Try these lean, green drinks in Columbia for spring

Spring cleaning comes in many forms. Beyond ditching clothes and rearranging furniture, it’s a fine time to look at spring cleaning your body.

That’s where Gin’s Juice and Southern Squeezed come in. Both businesses specialize in blending, pulsing and squeezing all the goodness out of a mix of fresh fruits and vegetables and serving it to you either room temperature (Gin’s Juice) or cold (Southern Squeezed).

It’s an acquired taste for sure, but its worth a try. Here’s a sampling of what’s being served:

Gin’s Juice

Long story short: Toni Tarbutton moved to Columbia in 2012 with her husband and their four children. They took over Virginia Harrington’s mobile juice truck after trying their hand at starting a juicing company. Tarbutton officially took over in August and buys the produce from the State Farmer’s Market. And it’s a family business. Her children, ages 6-12, as well as her father and husband, help out.

Spring mix: “We push the most in season, which would be the cucumber drinks,” said Tarbutton. “We have ‘summer mist’ which is cucumber, lime and Granny Smith apple. Then ‘cucumber tango,’ which is the same, plus beets. And then we have the ‘uber green’ which includes spinach and ginger. Those are the ones we’re pushing the most because they’re in season.”

Benefits: “With just one apple in a drink, it’s about 20 percent fruit, so the rest is 80 percent vegetable,” said Tarbutton. “It’s the best fast food option, and it’s absorbed immediately. If you’re drinking five 16-ounce drinks a day – which is recommended if you want to ‘reset’ – and hydrating with coconut water and making sure you’re getting your whole rainbow of fruits and vegetables in a day, you can really reverse some illnesses.”

Find the vendor at Soda City Market and through http://ginsjuicesc.com.

Southern Squeezed

Long story short: Katie and Saket Munshaw opened the cold-press juice bar next to SWEAT indoor cycling and CrossFit in July. The husband-and-wife duo fell in love with cold-pressed juicing while living in San Francisco. Katie Munshaw, a University of South Carolina graduate, wanted to promote a healthier lifestyle and bring cold-pressed juice to the Midlands.

“I knew there weren’t a lot of options like this around here, so we wanted to bring this back,” said Katie Munshaw. “We hoped that juice would be really popular here, and it’s been a pretty good response, especially in the warmer weather.”

Spring mix: “Our most popular juice, which we hadn’t had in the winter, is coming back – ‘the pink punch,’ ” she said. “It’s watermelon, cucumber, lime and mint. It’s delicious. It’s definitely refreshing. The ‘cool as a cucumber’ is really refreshing as well, and the ‘spicy lemonade.’ The cayenne kick is good; it’s a metabolism booster. It’s a really good option.”

Benefits: “We make cold-pressed juices – no added water, no added sugar,” Katie Munshaw said. “The method that we use allows for most of the nutrients from the fruit and veggies to stay intact in the juice, so they’re kind of alive. We don’t pasteurize or heat-process. It’s a very healthy form of juice.

“And we offer free samples, always, for everyone,” Saket Munshaw said. “We want to make sure everyone likes the juice before they commit to buying a bottle.”

1135 Lady St. (803) 661-7821, www.southernsqueezed.com

This story was originally published March 23, 2016 at 12:55 PM with the headline "Try these lean, green drinks in Columbia for spring."