Salma Hayek and Eric Helms
Since opening Juice Generation in Hell’s Kitchen in 1999, Eric Helms has been exposing New Yorkers from all walks of life to the energizing, beauty-boosting benefits of nature’s most nutritious liquid foods. Not only was his first juice bar a big hit, he opened three more of them throughout Manhattan. Now, with a little help from vegan chef Matteo Silverman and actress Salma Hayek, he is bringing his knowledge of healthy juices to you with Cooler Cleanse, a 3-day or 5-day juice cleanse with raw food buffers.
“Over the last several years, the demand for fresh juices has really exploded,” says Eric. “More and more of our clients have come in and asked us to prepare cleanses for them. We were doing so much of that on a daily basis that it just became obvious that we needed to put some structure on it and offer it to everyone as something on the menu. Your body is equipped to deal with toxins. But people are ingesting a lot of pollutants and processed foods and it’s a lot for your body to handle. It’s good for your body to take a break sometimes, to give your digestion a break, and go on a liquid fast.”
To make sure that his customers were getting the most out of their juices in both flavor and nutrition, Eric started using a hydraulic press. “The benefit of that is that it extracts all of the pulp out of the juice. It’s packed with vitamins – 3 to 5 times more vitamins that a normal juice that you would get. The nice thing about extracting all of the pulp from the juice is that it can enter your bloodstream within 15 minutes so you’re getting the hit of the nutrients and enzymes immediately.”
A long time customer and fan of Eric’s juices, actress Salma Hayek was one of the first to taste Eric’s new and improved juices. “We purchased a hydraulic press a few years ago and were playing around with different recipes… and we sent her a batch,” says Eric. “She was knocked out…. She’s been doing a variation of this program for many years.”
“I approached him in 2008 with the idea of making the juices available to everyone,” Salma says. “We decided to collaborate and Cooler Cleanse was born! We worked together for about 2 years developing the concept and recipes. I would go to his stores when I was in New York and he would send me samples when I was travelling. We worked with a wonderful team of nutritionists and raw food experts to create our menu.”
“We combined my technical expertise in juice-making with Salma’s years of experience using juice cleanses to stay healthy, energized, and of course, radiantly beautiful,” says Eric. “She has a strong opinion on what she likes and doesn’t like and what works for her and what doesn’t. She got all of her friends and family involved, and everybody was tasting. That was really our focus group for our juices. The results are more delicious and more functional than either of us could have imagined.”
When asked how often she does a juice fast, Salma says, “It really depends on what is going on in my life – I let my body tell me when it’s time to cleanse. If I’ve been indulging in a lot of rich foods or not taking care of myself like I should, a cleanse is a wonderful way to hit the reset button. I always try to have our fresh juices in my refrigerator to drink – I don’t have to be doing a cleanse to enjoy the benefits of the juices we create.”
“Everybody has different lifestyles and different habits,” says Eric, “so what’s appropriate for one might not be appropriate for the other. We advise everyone who’s never done a cleanse before to start out with the 3-day fast.”
To offer his customers a way to go into and out of the cleanse with some healthy food, Eric brought on Chef Matteo Silverman, an enthusiastic vegetarian, and an expert in the art and craft of vegan cooking.
When asked about getting Matteo involved, Eric says, “He was a little skeptical I think, but he came out and met with me. It took me about three months, and I convinced him to come on board. We’ve been working together ever since.”
“He won me over,” adds Matteo.
“I think the word cleanse put him off a bit, “adds Eric.”I think that’s what it was. A Cleanse? What do you mean, a Cleanse? This is raw food.”
For over 15 years, Matteo has worked to put plant-based cuisine firmly in the foodie spotlight. Best known for his weekly New York supper club, 4 Course Vegan, Matteo loves nothing more than bringing people together around exceptional vegan food. He is the guiding light behind the diverse menus of meals, Raw Coolers.
To help people make the transition to an all liquid diet, Raw Coolers consist of a variety of cold, raw soups – an avocado and lime soup, butternut squash, gazpacho, and a coconut curry soup with nice bite to it for those on the spicier side of life – and some light salads and snacks – an Asian chopped salad, Greek spinach salad, Moroccan carrot salad, cole slaw, maki rolls, and a very interesting and delicious snack which is a couscous made from cauliflower.”
“My Raw Cooler meals are the perfect complement to Eric and Salma’s 3- and 5-day juice cleanses,” says Matteo. “They have the same function of supporting the body’s natural detoxification mechanisms. This is gourmet food that everyone, even carnivores, will love. These delicious meals refute the notion some people have that vegan dishes are bland and uninspired.”
“I’ve been doing juice cleanses for 15 years,” says Salma. “Eric has been preparing my cleanses for several years and I thought the results were extraordinary. I knew that other people would love this too. Cooler Cleanse is a way to share preventive healthcare practices that have worked so well for me over the years – ones that can help everyone look and feel their best.”
I recently had a talk with Eric and Matteo about how this whole thing came about and how Cooler Cleanse can help you. Listen to the complete interview. For more information on how you can order Cooler Cleanse, go to www.coolercleanse.com.
Steve McAllister
In addition to serving as Managing Editor and contributor to Modern Hippie Mag, Steve McAllister is an actor, musician, accomplished author, filmmaker, and the man behind Your Daily Groove. His most recent novel, The McAllister Code is available as an e-book at www.themcallistercode.com. Find Steve on Twitter, @InkenSoul. Read his reviews and articles here.
Really want to try this, Ive been feeling sluggish & still have a few baby pounds to lose. This sounds like a safe way to detoxify & elimate all the built up icky toxins & lift me back up.