Commodity Juicery secret menu

Commodity Juicery has been open only four months, and with the new season, they are rolling out new developments. They are of course still a juicery serving cold-pressed juices, and with a huge emphasis on raw, to preserve and maximize nutrition -- for example, they claim their #2 "All Greens" has the equivalent of 3 pounds of vegetable nutrition in their 16oz bottles.

Some things they already have, but which you may not know about are:

• Anywhere-in-the-Lower-Mainland delivery. They'll even go across the bridge to West Vancouver and North Vancouver. Free for orders of $50+ (but watch out for this cost to change).
• Free (!) consultations with their in-house nutritionist Carolina. Best to call ahead. Her schedule is presently Monday 12pm-6pm; Thursday 2pm-7pm; Saturday 12pm-5pm.
• Honestly, that's a lot of value for free and this scores them bonus points. They would like to have a nutritionist available more often, but staffing a specialist costs money!
• They are experienced with helping people who walk in asking about specific ailments, such as cancer or wanting weight loss; or to customize a juice cleanse regimen.
• No, they don't cure cancer, but they can recommend things that are said to help (that's the cautious anti-liability legalese everyone needs to use, right?)
• Don't be shy about asking for something to help with whatever it is you have. And also with your preferences and limitations (can't stand veggie juice?). They are very conscious about taste, so (for example) with their grapefruit they are careful to remove as much of the bitter albedo/mesocarp (the white stuff between the skin and the juicy part) as possible.
• Secret Menu Item: Exclusively distributing frozen cubes of spirulina (an algae superfood).
• This algae stuff can be obtained as powder, pills, or a stinky goop that slowly goes bad over many days.
• Commodity Juicery obtains them frozen live as cubes of about 1 cubic centimeter -- raw, NO STINK, and only a slight sea-water like flavour when dissolved in water.
• They are also looking into using more of it for spirulina's great nutrient value in their smoothies now that they can have it without raising a stink.
• They can also sell it to you in frozen trays of 40 for $40.
• Chocolatey treats. Lots of it is from a third party source, though -- not their creation. Not a huge selection but raw, vegan, and gluten-free options here.
• The Commodity Juicery website menu has more info, such as what the juice is recommended for ("may help with...") and what it's full of (vitamin this, that, and the other thing).
• Some of their shots, like the lemon-ginger Immunity, can keep longer than just a couple of days. Therefore, you can buy them in bulk quantities (at a discounted price).
• $1 off any smoothie (normally $9 for 20oz) with a Yelp check-in. The price may seem steep but they don't put ice into their smoothies, so that 20 oz is all juice.

As part of a Zomato-invitation tasting, I got FREE samples of algae, one of their health shots, and various juices and smoothies. Since I got to try them for free, it's probably worthless for me to say I liked most of them and they were palatable for "health juices with veggies" -- something which might provoke an "ick" reaction from people.
So instead, let me suggest you go in and ask for a sample. Most days a wide variety of free samples will be available. However, their cold-pressed juice production is more complicated than throwing everything into a blender, so if they are completely out of something, it's tougher for them to just whip one up. Maybe a smoothie, but not a juice.
Instead of just asking for a sample of everything, it's probably more useful to also go in with a particular health intention in mind, such as:

• I need help with weight loss
• I'm looking for a meal substitute
• I'm diabetic -- what can I have that is sweet? (Yes, they have some juices that qualify).

One sample I got that definitely stood out for me was the $4 lemon-ginger "Immunity Shot". It's called the "Relief Shot" on their website (as of 2016-March-11), so if you're confused, ask for the lemon-ginger one. Try it early in the morning instead of a coffee as this drink has one heckuva kick to it. You get a strong ginger burn in your throat, and once it goes down to your stomach you get a very warm sensation there too. If nothing else, this will wake you up for sure and with more of a jolt than a coffee.

For all of you more serious juicers out there, you may wonder how they compare with other health juice / juice cleanse stores. Their use of raw ingredients (no powder, for example) to maximize nutrition is one of their themes and something that sets them apart. The principles Sara and Carissa also both seemed very knowledgeable and can give you their opinion on whatever juice cleanse you had or are about to try. One of my guests had just come out of a couple of cleanses from different companies, and they were very curious as well as quite knowledgeable about the practices and products of at least one of the juice companies she had tried.

Yeah, they are the competition (so of course they would be critical and feel they are doing things better), but if you already find cleanses pricey and want to invest wisely, you can at least get tips like how the ingredients should be organic (so you aren't cleansing yourself with food grown with pesticides); and how turmeric should be taken with black pepper to maximize absorption (something they brought up in the discussion on my friend's cleanse). Or, you can try to book time with their in-house nutritionist (who has her own practice) for free to discuss going on a cleanse and what you might need.

Various developments are coming soon! (Disclaimer: I got to try some of the food items for FREE as part of a tasting invitation through Zomato).

• Juice #7 "Morning Love" still shows on their website, but is currently off the menu for now--In re-development.
• They are working on cheaper salad meals. "Approacheable" menus for "everyday people", and trying to keep costs low so that everyone can eat nutritiously, are what they aim for.
• Possibly dehydrated apple chips.
• Three types are in development right now: Chia Seed, Cinnamon, and "All Dressed" (mix of spices and stuff).
• These are still in the early stages, so you could possibly try asking for a sample and providing feedback as they fiddle with it.
• Nothing "wow" here yet, but they're still working on it so in a week it might be completely different.
• Secret Menu Item: Probably adding raw naan with raw hummus dip.
• Their so-called "naan" is a raw bread-like really-brown but flavourful thing.
• I guess they call it naan because it's modelled after the flatbread that brings hummus to your mouth, but it's so far from a plain naan that you shouldn't think of it that way.
• It's pretty tasty all on its own.
• It's raw so they keep it refrigerated. Don't ask for them to toast it, eh?
• The curry hummus dip has a medium-light curry flavour and something of an onion aftertaste. The use of yellow onions is definitely clear. Pretty tasty, especially if you like curry.
• Dehydrated chickpeas will very likely make an appearance as crunchy "croutons" for their salad.
• Although dehydrated, they are still considered raw and without the same loss of nutritional value as would happen if you crisped them in the oven.
• Around April they will have an Olympic Village location.
• They are aiming for an online store and to offer meal plans by May.

TIP: Especially when we get to hotter summer days, be prepared when buying take-home quantities of their juices. In the current colder weather they can survive nicely for 2-3 hours, but much less when your car or other transportation becomes an oven in the heat. Get a cooler with ice to keep them refrigerated in transit.