Let's talk about juicing!

[PoetryLover]

I've recently gotten a juicer! It seems a little expensive to juice, but so far I love it! Please share recipes and information, especially about the health benefits you've noticed since starting to juice. Also, how did you succeed at working juicing into your budget? Many, many thanks!

[bandgeek]

I buy things in bulk, which brings the cost down.  This time of year I can get 5 lbs of organic carrots for $5.  I buy apples by the bag too.  I also like to juice celery and even though it is more expensive than carrots, it produces more juice.  I easily go through 5 lbs of carrots, 3 lbs of apples, and 2 lbs of celery a week, which runs me about $15, but overall, the rest of my diet is pretty inexpensive, so I don't mind.

I also pick through the produce drawer and juice anything that looks like it isn't going to get eaten before it goes bad.  My son is out of town with his dad for the week and the grapes I bought him were getting a little iffy, so I juiced those.

Also, things like watermelon produce a TON of juice with just a little of the fruit, so use stuff like that to sweeten the veggie juice.

I haven't specifically noticed any health benefits, but I wasn't really looking for any.  I guess I find it easier to lose weight/maintain a healthy weight, but I also drink green smoothies, and stick to a specific diet.  I have a lot of intestinal/bowel issues, so I'm not in the best shape health-wise.  I'm just trying to get in all the nutrients I can without irritating my colon further.

[meemee]

i would say be adventurous

i dont juice anymore but i used to for about a year. 

my juices tasted pretty horrible but i wasnt juicing for taste.

my philosophy with juicing was juicing stuff i didnt like to eat. so i barely put any fruit in my juice.

for bfast this is what i made - carrot, cucumber, celery kale, chard, garlic, ginger, parsley. then i ate a fruit.

i had that at what 8 am. and i didnt feel hungry or want to snack till 1 or 2 in the afternoon. 

however i will say one of my very favourite juices that i LOVE for taste is carrot and ginger or carrot/orange/ginger. on a hot summers day that ginger is just heavenly.

however i stopped juicing because i could not STAND the amount of food i was throwing away. initially i was good with using the leftovers to cook, but i could not sustain it.

so instead i got a vitamix. that is worth every penny in gold and there are no left overs. 

when dd doesnt want to eat her salad she vitamixes it and proudly tells all she drinks her salad. 

i cant tell you about specific health benefits - except that i felt so good doing it. if instead of a smoothie i gorged on a packet of kettle potato chips - oooh i can tell the difference. that oil and stuff bloats me up.

when i drink my greens even around food i am not tempted to eat. but if i ate regular food then when i am around food even if i am not hungry i still want to try it. 

[jimblejamble]

You can pat the pulp into a ball and keep re-juicing it to get as much juice out as possible.

I love this combo - pineapple, strawberries, and carrot.

I made one recently with beet, red cabbage, carrots, apple, and a lemon. It was a little cabbagey but still drinkable so next time I'd just reduce it... or add another apple.

[es1967]

I've been juicing for as long as I can remember.  Over 20 years.  Believe it or not I've ben using a juiceman juicer.   Works for me.  My mom has a champion and I much prefer the ease of my juicer.  Anyways, I have a book by Norman Walker that always inspries me to juice.  I use carrot as a base for most vegetable juices.  I also like green juices. Cucumber is really cool and refreshing and makes alot of juice.  You can mix it w carrot or celery,greens, etc etc. Like the PP I go thru my refrigerator and use up anything that neeeds to go.  I even use the outside leaves of romaine lettuce and add it to some carrot juice or to a green juice.  When you do a green juice it is nice to add some lemon or lime.  I made one last week and I actually had my green juice over ice w some lemon or lime.  It was really good. I love juicing watermelon and recently added a few strawberries-yum.  Just a few strawberries don't add alot of juice but add alot of flavor.  I love carrot, apple and beet.  Watch the beet b/c it can make you feel sick if you do too much. 

Orange pineapple is a favorite!!  You peel the oranges and can use the entire pineapple rind if organic. 

If I need inspiration I go to utube and watch the juiceman videos and the Mahola videos.  She has some nice combos.   Good luck!  I juice atleast 3 -4 days a week amd do green smoothies when I feel like something more sweet.

Here is a link to one of the videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbtJ0mNPrlM&feature=relmfu

[Ragana]

After a round of Eat to Live a few years ago when I contemplated buying a juicer, I bought a high-powered blender instead and have made green smoothies in that on and off. Drinking one really does give me a "sparkly" feeling, and I can also vouch for the cravings for bad stuff going away if you keep up with it.

Our blender really can only handle regular or baby spinach, though (comes out more shredded than juiced). Plus, all the pulp is left in, which is good for you and good for thickening smoothies, but we want to try more straight juice, especially from greens and vegetables. I just watched Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead and was really inspired by it! I am hoping that juicing might help two of my family with their (non-food) allergies.

[mamadaisiey]

I started juicing initially because I REFUSE to drink bottled juices from the store, and i refuse to let me little one drink them, too. I can't stand how almost all juices are made from an apple/grape juice base, especially after all the arsenic talk on the news. And pesticides, fungicides, etc. So that's WHY we started...

I buy all fruits and veggies from a wholesale club. 8 lbs of oranges, 5 lbs of apples, 5 lbs of carrots, a large head of celery, a pineapple, a few beets, 3-5lbs of lemons, a few large cucumbers, a bag of kale and a bag of spinach is what i usually buy for the week. And we go through EVERY bit of it. I start most of my juices of with a base of celery and cucumber... they produce a decent amount of liquid without TOO much flavor, and then i add from there. Carrots are a given and so nutritious, they should be added to pretty much every juice. And i usually add atleast 1 apple because they yield a good amount, and if i'm needing to sweeten, a few chunks of pineapple always do the trick. 

