Anyone here a juicer?

[Matata]

I've been wanting to try juicing for a while and this morning my trainer was waxing poetic about the benefits of juicing, especially for reducing body fat which is what I need to do. I was all set on getting a highly reviewed Breville on sale at Macy's but when I mentioned that I was going to start juicing to my chiropractor (who I desperately needed to see after working out with my trainer LOL), he was rhapsodic about the Vitamix.

I wasn't sure investing $347 in a machine I wasn't sure I was going to keep using was a good idea, but toodled over to Costco and bought one anyway. One the way home I picked up a ton of organic fruits and veggies (and a bag of potato chips and box of milk duds in case the juicing didn't thrill me).

I had no idea I was buying such a versatile machine -- I can make hot soup in it, ice cream, bread dough; grind grains for flour. I'm actually excited about this investment. I've read the manual, watched the CD and will try my first veggie smoothie for dinner today.

Anyone else out there a juicer? How often do you use your juicer, has it made a difference in your health (if you're using it for things other than making margaritas & ice cream )?

 

[kenny]

Me.
I'm a really juicy guy.



Around 20 years ago I bought this solid, heavy, and not cheap, juicer that I still LOOOOOVE!!!
The design is so classic and well-engineered that it is still made today.

http://www.webstaurantstore.com/waring-6001c-heavy-duty-juice-extractor/9296001C.html

It has disposable paper filters that make clean-up a breeze.

My favorite is just plain old carrot juice.
Costco sells 10-lb bags of organic carrots for around $4.50.

Carot juice must be consumed within minutes of being made.
It quickly turns brown, oxidizes and the taste turns yucky.
If you've only tasted it from a can or a bottle you must taste it fresh!!!

I practically force every guest to our house to try it.
Invariably they swear I must have added sugar, but I didn't.
Fresh carrot juice tastes 20x sweeter than a solid carrot.
It's astonishing.

 

[Dee*Jay]

I once lived with a guy who was big on juice. I'll eat/drink pretty much anything you put in front of me and not much of it ever really thrilled me, although I did learn to enjoy the carrot/apple juice. Anything made with dark green veggies (especially kale) is very bitter to me, and I have a citrus allergy, so that cuts out a lot of options.

Kenny, do you have any other favorites? Maybe I just missed the "good stuff" somehow...?

BTW, that guy used to buy so many carrots that one time at the grocery store the check-out clerk asked him if he had a horse!

 

[Indylady]

The Vitamix is great, and you get to keep the fiber in your fruits and veggies. Juicing is awesome, as long as the cleanup is easy. The cleanup with the Vitamix is pretty easy--just rinse/wash with dish soap right after you use it. Juicing with other juicers can be a PITA--some have a number of parts, like the strainer piece, the blade, the part that holds the pulp--and they all require cleaning.

 

[Matata]

First meal complete! I used spinach, kale, carrots, green apple, celery and ginger. Color was a bit brighter green than pea soup; consistency was like a thick milkshake. Taste was pretty darn good. I've still got to experiment a bit more. I learned that it will either have to be hot as soup or very cold in order for me to drink veggie mixes. And while the milkshake thick consistency was ok, I think I prefer a bit less thick.

Tomorrow for breakfast I'm making fruit smoothies with Fage yogurt, bananas, strawberries, pineapple, blueberries & oranges.

And the Vitamix pulverized those veggies in seconds. I'm always delightfully surprised when things work as advertised.

 

[wakingdreams53]

Love juicing!! We have the Vitamix and an Omega juicer. Try freezing grapes and making a grape sorbet in the Vitamix, it's pretty awesome. The Omega can squeeze the juice out of ANYTHING. I made the mistake of putting carrots into the Vitamix... that turned into slush but the Omega is amazing for things like that. We juiced watermelon and the extracted bits were almost completely dry!

