In the world of San Francisco catering, trends come and go like the latest app. Some, like açai bowls, stick around because not only does açai look good on Instagram (hot pink!), it is real, nutritious food reimagined as a delicious treat. The team at Ruru Juice are in on it. Ruru Juice, which builds menus around the Brazilian açai berry and other superfoods, provides catering services to health-aware San Franciscans from their roving food truck.
Ruru Juice, the work of partners Mohammad Ali and Francisco Bastida, was founded by Bastida in 2015. Inspired by the juice shops on every corner in Ecuador where Bastida has roots, Ruru Juice is something more than its name. “We morphed from just juice to have more emphasis on healthy ingredients, such as moringa,” says Ali.
Moringa Plays a Part
Ruru Juice developed a reputation for satisfying juice and smoothie drinks but the Moringa Bowl is the company’s flagship product. “We try to find superfoods and create product lines out of them,” said Ali. Ruru’s Moringa Protein blends moringa with spinach and avocado, giving it a creamy, slightly tangy smoothness. The bowl is topped with strawberries, blueberries, and pineapple, adding antioxidants by the power of five to the iron-packed base. “It’s not as sweet as some of the other bowls” said Ali, who notes that customers can add grains and seeds for even more protein. Moringa’s nutritional profile is so complete, it may take supremacy over other foods in the “super” category.
The moringa used in the company’s products is sourced from Bastida’s family farm in Ecuador and shipped directly to the business. It’s processed in a safe way,” says Ali, who wants to bring the Bastida moringa to everyone.
Not in the mood for moringa? Smoothies such as the Hyperbrew coffee (made with Equator cold-brew coffee) and the Brainstimulator (with avocado and spinach) remain popular at breakfast and as an afternoon snack.
No Dairy or White Sugar Here
Ruru Juice takes pride in the ingredients used in all of their menu items. Their menu offers only vegan juices, bowls, salads and entrees as part of its San Francisco catering assortment. Smoothies are never thickened with dairy and no gelatin is every used. Honey, not a vegan sweetener, can be added to any product but no white sugar is used. “Fruit is our main sweetener,” says Ali. Ali also notes that almost the entire menu is gluten-free and can be made paleo. “We want to reach companies that are interested in healthy options,” he said.
New Entrees
While the açai bowls remain the company’s top sellers, Ruru Juice is busily expanding its offerings to be a more complete kitchen-driven, San Francisco catering business. Greens-based salads, such as the Inca Salad with quinoa, avocado, beets, olives, tomatoes, and a citrus dressing, and Pacha Salad, with spinach, sweet potatoes, and beans dressed in a coconut-lime sauce riff on the Latin American flavors of Bastida’s heritage. Heartier entrees will soon be added and will look deeper into the Egyptian vegan dishes that are inspired by the foods of Ali’s heritage. Keep an eye out for the Kashiri, a traditionally Egyptian dish modified for the modern American palate to include quinoa, lentils, chickpeas, garlic, fried onions, and hot sauce. “We are adding avocado to the dish,” said Ali, perhaps in a nod to California’s avocado-everything sensibilities.
Because You Need to Learn More about Açai
Superfoods such as açai are at the heart of Ruru Juice’s menu and an important development in San Francisco catering as more consumers look for healthful meal options. Açai was virtually unknown in the United States ten years ago. (Moringa is an even more recent newcomer.) Brought to the region in frozen form for ease of shipping, açai first found favor in the US among Hawaiian surfers who loved it for its hydrating power. Açai is the berry of a palm tree mostly native to Brazil. As for that “hook” under the “c,” that means you should pronounce the “c” more like an “s.” No matter how you pronounce it, açai bowls and meals packed with superfoods are popular and delicious, ensuring their staying power on San Francisco catering menus.
Brush up on what foods are paleo by reading our guide. Or if you need to work around dietary restrictions for your next catered event, take a gander at our checklist.