Beaming Into The World

The Ultimate Superfood Cafe

What an exciting time to be alive in the world! The Aquarian age is here and with it like minded folks who are creating ultimate places to nourish ourselves into beaming health! Lisa Odenweller is one of these vanguards who can see the future in building juice bar cafes that are all organic and delicious. My good friend Fran introduced me to Beaming when I was complaining how there are no healthy/juice/high vibrational places near my house. I usually travel to Venice for my supply of MoonJuice, but when life gets too hectic I yearn for a neighborhood place for a healthy pick me up. I was so surprised when I walked into Beaming to see all the incredible smoothies, juices, salads and treats like the amazingly delicious super food carrot muffins. I was thrilled to sit down with Lisa and hear about her philosophy and passion for the beaming way of life. While there this time, I got to try the Mint Chip smoothie. I so appreciate how all the smoothies are made with freshly sprouted almond milk or coconut water. There is such a vast selection of juices and smoothies with super foods like E3Live,  lucuma, cacao, chlorella, mushrooms, burdock root, mesquite and more! There are various cleanses and organic fresh salads available to go. Lisa is a lady after my own beaming heart with her mini-purse essential kit that you can find at the cafes. This is so you can travel with your own purse sized kit that carries coconut nectar, Fleur de Sea Salt and Pink Himalayan salt.

For more local and healthy dining options see The Local Rose.

Beaming is another example of how Conscious Capitalism  is becoming the new paradigm for healing the world while healing us . . .

Interview with Lisa Below ~

 

What inspired Beaming?
Beaming was inspired by my passion for wanting to make a difference by helping people understand the power of food as medicine – more specifically, that we have more power over health than we think we do and it starts with what you eat (and drink).
The real journey began in 2011 when I was at an entrepreneur event in NYC and saw health advocate and cancer survivor Kris Carr speak – her message was powerful and clear, “we have a responsibility to take control of our health and it starts with what we eat, drink and think.”   I remember this moment vividly as I watched this beautiful, radiant woman with contagious energy transform the room with her message.  I looked at my friend and said, “My God that woman is beaming.” She had that energy that can only be described as beaming…something we all want to be.
I had always considered myself healthy – exercising daily, eating “well” and thought I was fairly well informed about food. I soon realized that many of the things I had considered healthy were actually not—organic, gluten free, whole grain and natural does not necessarily mean it’s good for you. In fact, in many cases its not, which makes it extremely confusing as a consumer.   With this new information and my newfound realization that what we consume is the cornerstone of our health, I was inspired to learn more. At the time, I was experiencing my own hormone

challenges and struggling from chronic fatigue, weight gain, mental fog and inflammation.   My daughter, 13 at the time, had been on ADD medication for 3 years which was something I was not happy about but didn’t know what else to do.
Inspired by Kris Carr, I began my health and wellness journey, reading everything that I could get my hands on including Kris’s book, “Crazy Sexy Diet” (I HIGHLY recommend this book!) among many others.
My daughter and I went on a 21 day vegan cleanse and both started feeling better – almost immediately.   In fact, as a result of removing foods with gluten, dairy and refined sugar, my daughter was able to come off her ADD medication.
I soon realized that I had a responsibility to share what I was learning with others. I knew that I could inspire others if I could help them experience first hand how amazing they can feel by feeding their bodies well. As a self-proclaimed foodie, I wanted to combine my passion for health with my obsession for food into a deliciously addictive and convenient experience that people of all ages could enjoy. I wanted everyone to feel the benefits of eating clean, plant-based foods without feeling like they were sacrificing. Thus, Beaming was born, beginning with a food-based cleanse in late 2011 followed by my first Organic Superfood Café in Del Mar, CA in December 2012 and 3 more stores that opened the first half of this year in LA.

What are some anti-cancer preventive measures?

I believe one of the most powerful and effective ways we can transform our health is by becoming more mindful of what we eat and drink. I am not a vegan but I do believe in an anti-inflammatory diet which is predominately plant-based. We all want to feel empowered with our health and not just “wait and see”. I truly believe the most influential factors in living with vitality are consuming an alkaline diet rich in vegetables and fruit with little to no processed foods & sugars, while minimizing dairy and other inflammatory foods such as meat, caffeine, alcohol and gluten. That isn’t to say you never have them as I am all about living a life of balance & moderation. I feel that better choices start with an awareness – your body will tell you how it feels but you can only hear it if you are listening.

Nothing has a more detrimental effect on your health than stress. So while food is important, stress has the greatest negative impact on our health. That means yoga, meditation or any kind of mindful practice is a must – especially if you have a fast paced life that is stressful.

If I had a “magic superfood bullet” for helping to prevent cancer or other disease, it would likely be Turmeric. Its anti-inflammatory properties and ability to increase the antioxidant capability of our body that helps to fight free radicals is incredible and worth going out of your way to incorporate into your diet every day. And of course, cold-pressed fresh turmeric is always going to be the most powerful.

What are your top three beaming foods for beauty?

While all of our items support beauty from the inside out (as any organic plant based diet will), our mostly greens green juices, superfood elixirs and Vitality Shot are probably the most powerful as well as our avocado-based smoothies.

