As we walked into the cave we were welcomed with a delicious smell of fruit. The Nutrition Cave at 1406 W 15th St. in Liberal fits its description. It was very cozy. The decor was beautifully placed and gave the dining a very country feel.

The owner of the Nutrition Cave, Gabby Merrill, was inspired to create a Nutritional Cave because of her past lifestyle. Merril used to be 300 pounds. She was tired of being fat and was ready for a change. When she attempted to go after a healthier lifestyle she created nutritional shakes at home. 

When she decided to move to Liberal to be close to her family, she thought it was a great idea to share her shakes with others. 

“I mean this stuff is yummy, who doesn’t want a healthy Reese’s peanut butter cup?” 

At the Nutrition Cave, Merrill offers her customers a variety of delicious drinks. The cave offers both teas and shakes. The shakes serve as a meal replacement since they vary from 220 to 310 calories. Merrill offers over 70 different flavors of shakes, all include protein. The teas also have a variety of 15 flavors. Caffeine is included in every tea to provide customers with an extra boost for the day. 

Merrill said that they come up with drinks on the fly and sometimes her customers are a big help in the naming process.

“One of my daily customers would come in and order a specific tea every morning that wasn’t yet on the menu and he would always call it his ‘rise and grind.’ One day I told him you know what, let’s just make this a tea and name it the Rise and Grind. Now it’s one of our most popular teas,” Merrill said.

Out of all of the drinks that Crusader tried, Rise and Grind was actually the favorite across the board. At first look, this tea was eye-catching with its vibrant green and red color and smelled so good, but the taste is what had us in love at first sip. With its combination of strawberry, watermelon and a hint of lime, it was understandable how this was a fan favorite. 

The Bahama Mama was the second tea that Crusader tried and this one came in a close second to Rise and Grind. With the flavors of pineapple, strawberry and coconut, it was agreed that this tea had a very tropical taste. It was extremely refreshing and would pair perfectly with a hot summer day. 

Aside from just teas, the Nutrition Cave also offers a variety of shakes. Crusader News tried three of the most popular shakes.

The newest shake to the menu is the Reese’s Cheesecake Shake and was Crusader’s first taste of what the Nutrition Cave had to offer. We, the Crusader crew, can say that everything we tried looked very tasty and was presented very well. This shake could be described as peanut-buttery and very fulfilling. The Crusader crew all agreed that the peanut butter may have been a little overwhelming and we didn’t taste much of the cheesecake aspect, but it was still pretty tasty.  

The Deep Fried Oreo Shake looked the prettiest but did not match up to its name. It was noted that the overall taste of this shake was of the vanilla protein and not so much Oreo. This shake was a lot smoother and not as thick as the Reese’s Cheesecake Shake but it was just as fulfilling.

The very last shake that the Crusader crew tried was the Caramel Macchiato shake. It could be described as that “morning” smell. This is definitely the shake for coffee lovers with its classic caramel macchiato flavor and icy blended texture. 

The Crusader staff recommends the Nutritional Cave to its readers. We definitely enjoyed the teas more than the shakes. The workers were all very friendly and it was a nice environment. 

Reviews From The Crusader Crew:

Raven: 

First thoughts of the look of the dining area are very inviting and cozy. It’s nicely decorated and the workers are very friendly and helpful. 

-Reese’s Cheesecake: Looks very nice and yummy and smells like peanut butter. The shake is very thick and peanut buttery but tasted really good. It is a protein shake so it’s very fulfilling.

-Bahama Mama: Tastes like Sunny D and very tropical. Very refreshing and summery 

-Deep Fried Oreo: I didn’t really taste the oreo and I feel like I tasted more of the protein powder and vanilla more than anything. This one wasn’t as thick as the Reese’s but it’s still filling.

-Rise and Grind: Very citrusy. Tastes like lemonade to me but I can also taste watermelon and pineapple. This one was also very refreshing and summery. 

Caramel Macchiato: Smells like morning time 🙂 This one definitely has a coffee taste but includes the protein shake texture. I really enjoyed the taste overall. 

Krisi:

The drinks are really pretty. I really liked the dining area. It’s kind of country but not really. 

Reese’s cheesecake: It’s very peanut buttery. It’s very thick and would be filling.

Bahamas Mama: It’s very tasty and refreshing. Kind of like Sunny D with mango added.

Deep-fried Oreo: It still kind of tastes like peanut butter and it’s kind of not as blended as the other one although we did let it melt a little more.

Rise and Grind: Very, very pretty. It has this really good after taste.

Caramel Macchiato: It’s pretty good. And that’s coming from a non-coffee drinker.

Maria:

Reese’s Cheesecake: I thought it was delicious. For it to be nutritional it seems too good to be true. Initially, it was a great taste of peanut butter. Then, the chocolate hits. I didn’t taste much of the cheesecake.

Bahama Mama: It smelled like something I had once had. It tasted like pineapple and mango. Super good and cold for a hot summer day. Every sip tasted like something different. 

Deep-fried Oreo: It tasted like protein shake. It still has a good flavor but I feel as if the protein messes with the flavor of it. This one was more smooth as it was less chunky to drink.

Rise and Grind: This tea was better than the previous one. I couldn’t identify the flavor but it tasted SO GOOD. It’s less sweet than the other one. This one hit the flavors just nice, nothing too strong once again like the other one. I love the colors, too. 

Caramel macchiato: I am a lover of coffee but I was a bit let down. All I really taste is the protein. I had high expectations for the shake but it was not as good as it smelled.