Moon Juice’s New Book is Your Guide to Cooking With Adaptogens

Ten years ago, Amanda Chantal Bacon founded Cali-favourite brand Moon Juice, then a humble juice bar in Venice Beach selling healthy snacks and other beauty and wellness elixirs. Now, Moon Juice includes three shops, a range of supplements and skincare, a cookbook and a just-released manual filled with wellness tips and easy recipes featuring adaptogens (natural ingredients said to help the body cope with stress), which Bacon uses to optimize beauty, brain, spirit, sex and sleep. We chatted with the founder and mother of two about her Moon Juice journey and some of her favourite ways to stay on top of it all.

What inspired you to open Moon Juice after being diagnosed with an autoimmune condition and educating yourself on how you might put it into remission?

My journey back to health and balance was really pleasurable. There was nothing that was off about it. I liked making beautiful food and chocolate milk spiked with adaptogens, switching out detergents that were making me ill, getting better sleep and weaning myself off of toxic relationships. All those things are actually a pleasure to do. So, I thought it was my mission in life to tell as many people as possible about this beautiful way of getting back to health, and nobody else would have to spend close to twenty years trying to figure out why they potentially feel so awful.

What would you suggest to those who want to incorporate some healthier ingredients in their daily lives, but don’t know where to start?

Try SuperYou; it’s Moon Juice in a bottle. You take two capsules every morning. You don’t have to understand it or think about it. You don’t have to make any other changes. You just have that small moment every morning and you will be feeling different in a month.

What’s included in The Moon Juice Manual?

The first half of the book is the biology of stress; stress literacy and really understanding what’s happening in our body when we are feeling stress. It’s really an introduction to adaptogens and really simple, accessible lifestyle tips that will help you tremendously. The second half of the book is easy, really simple and delicious recipes anyone can make. I love the chocolate chunk cookie recipe. All of the recipes are grain-free and lower glycemic. You don’t have to change your whole lifestyle. It could be as easy as incorporating this cookie with adaptogens in it.

What are some other small things that can contribute to a healthier life without the need for uprooting your whole routine?

As I always say, great change comes with the small, daily steps that we take. If you’re feeling intimidated by wellness, or overwhelmed by the idea of changing your whole lifestyle, just add one small, daily habit. It could be taking SuperYou in the morning, committing to a 10 minute walk, or prioritizing sleeping eight hours a night. Pick one small, simple step and get a kick out of that until it feels really good and it’s second nature. Then, you can start adding other steps. Adding adaptogens into your daily life really does fill your cup. They give you that reserve of adaptive energy so that you can meet the challenges of each day. Also, putting some limits and boundaries on your phone and computer time. That’s bold self-care and a move you can make right now.