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Juicer recommendations

Catkin
0 Recommendations

Having read on this site that juicing kale, brocolli etc is a good way of getting your green calcium requirements I'd love to hear your recommendations for a juicing machine.

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27 replies

lilrayosun

How much have you got to spend, Catkin?

Catkin

I'll spend as much as I need to (without going completely OTT) to get a good quality (& easy cleaning please !) juicer. This is something that I'm going to use for a long time :)
I'm in Oz just now and the stores here don't have a great selection so I'm probably going to have to buy via internet.

verginia

Hi Catkin

Juicing is an excellent way to consume a greater quantity of fruit and vegetables. The juicers purchased in Department Stores are called centrifugal juicers. This means they are high powered.

For instance, with the popular Breville Fountain Juicer you can juice whole fruit very quickly. This high speed is bad as it kills the enzymes.

The masticating juicer is the way to go if you wish to get the most nutrients out of your fruit and vegetables.

One that’s highly recommended is the ‘Champion’ but it’s $600. The one I purchased is called ‘Compact’ and it cost $254.

The downside with masticating juicers is that if you like to juice hard fruits and vegetables they are very slow and tedious. This is a problem for me as I mostly juice carrots. I have to cut the carrots into small pieces and they take ages to juice. So far I haven’t tried juicing anything else.

Some sites to check:
http://www.healthyshop.com.au/p/560253/compact-juicer-and-multi-purpose-pro cessor-.html

http://www.best-juicers-reviews.com/masticating-juicer.html

Good luck

lilrayosun

I've got the Hurom Slow Juicer. It's extremely easy to clean and also is very quiet. It has a comparatively small footprint on the countertop. Runs around $329.00. I ordered from amazon, but here's their website.

http://www.slowjuicer.com/

Does a great job with greens and hard veggies/fruit. It's a single auger, so the stuff you're juicing doesn't get "hot" during the process, which I guess destroys some of the nutrients.

April995

I saw Montel Williams selling a type of prosesser, that you can drink everything..There is no pulp to throw away! I like that idea.

I do have an older inexpensive juicer.
I do get allot of juice from it, but I think its terrible to have to throw away all that good pulp. Some people save it and use it to put into baking breads etc.


Catkin, there are some good juicing books.
I like carrots, celery, Apples, romain , kale, parsley , a little lemon, etc..I throw everything in..but Apples , carrots & celery always add a good flavor to any drink I think.
Kale is bitter, so by adding sweeter fruit or veggies, you do not taste the bitterness.

Try to find a juicer with a large shoot/hole, so you do not have to cut up veggies or fruit in small pieces.

If you notice your turning a bit orange, your drinking too many carrots..

If you go into www.amazon.com...read the reviews on the juicers..

April

Mayaluga

I had an Omega juicer, but quickly lost interest in using that. First, you end up throwing away so much of the food, and I saw that as a complete waste. You can add some of the pulp back into the juice, if you want, but I didn't care for it.

More importantly, it was a pain in the neck to clean, and since you're "supposed" to juice fresh each time you want to drink it, I had visions of spending most of my days either making juice or cleaning the juicer!

I bought a Blendtec Blender (www.blendtec.com, though you can find good deals if you look). It requires not much more in prepping food than washing it. I do find that cutting round fruits into four or five pieces works better. For some reason, round fruit just seems to get tossed around in the middle. I have even experimented by tossing in whole cherries, pits and all, and those were pretty well ground up, as well.

Every day now, we have one or two fruit/veggie smoothies, and I love this machine! We throw in whatever fruit we have on hand, add some celery and a green leafy veggie, a little bit of fruit juice or water and some ice cubes.

I have learned that the more ice you add, the thicker the smoothie, up to sorbet level. But more ice causes "cavitation," which means you have to use a spoon or something to push stuff down into the blades.

Cleanup is a snap - put in a cup or two of water (do not fill!), add a drop of dish soap (no more!) and run one of the blender cycles. Rinse, and you're done. You can throw it in the dishwasher if you want.

I got the blender and an extra jar for $400. It's worth every penny.

Mayaluga

Oh, I forgot to add, be sure to view the videos at the BlendTec website. You can grind grains, make hot soup, and cold ice cream, make peanut butter, all kinds of things, all in the same unit.