The mostly green green juices have little to no fruit keeping the 3-5 pounds of produce in each bottle predominately greens and lower glycemic.   The electrolyte elixir has MSM in it, which is great for hair skin and nails as well as camu camu, which is excellent for immunity and cellular repair and ginger, which supports digestion and fights bacteria. The antioxidant elixir contains turmeric and raw honey, which are excellent immunity boosters that help support cellular rejuvenation and fight free radical damage. And lastly, avocado is known as a “good fat” that helps to nourish your hair and skin.

Above all, a diet rich in greens with minimal to no foods that wreak havoc on your body Is always going to be your best “beauty product.” One way to think of it is that when you consume processed foods & sugars, dairy, gluten, alcohol and non organic meats, your body has to work extra hard to digest these which is taking away life force energy AND giving your cells a run for their money. In its simplest form, the more your cells have to work, the more aged they become.

The best thing we can do for beauty is to consume as many vegetables as possible with a moderate amount of fruit.   Vegetables are anti-inflammatory and detoxifying, allowing your body to have inner balance, which equates to outer radiance. I know it sounds pretty basic and it is. I believe we make being healthy way too complicated.

Your salads are always so fresh how do you insure that?

Thank you! We take tremendous pride in our R&D (research and development) efforts and source from local organic farms (based on seasonality) having an opportunity to select the freshest, most gorgeous produce available.   As the culinary director (among many other hats I wear), I work with some of the top plant-based chefs in the country including our Superfood chef, Julie Morris among others.

We also do quite a bit of due diligence in testing shelf life of our foods as there are many items we create that we love but because they don’t last more than a few hours, we aren’t able to package them for convenient grab and go. I will say, offering packaged salads that taste incredible is NOT easy!   I can proudly say that I do think we do a pretty amazing job at it.

Do you have a beauty routine?

Well, sleep would be a good start and not having wine always helps with looking your best (don’t get me wrong, I love a glass of wine at night…but I always know I look better without it). Outside of the obvious, I believe my daily food protocol and lifestyle certainly helps with anti-aging and reducing that magic word we keep talking about, inflammation.

I usually exercise at least 5 days / week and have the same eating regime with Beaming almost every day which includes beginning my day with our Vitality Shot (cold pressed turmeric, ginger and lemon) in warm water – I love this as tastes great and is such an amazing, alkalizing, calming way to start the day and refresh from the evening. Following that, I enjoy a Beaming Superfood Protein Bite (23 superfoods, 120 calories, 6g protein and tastes amazing!) and half of a Beaming Elevate green juice without fruit before my workout. Post workout, I make a super crazy extra green Lisa’s Daily Lean & Green smoothie with avocado, spinach, our superfood plant protein powder, maca (a great superfood for beauty and hormone balancing!), cordycep mushrooms (also great for beauty), tons of superfood greens (alkalizing and detoxifying), hemp seeds, coconut water and our freshly made sprouted almond milk.   Midday I usually have a healthy nut-based snack and another Elevate green juice and then dinner is usually lean protein and veggies (and a few nights a week I will enjoy a glass of wine).   So I guess you could say I eat a ton of veggies throughout the day as part of my beauty routine and stay very active!

Are you a mermaid or forest fairy?

Hmmmmmm – you may have stumped me on this one Ms. Shiva but if I have to pick one, I would say I am a mermaid. Perhaps because they seem to have an imperfect grace and a strong will about them that I can relate to. They flow through water with focus and determination, often upstream or against current while maintaining feminine energy. They are whimsical, spontaneous and playful much like a dolphin, which is an animal I have always had a strong connection to. My personality is definitely a combination of feminine intensity and spontaneous playfulness much like how I envision mermaids to be.

Where do you see yourself in a decade?

I hope to have made a significant impact within health and wellness and be enjoying more time with friends and family – especially my children and a special someone.   I love travel and experiencing cultures so I definitely look forward to doing more of this. I also hope to be writing books and speaking on many topics focused on helping people living healthier, happier lives.

Beaming is quite consuming (fortunately, I love what I do) but I do look forward to having more time to go to farmers markets, play in the kitchen, take more hikes and perhaps even learn how to kite surf… and maybe even sleep in every once in awhile. J

Do you have a motto or philosophy you live by?

“Live with grace”

How often do you do a cleanse? 

I am often asked this question and my typical answer is that I live the lifestyle of Beaming almost every day (at least 85% of the time). That being said, I typically do a 5 day cleanse at least 2-3 times / year.   My favorite way to cleanse is when I can go on a “self imposed” retreat with a friend where we bring the Beaming Lean cleanse with us to a local hotel or resort and do yoga, power walks and other activities to rejuvenate while enjoying quality time – it’s a total reset. I find this not only makes me look and feel great, but also ignites my creativity, allowing me to step away from the every day lists and open my mind to new ideas.

Every week I try to commit to 2 days at the beginning of the week where I eat completely clean and mostly green. This helps me reset for the week.

What makes your heart sing? 

Many things make my heart sing but I would say that the greatest song is quality time with my children (ages 10, 11 and 17), friends and family. I cherish this time.

And of course, what also really “warms my heart” is hearing how Beaming makes people feel—how it’s transformed their overall health and changed their relationship with food. That always makes me smile and reminds me of why I created Beaming.