{ Her little top knot though!?! I’m dying!! } { Not impressed about sharing her pumpkin smoothie lol }
Matching Capes c/o Pandthelion | Panama Hat: Urban Outfitters | Ella’s Tee: Old Navy | Ella’s Distressed Denim c/o Tattrd Threads | Converse High Tops

I’ve been wanting to feature one of my favourite local spots RIPE Juicery for awhile now and I am so excited to share this gem of a spot with you for organic fresh pressed juices! We all headed in recently to stock up on our favourite juices & nut milks and of course Ella and I sported our new matching winter capes for some fun twinning photos, a must am I right? This shop not only has incredible food but it’s so aesthetically pleasing as well, something about the brightness of the space paired with knowing the owners built all of the design elements themselves puts a huge smile on my face! We also love finding restaurants where we don’t have to struggle to find things on the menu that both us and the kids can enjoy and this is our favourite. Fresh pressed raw juice has become a movement over the last 3 years, a lifestyle that I don’t see losing it’s hype any time soon. More & more we are learning that food is the answer to a lot of our health issues. I first tried fresh pressed juices when I lived in New Zealand when I was 20…that is over 7 years ago now and after having our daughter 3 years ago I really became more interested in it and its benefits. I started thinking of ways to incorporate more vegetables into my and my daughters diet since she wasn’t very keen on eating raw vegetables unless they were smothered in hummus…of course that isn’t a bad thing I just really wanted her to gain a liking to a good old veggie platter sans dip. We all know how toddlers can rule the dip bowl right lol? I started with adding handfuls of greens to my smoothies, I’ve had a love for smoothies since my mom made them for me as a kid sneaking in some greens here and there and I started doing the same for Ella and my niece. I also started blending raw spinach or kale up and whisking it in with eggs for green scrambled eggs for them which they loved but I wanted to do more…in came juicing. This little girl of ours LOVES smoothies and fresh pressed juice, she loves her water and rarely gets a juice box, the only time she truly juice is when it’s freshly made with carrot in the mix! The one thing I found was that the busier I got as a stay-at-home mom that also works full time, making fresh pressed juice was happening less and less. I can totally make the time twice a week but this year has been so overwhelmingly busy that RIPE Juicery opening up couldn’t have come at a better time! When I drink fresh juices I am less cloudy and I don’t rely on coffee so much, I also notice that I have less headaches when a good amount of sleep just isn’t an option. As a mum sleep can be on the back burner OFTEN, being able to take the kids to a nice spot for a change of scenery and get us all some fresh pressed juice without covering myself and my kitchen in beet stain is a huge plus! We go in every week and stock up on some necessities for our family like fresh juices and their almond milk, we LOVE their delicious almond milk & it comes in chocolate!  They even had a dairy free eggnog this year, and it’s delish (which is hard to find)!!! Recently they started serving warm drinks, fresh soups and yummy salads soooo we might end up there every day now lol. The two beautiful owners Lindsay & Meghan are a pleasure to visit, they’re two friends who had “a collective longing for accessible, fresh raw juice and the need for a place to come to rehydrate and revitalize” and they’ve totally done just that! They always have our kids giggling and greet us with a smile and the smell of delicious fresh ingredients fills the air in their shop. It’s no secret that Ella loves timbits and RIPE makes these cake pop balls that are flour and dairy free and made with a bundle of raw elements…Ella devours them! I am hoping to do a fun feature on them in the new year so you can all make these for your toddlers or just for yourself to enjoy some guilt-free goodies. Every thing in their store is completely dairy, wheat, meat, seafood and egg free…every thing is plant based! They’re packaging is recyclable or  plant based and their nut milks & juices come in glass bottles that you can return after use to earn free juice! Every 10 clean glass bottles you return earns you 1 free juice, thats roughly $10-12 you are getting back. I asked Meghan about their bottle return system and how it’s working out so far and she proudly told me that they’ve received nearly 4000 bottles back since opening in May 2015, that’s 4000 bottles not in a landfill guys and they even serve majority of their salads in big mason jars (swoon)! RIPE is helping so many people lead a healthier lifestyle and making it convenient and I know first hand that they’ve helped out a lot of busy mums trying to give themselves the fuel they need while juggling other priorities. I was telling my husband that from now on any friend of mine that has a baby will be getting a RIPE package of juices & nut milks, you all know I am so passionate about that critical time after having a baby and nursing to get the nutrients your body needs to help it do its job. They also offer cleanses for people looking to do a big shift in their diet. This will be my third annual year doing my ‘ A smoothie a day’ challenge and cleansing by gradually reducing refined sugars from my diet so I am excited to partner up with them and try their cleanses this year! Here is a quote I pulled from their stunning website that says a lot about what they stand for…

” At RIPE, we produce 100% Raw, Organic, Cold-Pressed Juice recipes that go directly into glass bottles. RIPE is committed to offering raw beverages hand-crafted with deep regard for organic growing practices, seasonal harvests and local suppliers. We believe that juice should be incredibly tasty, nutritious & sourced from local and organic ingredients & that’s exactly what you’ll find on our menu.”

PS Ella and I are in matching capes courtesy of Pandthelion, their shop has some seriously adorable items and with the code ‘HOLIDAYS’ you get 25% off of your purchase! I am totally swooning right now over these faux fur leg warmers they make, I am thinking Ella and I need to rock them this winter!!!

Photography by Cait Patrick Photography