 

[Ximena]

Good For You!
We both are big juicers and like to alternate between juicing and smoothies.
We have the Breville 800JEXL elite and the Vitamix on the counter.
Keeping prepared fruit in the freezer takes seconds to prepare a meal.
Kale is one of my favorite greens: Try juicing 3 large leaves of kale, 1 apple, 1" ginger and 1/2 lemon. Pour over ice Yum!!!
To 'repair weekend damage, 'I like to start my week with a detox smoothie in the AM:

1 C coconut water
1 Tb flax seeds
1 C raspberies or any other berry
1 banana
half bunch of spinach
juice of 1/2 lemon

Then Lunch:
2 Celery stalks
1 unwaxed cucumber, whole
2 kale leaves
1 apple
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 C pineapple
1/2 C almond milk
1 C ice

 

[Ninna]

I use the Breville fountain elite. It takes time to get used to some flavors. This is a great juice for anyone who is new to juicing:
6 large carrots, 1 head of romaine lettuce and a knob of ginger.
Great Thread

 

[Gypsy]

We have good friends who have lost a lot of weight juicing.

And my husband wants to start.

We haven't bought one yet though.

 

[luv2sparkle]

We have done both. We just had a Jack Lalanne juicer from Costco, but we gave it to our daughter who loves it. We are planning on buying a Breville. We bought a Vitamix from Costco too, and we love it. I think the Vitamix gives a much different result with all of the fruit or veggies included as opposed to just the juice, but it is great. I don't think we have even started to tap all the things it can do yet.
I did use it to make pancake batter and that was so easy and clean up was a breeze. My DH loves to juice with all kinds of veggies and kale but I sometimes have a hard time getting past the green color, but the taste is great!

 

[CrisM]

Our three year old and I juice greens every morning before work with a Breville. I tried a number of combinations but settled on spinach and orange / citrus as my quickie formula. Vitamin C helps the absorption of iron: http://www.livestrong.com/article/195055-does-vitamin-c-increase-iron-absorption/

I get everything set up and sit him on the counter. I put the ingredients in the chute (no little hands allowed) and he has fun pushing it all down with the piece designed to do it safely. We clink glasses and gulp it all down. He gets the cutest green mustache and I know we've both had a good start to the day.

Highly recommend.

 

[dragonfly411]

I love juicing. I do all different combinations.

 

[Matata]

ChrisM, that's great that your son likes his veggie juice!

This morning I made breakfast smoothies with bananas, strawberries, pineapple, cantaloupe, plain yogurt and some rice milk. It was delicious. DH had 2 glasses.

I watched a couple youtube clips and if you add enough liquid to the veggies, you get the consistency of juice. I'll probably use water because I don't drink enough of it on a daily basis but you can use veggie, chicken, or beef stock to get it as juicey as you want.

Whole new world opening up for me

 

[kenny]

Matata, thanks for starting this thread.
It has encouraged me to try new juice recipes besides just carrot juice.

 

[stepcutnut]

Yes! We love juicing!!! I just had my green juice for lunch-swiss chard, beet greens, mixed greens, cabbage, cucumber, zucchini, green apple, whole lemon, ginger---yum, yum We get 2 CSA veggie shares, so use up whatever is in the box for that week.

For breakfast we had: beets, carrots, zucchini, apple, whole lemon, ginger

We own a Vitamix and a Champion Juicer. The juicer we've had around 12 years and it is going strong and the Vitamix is a newer addition.

Have fun and try lots of combinations! One of my favorites is: Raspberry, Fennel, Pear

 

[yoyosaidfeia]

We have a Jack LaLanne's Power Juicer and a Blendtec blender.

We don't use the juicer anymore.
We loooooove the Blendtec, bought it in Costco (sometimes it's on sale). We make fruit smoothie in the morning, and veggie juice after dinner for heavy meal days.

Fruit Smoothie: Usually blend different kinds of fresh fruits together with a couple cubes of ice and some organic OJ or water.

Veggie Juice: cucumber, celery, and spinach. Occasionally add an apple. Then use a strainer on a mixing bowl. It sounds like a lot of work, but once you get your system going, it's super quick and easy to clean up! (I used to use the juicer for this, but did not like the result.)