Bites Nearby: Shake is a Meal at Oakdale Shop

Think of the shake shop as one of your favorite smoothie or ice cream establishments... only this shop is blending up more than 60 amazing meal-replacement shake flavors that are sure to please any palate.

The shakes are designed to help you burn calories, lose weight, maintain weight or simply be a quick and healthy meal substitute you can drink “on the go.”

“Our calorie-burning meal replacement shakes are delicious and can satisfy even the heartiest of appetites, as well as, curb those cravings that tend to sabotage our diets," Karen Valentine, owner of the Zone Club-1 said.

Valentine first got wind of these shakes in a shop up north while visiting her son. 

“I was overweight at the time and my son had just lost over 25 pounds, so I asked him how he did it,” said Valentine.

The next morning, her son took her to a meal replacement shake shop for breakfast and shared with her that's how he was losing his weight.

“He ordered me an oatmeal cookie shake, and the rest is history,” said Valentine. “After I got back to the Twin Cities, I knew I had to share this with others and so I opened up the Zone Club-1 in August.” 

Since then, Valentine lost more than 50 pounds in eight months and her daughter, Shawnna, lost over 70 pounds since she started drinking the meal-replacement shakes in October 2010. 

“These shakes have been life changing for my son, daughter and me,” Valentine said. “I have way more energy now than I ever have had before, which in turn, means I’m more active now, too.”

Inside the Zone Club-1, there’s a menu order board with categories such as breads and cakes, coffee and pie, candy and cookies, ice cream and more. For instance, some of the flavors under the pie selections are pumpkin, apple, mudslide or coconut cream. Once you choose a flavor, a Zone Club-1 staff member will blend up your flavored meal replacement shake.  

For $7, you get one aloe shot, one calorie burning fruit tea and one zone shake.

“The aloe shot helps fire up your cells to absorb nutrition, each glass of tea burns 100 calories and the zone shake (your flavor choice) is an all-natural, meal replacement shake that is packed with essential nutrients, carbohydrates and vitamins,” Valentine said.

According to Valentine, each 20-24 ounce shake combined with a glass of tea, becomes a 150 calorie meal replacement shake.  

Zone Club-1 regular Ann Fagerhaug started drinking the shakes about a month ago and is hooked on the French toast shake for breakfast and coconut cream pie for dinner.

“It’s amazing! These shakes taste exactly like what you ordered,” Fagerhaug said.

“After drinking a shake, my appetite doesn’t come back for about six to eight hours,” Fagerhaug said. She’s currently using the shakes as a breakfast and dinner replacement and said she will begin tracking her weight loss soon.

For those of you who are watching your weight, heading into the holidays can be tough, and pies are hard to resist. No need to worry, you can get your pie fix and not feel guilty! Order up a pumpkin pie shake. Made with real pumpkin, pumpkin spice, cinnamon, vanilla and the meal replacement powder, this rich and creamy pumpkin pie shake is all blended up.

A great breakfast choice is the strawberry splash. Consisting of real strawberries, pineapple, meal replacement powder, ice and lemon flavoring, this smoothie-like shake is a refreshing and fruity start to the morning.

Currently, the Zone Club-1 is offering a free body scan by appointment only. The scan is designed to help determine how much protein your body needs to lose weight so they can customize your shakes for you. Customers can also buy product from Zone Club-1 to make their own shakes at home. 

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MEAL REPLACEMENT SHAKE AND PROTEIN SHAKE:

Meal Replacement Shake:

A shake designed to replace one or two meals a day and are meant for those who are trying to lose or maintain weight.

• Contains anywhere from 250 to 400 calories, essential nutrients, vitamins and carbohydrates.
• Try using meal replacement shakes for most troublesome time of day when you tend to overeat or skip a meal.
• For the meals you do eat, make sure they’re wholesome and well-balanced.
• When possible, try to add real fruits or vegetables in to these shakes and change up the flavors so your palate doesn’t burn out.

Protein Shake:

*Contains only protein, little to no carbohydrates, fats or essential nutrients. They are also very low in calories and are not intended to be used as a meal replacement.

Zone Club-1 is located at 7025 10th and Hadley Avenue in Oakdale, in Bergen Plaza between Papa Murphy’s and Wellspring Chiropractic.

For more information call 651-714-3954. Hours are: Monday through Friday 8 a.m to 6 p.m., Saturday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday 9 a.m to 4 p.m.