Today we’re so excited to feature Lisa Mastela on The Mag. Lisa is a registered dietitian, founder of organic smoothie company Bumpin Blends and a mother of two. We first connected with Lisa last year at a social media workshop and we’ve loved following her booming business ever since. Learn more about Lisa and her company, what inspired her to start Bumpin Blends, her best advice for busy parents, some of her favorite small brands and much more!

Introduce yourself and your company.

I'm Lisa Mastela, and my company is Bumpin Blends! I'm a mom of two and a registered dietitian. I started Bumpin Blends on my maternity leave after having my daughter Caroline. Bumpin Blends creates and delivered pre-blended frozen smoothie cubes, each designed to support a particular symptom or need, like low energy, dull skin, digestion issues, bloating, anxiety, and countless others. All you have to do is pour the cubes into your blender, add liquid, and blend!

What inspired you/the founders to start this company?

I always drank smoothies as a means to pack in extra veggies and other nutrients into my day, but when I was pregnant I started to sort of "hack" my smoothies with specific ingredients to really have an effect on what I was experiencing. For instance, if I was nauseas I'd pack ginger and other anti-emetics and hydrating foods into my morning smoothie, if I was cranky I'd pack hormone-balancing foods into my smoothie, and so on. By the end of my pregnancy, my smoothies were the talk of my friends and family, and they were really effective and delicious! I knew I had to share them with the world.

What are three pieces of advice you’d like to share with busy parents on the go?

First: Make. Life. Easier. Give in to things that make life easier. You don't have to do everything at 100%, and choosing to outsource certain things or give in to others in order to make YOUR life a bit easier will make you a better, happier, more present parent. Hate laundry? Save up to use a service or make your spouse do it. Hate dishes? Buy compostable paper plates. Hate cooking? Get frozen meals. Always accept help and always delegate tasks you don't need on your plate. You don't need to be the perfect Pinterest mom, you just need to be the happy mom. Second: Find a mom crew to bitch with. Peanut is a great app for this, or you can leverage your already existing mom friends. But you really need 1-3 mom-friends who GET IT and who you're comfortable oversharing with. Lean on mom-friends, complain to each other, share the joys with each other, and get it all off your chest and into the group chat. Third: be present. Being a "busy" parent is no fun, and honestly, being "busy" is just so 2019, can we all be done being "busy" already?? When you're with your kids, be WITH your kids (phone away!), when you're working, be WORKING. Trying to do both will lead to doing neither well. If you need to make concessions, make them (like taking A YEAR to reply to emails that don't have a make or break impact on your company or children's lives - sorry ladies!!) The pandemic really forced working parents to "do it all" and one big takeaway of mine was to actually STOP doing it all and do just what was needed to be done.

What is one thing/aspect that makes your company so memorable?

We're a little family! Seriously, we do a little happy dance with every order, and every customer should feel very special. We're a small business, a small team, and we have a ton of heart, so truly every customer means the world to us. You can text us, email us, DM us, any time, and you'll get a real person who is real excited to respond to ya! :)

Name some other small businesses in LA that you love.

Milowe!, Juna Moms is a fantastic workout app for moms and expecting moms and I just adore the founder, Sarah (she's one of my lean-on-her mom friends!). Hooray For is another great one started by a dear friend to Bumpin Blends, Amanda Kloots and her sister Anna. They make really cute tees!