Just in time for spring, fresh juices and made-to-order smoothies are hitting the streets of Richmond. An Ironman athlete and lover of all things healthful, Ruslana Remennikova, serves up a rainbow of fruit- and vegetable-based drinks from inside her truck, which she’s named Pulp Fiction.
Remennikova’s smoothie recipes have come a long way. Now years removed from throwing almond milk and spinach in a blender and calling it a day, the 30-year-old business owner constantly experiments with flavor combinations for a balanced, flavorful and exotic menu of smoothies and juices. Her personal favorite, inspired by her father, is the Legacy, a blend of spinach, almond milk, banana, flax, raisins, almond butter, chia and honey.
“They’re very hearty, they’ll fill you up,” she says of the smoothies, adding that many could serve as meal replacements. “You’ll be energetic and quenched.”
Customers can create their own smoothies by combining the usual suspects such as strawberries, bananas and peanut butter, or by branching out with ingredients like coconut water, charcoal powder and matcha. Remennikova loves developing unexpected flavor profiles, like in the Roza, a smoothie with almond milk, raspberries, basil and rose water. On the juice side of the menu you’ll find options like the Berry Blu, with apple, coconut water, blueberries, blackberries and mint, and the Golden Temple with beets, carrots, ginger and apple.
For Remennikova, the business is about promoting self-love through tasty and healthy choices. Competing in an Ironman race gave her the courage and confidence to abandon her job security for a career path she believed would make her happier, an idea that had been bouncing around in her head since 2012 when she began to notice the boom in food trucks. Her vision of slinging smoothies came back in full force two years ago when her father died after a triathlon, and in January of this year she bought her robin’s-egg colored truck.
“If a person wants to change careers, fear is the only thing that stops you,” she says, adding that competing in an Ironman gave her the confidence to abandon her job security for something she believed would make her happier.
Now stocked with three and soon to be five blenders, two juicers and pounds upon pounds of produce, the truck has officially been on the streets since the end of March. Remennikova kicked off the season at a gymnastics carnival in Goochland County and a wellness studio’s open house in the city, and she says it’s taken off more quickly than she could have imagined. She’ll park her truck at City Stadium for 10 Richmond Kickers games this season, and starting Saturday, May 8, she’ll be at the farmers market at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church once a month.
“I had such a good feeling about this business because this city is so green and it wants to be healthy,” she says.
For information, follow Pulp Fiction RVA on social media and check out pulpfictionrva.com.
