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A No. 1 Warrior and an Immunity Boost juice shot are pictured Monday, Nov. 12, 2019, at Ivie Juice Bar in Provo.

By Braley Dodson Daily Herald

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Menu options are pictured Monday, Nov. 11, 2019, at Ivie Juice Bar in Provo.

By Braley Dodson Daily Herald

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If you’re feeling green, then Ivie Juice Bar is for you.

You won’t find any smoothies packed with artificial sweeteners here. The drinks and bowl options at the Ivie Juice Bar in downtown Provo are fresh, and it’s easy to tell. That’s important to keep in mind going in. If you’re looking for something that will taste like a dessert, pay attention to the menu, because not everything on it is going to be the right fit for you.

The Daily Herald has had our office across the street from the Ivie Juice Bar for about three years, and in that time, I’ve gone in three times, which includes bringing some coworkers in for this review. Each time, I’ve felt a little overwhelmed, partly from the atmosphere — I feel like I should go in after yoga, and I don’t do yoga — and partly from the menu. This time, I took a little bit longer to study it before I ordered with a small group. We chose one item from each of the main parts of the menu to see what the differences are and gauge the differences in taste.

A lot about the Ivie Juice Bar is explained in its founding. It gets its namesake from Ivie Gonsalves, who started the bar with her family. Gonsalves, a distance runner, was worried about how weight gain was impacting her athletic performance and turned to fresh juice as a solution. It worked, and those same recipes she created then are the ones featured on the menu today.

Ivie Juice Bar’s offerings include protein shakes, smoothies, juices for cleanses, acai bowls and juice shots. Smoothies start at $4.99, protein shakes start at $5.99, acai bowls start at $7.25 and individual juices can be purchased for $7.75. Juice cleanses start at $45 for one day and $200 for five days. There’s also juice shots, which are $3 for a 2-ounce bottle.

We tried the Immunity Boost juice shot, the No. 1 Warrior juice, the Beach Babe acai bowl, the Tropical Delight smoothie and the Rock That Road protein shake.

The Beach Babe acai bowl consists of acai, strawberry, blueberry, pineapple, banana and apple juice and is topped with granola, fresh fruit, honey and coconut flakes. It is very tropical, is very Instagram worthy, and has a nice, tart flavor. The granola and coconut flakes give the bowl a nice texture and the bowl was just the perfect serving size. It’s a snack that was meant for summers and hot days, or any time you want to feel like you’re lounging on a beach.

The Rock That Road also got good reviews from the group. It has banana, avocado, raw cocoa, peanut butter, protein and milk in it. The flavor has hints of banana, and you can’t taste the avocado in it at all. As my friend who drank it put it, “the drink was perfect for someone who loves chocolate (aka me) but also feels bad for eating so much chocolate.”

I personally tried the Tropical Delight smoothie, which I’ve ordered before. I’m lactose intolerant, so the first time I got it I ordered it with almond milk as a substitute. The worker was quick to ask if I wanted to try coconut milk with it, instead, since the flavor would taste better with the coconut flakes in the drink. I changed my order, and I’m really glad that she convinced me to do so. It tastes amazing with the coconut milk and kept me full for the rest of the day. The drink includes coconut flakes, pineapple, mango, lime, banana, raw sugar and milk — although I highly suggest substituting it for coconut milk if you have sensitivities to dairy like me.

The No. 1 Warrior classic juice didn’t do as well with us. It is made from spinach, kale, mint, apple, lemon, lime, celery and cucumber. The overall impression was that it tasted like a salad, and no one was able to get more than a few sips in. This is an option that would be better for people looking purely for the health benefits, or those who want to do a juice cleanse.

The shot was … an adventure. Like the juice, it comes in a glass bottle, and its shape makes it hard to kick it back like an actual shot, which I think is the best way to try to drink it. We split it between four of us, and the response was unanimous. We hated it. I have no idea what’s in this thing, but it burned. For like, minutes afterward. No one wanted to try it again, and I hope that that tradeoff of trying it was that no one in our office gets sick ever again.

Ivie Juice Bar’s prices are a bit higher than what you’ll see for smoothies and juice at some other locations, but keep in mind the ingredients, glass bottles and that everything is made fresh. As a juicer myself, I know that these ingredients can be expensive and you can easily spend $5 on fruit for one cup of juice.

Like its founder, I’m also a distance runner, and I love that I can get a smoothie here that fills me up, helps fuel me and makes my body feel good when I run. I know that I could go to the juice bar and find options on the menu that the founder created, tested and loved.

If you go, keep in mind that there are different types of drinks on the menu. If you want something that is going to taste a certain way, feel free to ask the workers for suggestions. If not, you might wind up with something that might taste a little different from what you were expecting.

In addition to its spot in downtown Provo, Ivie Juice Bar also has locations in Orem, South Jordan and Draper.

The Provo location is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays and from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

IVIE JUICE BAR

Where: 45 N. University Ave., Provo (with additional locations in Orem, South Jordan and Draper)

Hours: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays and from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays

Prices: $3-$12.75. Cleanse packages run from $45 (one day) to $200 (five day)

Info: (801) 373-9935, http://iviejuicebar.com/