By Vanessa Packer
Photographer Libby Gray (Product images provided by The Squeeze)

At Bonberi, we love supporting strong independent women looking to better the world through health, wellness and spirituality. It also helps that many of these women forging their own path in New York are straight up bad-asses! But if there is one we name that takes the cake, it’s juice truck entrepreneur Karliin Brooks. Located in Manhattan, The Squeeze provides uncompromised, raw, organic, top-quality pressed juices and raw foods out of their colorful trucks. Sometimes RAWnchy, sometimes risky, her good-for-you gourmet selections are hands down some of our favorites in the city.

What did you do before launching The Squeeze?
I worked in film production and owned a locations agency

Did you have a nutritional “rock bottom” that made you adopt the raw food lifestyle?
I was diagnosed with Graves disease, which presents characteristics of protuberance of the eyes and hormonal imbalance. I had to look forward to eye surgery that involved sucking the fat from behind my eyeball and premature aging. I decided on green juice over gray hair.

How are your pressed juices different from others
Because they taste so good! I conducted taste tests during market research and both my parents agree that The Squeeze is the tastiest juice on the market.

What is your favorite pressed juice/food item on the menu?
The Stand and DeLIVER juice (dandelion, parsley, swiss chard, kale, cucumber, celery, ginger and lemon) is the most balanced all-green juice in my book. My fave Squeeze dish is My Big Fat Ass Greek Salad with almond feta, raw croutons, greek olives and cherry tomatoes.  Dessert would have to be the almond buttercups or almond joys.

Where do you source your ingredients?
Local farms as much as possible and purveyors of the highest quality raw ingredients.

How many trucks do you have and where are they stationed?
Two trucks.  One permanently on 17th Street and Union Square West and the other trolls the city for juicers.

What made you decide to sell juice out of a truck?
I thought it was a novel idea.  And now I can write a novel about how challenging the food truck business is.

You talk a lot about juice in relation to sex and libido, what are three ingredients that stand out as being beneficial in this area and why?
Pure raw unprocessed food and juice lead to a clean and lean body, which produces more hormones, endorphins and lowers cholesterol. Many people may not know this, but high cholesterol causes impotence. Sit on that for a while…

What indulgence are you not willing to give up?
Taking that to the grave.  

What do you do to stay spiritually or mentally balanced?
I
 spend quality time at my no-kill shelter, or better known as my loft. I have a bunch of animals and they bring me boundless joy.


FOR KARLIIN’S GREEN APPLE HERE

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