I don't find juicing to be very expensive, and my 16 month old will drink ANYTHING i put in the juicer. That way i can always make sure he's getting fruits and veggies even when he's being picky! 

[es1967]

I agree with the issue of store bought juices.  Another problem is that they have all been pasteurized.  Thats why I refuse to buy store bought OJ vs squeezing fresh.  Its so easy to do that.   

[meemee]

i am curious. does all your juices taste good?

do they have to taste good?

i do smoothies and they taste horrible - but i know i am not drinking for taste. 

i never smoothie any of the stuff i like to eat like fruits and cucumbers. so i smoothie a bunch of stuff like kale, parseley.

i have had good tasting ones - and really the no snacking does not go away for me so much.

but if i drink the really yucky ones - well they are not that yucky - man i dont eat for a few hours. 

[ian'smommaya]

i juice.  my parents co owned a veg restaurant when i was a kid and they juiced there, so that is how i started. prolly had my first juice at 1 year, maybe before that.i juice the items that i love to eat. but there hardly isn't a veggies that i don't love prepared in some way. some fruits or veggies i don't eat because i am allergic to them but otherwise it's all good to me.

a pp mentioned carrot/orange with or without ginger and i think that's one of my favorites. i also do smoothies but my blender recently bit the dust so i haven't been able to make any smoothies (god that makes me sad.) i don't have a vitamix or a blend tec just a regular blender that lasted for years.

meemee can you find recipes that include a small amount of the things you want to eat but don't like that taste of? like a small amount of kale? or find a different way to comsume the veggies that you don't like? have you tried kale chips? omg, soooooo good! that is what i would do.

[Ragana]

Originally Posted by ian'smommaya 

a pp mentioned carrot/orange with or without ginger and i think that's one of my favorites.

That combo w/ or w/out apple is why I want to get a juicer!

[Ragana]

Originally Posted by meemee 

i am curious. does all your juices taste good?

do they have to taste good?

i do smoothies and they taste horrible - but i know i am not drinking for taste. 

i never smoothie any of the stuff i like to eat like fruits and cucumbers. so i smoothie a bunch of stuff like kale, parseley.

i have had good tasting ones - and really the no snacking does not go away for me so much.

but if i drink the really yucky ones - well they are not that yucky - man i dont eat for a few hours. 

I have found that berries - blueberries, but especially strawberries and raspberries - complement the greens well and make the smoothie taste good. I don't know if you put any dairy or soy milk in yours, but i avoid it because it takes away that fruity flavor and makes it taste too bland or off in some way. HTH!

[es1967]

Not all of my juices taste great but  I try to do the ones I like.  I love carrot w almost anything.  Same with cucumber.  Love spinach mixed in w carrot.  Romaine is good juiced too.  I really enjoy all green- kale,ccumber,celery and then add lime to it.  Serve over ice.  This makes the green drink taste great!  Wish I had one right now but I am out of everything!!  Its refreshing for a hot day.  Sometimes when I add beet greens they do not taste the best.  Smoothies I'l add a frozen banana and some pineapple.  My most favorite is the kalecious smoothie they make at WF w fresh pressed apples.  Yum.

[begoniamama]

foolproof way to make a healthy green smoothie taste good: Pineapple! Doesn't have to be much, but it adds just enough sweetness to balance out a bitter kale or chard.

make a healthy green juice taste good? Apple or Carrots! basically the idea is to throw in as much green as possible to make it good for you, but a pinch of sweet to make it yummy. I LOVE making kale and banana smoothies, little bit of pineapple, coconut water or milk, and things like spirulina or chlorophyl for an extra green boost. 

my favorite juice is kale, carrot, cucumber, celery, lemon, ginger, apple. i go heavy on the greens and use carrot and apple as a supplement. 

[abiyhayil]

subbing! I jrecently got a l'petit from  craigslist.  Could I juice greens with this?  I've heard making baked chips with the pulp, has anyone tried it?

[meemee]

Originally Posted by ian'smommaya 

meemee can you find recipes that include a small amount of the things you want to eat but don't like that taste of? like a small amount of kale? or find a different way to comsume the veggies that you don't like? have you tried kale chips? omg, soooooo good! that is what i would do.

i smoothie coz i want to take in some raw stuff. many days there just isnt time to sit and eat a salad. 

since i am not into the taste of the smoothie - (for me its a vitamin pill) i DO do stuff that i would like to eat raw (though i love it cooked). 

yes yes yes. kale chips. nutritional yeast and cashews. yes omg DELISH!!!

abiyhayil - dunno about the L'petit - nor have i made chips with the pulp. but i have used the pulp in sauces and garden burgers. but the amount of pulp i generated i could never use up on a regular basis. 

[es1967]

Regarding the smoothies -they are so easy to make taste good.  I agree w the PP -pineapple adds sweetness. I generally put a few frozen pineapple chunks and one frozen bananna into my smoothies.  The one from Wf I love is- kale, frozen bananna, pineapple,lime and fresh pressed apple.  Its soooooo delicous.  Takes some time to juice the fresh apple first but its worth it for a great tasting smoothie.  My five year old even loves it. 

[ian'smommaya]

Originally Posted by meemee 

i smoothie coz i want to take in some raw stuff. many days there just isnt time to sit and eat a salad. 

since i am not into the taste of the smoothie - (for me its a vitamin pill) i DO do stuff that i would like to eat raw (though i love it cooked). 

yes yes yes. kale chips. nutritional yeast and cashews. yes omg DELISH!!!

abiyhayil - dunno about the L'petit - nor have i made chips with the pulp. but i have used the pulp in sauces and garden burgers. but the amount of pulp i generated i could never use up on a regular basis. 

have you looked at brigette mars? her recipes on youtube are fantastic.