My name is Liane DeVore and I own Fresh Blends in the Quad Cities. We are so excited about this New Year and this new decade! A new year for many of us begins with reflecting on where we have been, where we are now, and where we are headed in all aspects of life. It is all about finding balance in the most important areas of our lives. The areas of balance in life include: healthy relationships, having a fulfilling career, regular physical activity, and a spiritual practice that feeds your soul.
This is exactly how my wellness journey began in 2005. I began by giving myself permission to take time for myself to do whatever I wanted or needed to work on personally. I had never taken time for myself or even thought about wellness in that way. I am the mother of five children and they were my focus—along with work, of course. I identified very early on in my journey that I was a workaholic and that it was important for me to really learn to have balance in my life. I began by working on all of the relationships in my life and focused on being around like-minded people and also spending time with people that are positive thinkers.
I had finally found a position with a company that was fulfilling and allowed for a better work life balance for me and for my family. This balance allowed for time for my family and I to work on having regular physical activity together. We all went to the YMCA together to work out where we encouraged each other and naturally felt better taking care of our bodies. Not only did I enjoy more time for myself to do the things I love, but I enjoyed more time with my kids.
I found my spiritual practice through gardening. I love spending time outdoors with the sunshine and planting flowers and vegetables to watch them grow. One of my absolute favorite things throughout life has always been “playing in the dirt.” This time outside allowed for many hours of self-reflection and for thoughts about what I needed to do to be a better person.
I found that for many people, myself included, working on ourselves is the hardest job out there. It’s difficult to take the necessary time to be completely open and honest with ourselves about where we are at in life. Learning to make mistakes and fail without feeling so guilty about it and learning to let go of all the “what ifs” is difficult. I strongly believe once we learn to accept ourselves for exactly who we are and when we are willing to let go of the mistakes we made, then we are able and ready to move forward.
As with many things in life, the road to wellness is not a straight line. If it were that simple, we would all be well all of the time. We encounter many obstacles along the journey and each decision we make effects how our journey will progress. Some of the obstacles can include a broken relationship, stress at work, or financial burdens.
Early on in my personal wellness journey, I realized I would eat junk to feel better and I defined myself as a full-on emotional eater. In other words, I eat when I am happy, sad, or stressed. It is no wonder I was packing on the pounds. I would often say “my goal is to eat well 80 percent of the time.” That worked for a while; I believe in lifestyle change and lifestyle change doesn’t happen overnight. There is no quick fix fad diet plan that will help with weight loss; believe me I have tried them all! It took me a while to gain and hold on to all of the extra weight I was carrying around and it also took time to work off the extra 65 pounds I was carrying. Every minute of that time was so worth it as it felt amazing to set small goals and watch myself achieve them. I began to have more energy and I began to feel alive. I wanted to learn more and do more and I found I wasn’t as chronically fatigued. I began noticing on my cheat days that I didn’t feel as alive and so I changed my goal to eat well 90 percent of the time. Slowly over time I realized I need to eat well 100 percent of the time as I am worth it and why in the world would I want to cheat myself.
I have always wanted to own my own business. It was always one of my top ten life goals. I wanted to help other people with their wellness journeys and help people in my community. During my journey I had discovered juicing and found a really simple way for me to get the micronutrients my body was craving. Juicing fresh fruits and vegetables took my natural energy to a whole new level! My family also discovered meal replacement shakes as a way to eat a meal and maintain portion control. This is how Fresh Blends was born! I wanted a place I could share whole food juices and smoothies—without any ingredients you cannot pronounce—with my community. I wanted a place where people would feel a sense of family and community. A place that was more than just a place where you ran in or drove through to pick up a meal or snack.
I am proud to say that all five of my children work with me to make this business successful. It is very rewarding to work with them and also can be very challenging as there is a definite line when it comes to being mom and boss. We are all working on that relationship aspect of the business each day. I will also share that if you work with me you are “adopted as family” whether you like it or not! Each one of the people on staff are what makes Fresh Blends special!
Fresh Blends is a place where you can begin your own wellness journey by being good to your body and choosing a meal replacement shake with whole food ingredients or a juice to flood your body with natural energy through the micronutrients juicing provides. I believe every change starts with baby steps and encourage everyone to embark on their own wellness journey by starting to look at the balance and imbalances in their own lives.
When you come in to Fresh Blends you will find many different products to assist you on your personal wellness journey! The staff will help assist you find what you are looking for! See you soon!
Fresh Blends is a small family owned whole food smoothie and juice bar located in Bettendorf and Davenport, Iowa. If you have any questions or comments about this article please reach out to hello@freshblendsqc.com.
2307 Cumberland Square Drive — Bettendorf, IA – ph: 563.271.7300
1007 East Kimberly Road — Davenport, IA – ph: 563.349.9150