For dramatic effect, the company also produces a series of "don't try this at home" videos where they throw golf clubs, cell phones, CDs, whatever, into the blender to prove its abilities....

lilrayosun

My first juicer was an Omega. It was not up to snuff, as my dad always says... Whatever that means.

boomerbodycoach

My Vote goes to the Blendtec Blender, as well. I've been looking at juicers, talking to people, was about to buy something then thought, I would be throwing AWAY all that great pulp and fiber and nutrients! what a waste!
So I just got mine yesterday and bought some Kale to try, today. I did make a Kale, Pineapple and banana smoothie in my old blender. the texture was awful because the blender was not up to the task, but the flavor was GREAT, so I am excited to be adding all these veggies that I can ad RAW to my diet, in a form that suits my lifestyle. So fast! I vascilated between the Vitamix and Blendtec. BOTH very good machines and you can't go wrong with either one. But, the VM is taller and doesn't fit under most Kitchen cabinets and i don't want it in the way. AND, it has push buttons and pre-sets that you can set (like your car radio sorta) for the speeds you use the most...eg...smoothie, soup, icecream. EASY to clean! just a squirt of dishsoap (few drops) some hot water and push the Pulse button a few times. Viola. It LOOKS NICE on your counter top too. Oh, and the way the blades work, it pulls the food into the blades, so very little pushing down. the VM comes with a tamper because they KNOW you will need it with their machine. So, that's my take. I actually had a Vitamix before but do love this Blendtec. While Juicers are fine, why not go for the whole vegetable? (or fruit). The lady at customer Service (very nice people) said they have even thrown whole Avacado pits in there with the avacado. Hmm. must be some nutrients in there I had not thought of! I feel healthier, already! I bought mine from a really great website with a ton of health info http://bit.ly/LE-BT. (this goes right to the Blender page) Very knowledgeable, helpful folks. If you are like me, I spent hours looking at the other health things on the site! have fun!

bettyrenshaw

Give me the fewer parts and easy to clean machine. i have had the vitamix, mr juicer, etc expensive and much too much different uses.

I wont bother to change parts. and especially if it is much cleaning i wont use it. maurys looks tempting with all the adv that goes with it.

Llast week i returned THE machine that had so many parts to do every thing in juice or shreddng=you have seen it for a year on tv--all the parts are large and heavy.- should be only commercial sold==or for automatic monster sized kitchen.

My choice is the bullet. it is small base and can be left on the counter to be used daily for one person mixing individual size drinks; or with the pitcher for larger.

You add ice or some liquid to cause the blender to toss the foods enough to keep it operating to make juice. that is easy with ice or concentrated, or additional juices added to the apple, carrot, celery cabbage, green==what ever is a main intended veg or fruit.

the first i bought off internet for 100,00 , then our local wmart had the smaller set much cheaper and it did not include the pitcher. i HAVE tell my friends about that.

I LIKE it so much that i give it as wedding and Christmas gifts.

hey i LIKE light weight cordless sweepers this well too.

please tell me if this sounds good to you? okay?

i love passing on --my favorites==I buy and give to friends to introduce it to them- the cordless sweeper==often.

bettyrenshaw

Let me add. corrrect

The large awful machine that is adv so big time on t.v.-- i think is also called bullet==IT is toooo much..

I have the orginial Bullit=it is small,,not supposed to slice etc,-- do all that big one does= IT DOES JUICE BLEND FINE. it has two cutting blade bases.

I wont do the changing of parts and also have so many parts, heavy, too, to find storage space- the original small base Bullit is my choice.

also I said Maury when i meant Montel. his looks good, is not too awful expensive and is tempting. but I am too easily tempted . i like my small bullit.

bettyrenshaw

Amazon.com: Magic Bullet 7921 Platinum Pro 20-Piece Set, Stainless ...

this shows a picture with an individual size container,not the pitcher. the individual is most often used for single drink and pureeing.

MAGIC HIGH SPEED BLENDER BULLET... HERE IS MY CHOICE.

verginia

lilrayosun

I just checked the website for the Hurom Slow Juicer. I like the look of it. The blender I have is called 'Compact' and the chute where you insert the fruit or veggies is approx 14cm (5 1/2 inches) in circumference which I think is too small.

Can you tell me what the circumference is on the Hurom?

I noticed with the demonstration that long slices of carrot were being juiced without problems. When I do it this way once the carrot has juiced down to about 1 inch in length it flips sideways and jams so I always have to cut it into tiny pieces.

