operates just outside Atlanta, with about 16 stores in the Atlanta area. If you’re looking to purchase their products, you can either:
- Purchase them at one of their retail stores, where they offer a wide variety of juices, smoothies, and plant-based foods
- Buy the products online
- Purchase the products through some of their partners, such as local grocery stores
Watch the full interview
The video interview with Leslie Zinn contains the entire dialogue of this interview, and you can watch it below:
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