I hope this made sense, Lil

verginia

I forgot to add, lilrayosun, I love your photo. Such a happy smiling face. Even if I happen to be feeling a bit miserable I find myself smiling when I look at your photo.

lilrayosun

Verginia:

Aw, you're sweet! It really does juice carrots very easily. Dimensions are 9.8 inches long, 6.8 inches wide, 15.8 inches tall.

Thanks again for the compliment.
Raye

DeskJockey101

One thing I have not bought yet is a juicer, I was going to so that I could juice veggies and fruit as everyone else is doing and my dietician said it would be a waist of time and i would have to use large quantities of fruits and veggies. She suggested to just eat raw fruits raw as you get the most out of it. I am now glad I did not buy a juicer because it would prolly just sit next to the blender I bought to make smoothees, which I barely make. The bullet sounds interesting enough to maybe invest in though as I do like smoothes... just my 2 cents worth, lindie, aka deskjockey101

boomerbodycoach

Ok...I HAVE the Majic Bullet, (and the Ninja) but, let me tell you, the difference between what you get from the Bullet and the Blendtec or Vitamix, are like night and day. If you want to do things like Green/veggie smooties, (better than Juicing since there is no waste, and you get full benefit from your foods). The bullet produces a very chewey smoothie since you can't run it for long enough to really handle the veggies. I was just doing Kale, pineapple, and banana, and started with the food processor, then the bullet and it was STILL chewey! With a really good machine like the BT or VM, you get a perfect smoothie in about 23 seconds...one step, throw the stuff in, water, veggie, fruit, ice, press the button and 23 sec later...perfect smoothie. Yeah, I know, expensive. But for something I use several times a day, it is a really good investment. I looked at the machine Montel is selling, and all the reviews. For the price...not good. I spent about a week JUST researching blenders. I don't plan to be buying another one, soon.
Now...having said that, if you just want to do protein smoothies with green powders...the Bullet is PERFECT! I've been using them for years! (I burn them up cuz I like lots of ice. Another reason I got the Blendtec....by the time I burn up the smaller machines, better to go with the machine designed for the purpose. Save it for Travel tho! would never be without my Bullet! and you are right...GREAT GIFT! and perfect for someone with gentler needs than mine. :) They just have different plusses! (Just my humble opinion).

Oh! EASY to clean! a few drops of dish soap, a cup of two of hot water, run through a blend cycle and viola, clean. I can't be bothered with lots of things to clean, for very long.
mb

lilrayosun

I was going to ask what you used to thin it out. Seems like if you threw everything in the blender, it just be a thick, gloppy thing. But water, huh? Okay. I can try that.

boomerbodycoach

yes! water works great, and the ice to thicken, banana adds creaminess...YUM! <G>
need to try carots and lightly cooked broccoli (one recipe said to do that). I am not good at combining things and knowing if it will taste good so I should start with recipes that are tried and true. (then vary them!)
mb

Mayaluga

We have both the Magic Bullet and the BlendTec Blender. Without a doubt, smoothies with the stuff we "should" be adding is much better done in the BlendTec. I think the Bullet works fine for soft stuff, but things like celery, lettuce, spinach, and raw carrots? Not so much. I love the smoothies from the BlendTec, and also reserve the Bullet for individual protein shakes, scrambling eggs, and smaller jobs. Recently, I used it to grind up a seasoning mix that I have in a pepper mill, when the pepper mill stopped milling properly.

Both the BlendTec and the Bullet are very easy to clean. There are basically no parts to change out, as there are in that bigger Bullet thingy. I love the cleanup for the BlendTec. I looked at the VitaMix, but it's too tall to fit under the kitchen cabinets, and cost more for the same functionality. Plus, the BT unit's control panel is much easier to clean.

As for recipes, we're finding that you can put almost anything in and something tasty comes out. I prefer the smoothie to be more of the sorbet consistency, so I use a lot of ice. My husband prefers his more liquid, so he'll add more fluid.

Our smoothies ALWAYS include a banana, at least two stalks of celery, a bit of a leafy green like spinach or romaine, a whole fruit like an apple, peach, nectarine or pear. I don't grind up the pits, but do leave on the peach skin, and apples and pears I just cut in half (I find whole round stuff often gets tossed around inside like the blades are bats hitting a ball), but I don't core them or remove seeds. I throw in whole strawberries, greens and all. Add a little water or fruit juice to get the process started, and I'm happy!

Still learning to make soups and stuff with more veggies, and haven't yet tried to make nut butters or grind grains with this thing, but have full faith that it will work fine.

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