Today began extra early since I worked the early shift at the gym. I’m not sure I will ever adjust to waking up at 4:20 a.m. At least getting ready for a day of work at the gym is really simple.
Black spandex capris + Gym polo + Gym shoes + Ponytail = Easy peasy!
Lunch
Work today passed quickly and I followed my shift with my own workout before driving home and eating a late lunch.
I reheated a bowl of leftovers from last night’s dinner that included pork, onions, green pepper, broccoli and cauliflower in a sweet chili sauce. (The vegetables were a lot prettier last night!)
Then it was off to the dermatologist!
I was just there for an annual check up (I have a family history of melanoma) and the doctor said everything looked okay! Ryan had an appointment right after me and he checked out alright as well. Hooray for healthy moles!
On my way home from the dermatologist, I swung by Earth Origins and bought some juice made with beets, carrots, kale, ginger and apple.
Ever since my visit to Kure Juice Bar in Portland two weeks ago, I’ve been craving it like mad! I just wish fresh juice wasn’t so darn expensive. It may be time to research juicers. There are a bunch on sale through RueLaLa right now but the one that caught my eye had pretty horrible reviews on Amazon. I know a bunch of you are really into making your own juice, so if you are in love with your juicer, please let me know. I’m looking for recommendations!
Question of the Afternoon
- Have you ever made your own juice?
- Do you own a juicer? If so, what kind do you own and do you love it?
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I’ve been wanting to get one for a while now. So please share any good recommendations or what you decide!
I wish we had a juice bar in my area, I think I’d be there all of the time! I cannot imagine getting up in the 4’s. My alarm is off at 5 am, and 1 minute sooner is against the law in my bedroom!
I have a Breville that I got for a wedding gift a couple weeks ago. I love the thing – I make myself a juice everyday after my workout and actually I made the carrot-apple-kale-beet one yesterday! I’m always so surprised when I throw in all these veggies on top of a single apple and it comes out tasting delicious. I’m so obsessed I’m finally watching the ‘Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead’ documentary on netflix that highlights juicing.
Julie ever since we left Portland I’ve been juicing everything lol. I HIGHLY suggest the vitamix. It juices all my greens in seconds and NO CHUNKS. I put in big chunks of apples and other fruits too and wham done. I use it for nut butters, ice creams, soups, EVERYTHING! So worth the money. It does it all! 🙂
I have a Breville Juice Fountain Plus and I LOVE it. I actually got it on craigslist and it was brand new in the box and never used. It is simple to clean as long as you clean it right away. I juice pretty much every day. There are benefits to both smoothies and juices and I doubt you are going to get rid of your smoothies 🙂 Juices are good for fast absorption of nutrients into your bloodstream since your body does not have to do much work.
Breville Sign up for Bed, Bath & Beyond’s email club for the 20% off coupon. Coupon states not to be used on Breville products. Take to store in Paddock Park (I think that is the plaza name- near the mall in town) and stare longingly at juicer display. Make sure employee walks by and sees you and asks if she can help you. Tell her that you *really* want the juicer but are bummed you cannot use coupon. She will then go and talk to manager who will let you use said coupon. It was a accident but it worked for us in Feb 2013. I was so pleased with her I send a email to the corporate office praising her. 🙂
We bought the Jack Lalane juicer a couple of years ago and it still works great! It’s not crazy expensive {got it from Walmart} but it can be a pain to clean if you’re in rush. Other than that I would definitely recommend it!
We got the Jack Lalane juicer for a wedding gift and I still need to learn to use it! I would love some suggestions of great and simple recipes for juicing! I still have a lot to learn but love the benefits that comes from juicing!
Breville Juice Fountain Plus all the way! Mine is going strong after a year and a few months and I use it ALOT!
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003R28HWQ
I have the Breville and I LOVE IT. It cost only $100 and there are no chunks at all.
It is really easy to clean too.
I have the Jack Lalane one which I got at Costco for <$100. Works great. I used it almost daily and have for off and on for over a year. I agree that it's annoying to clean, but once you're used to the cleaning it goes really quickly. I have been really thinking about upgrading to a VitaMix though. With a true "juicer" there is so much waste! It constantly bugs me. Especially with greens, it seems like so much of it just ends up in the trash. I like that there's no waste with the VitaMix and that you get all the fiber, etc. However, I haven't actually tried any juice made with one, so not sure how different of a "juice" it is.
I have a vitamix, and I love it, but it’s not “juice”. It’s more of a shake or smoothie. I’ve been thinking that if you really wanted just the juice, you could put it in a fine mesh sieve or let it sit in a cheese cloth over a pot or something (probably more work than you’d want tho!). I do love my vitamix and make my own PB and hummus a lot.
I have a Blendtec and I make juice in it all the time! The trick is to add a little extra water so that its not like a smoothie. The Blentec has a whole juice option and does a really great job of making sure the pulp is barely there- and no waste!
This juicer is great
http://www.amazon.com/Breville-BJE510XL-Fountain-Multi-Speed-900-Watt/dp/B000QBFFU8/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1373500134&sr=8-4&keywords=breville+juicer
and I’m always surprised at the amount of juice I get out of it
I have a “Bella” brand juicer which I bought for prettty cheap at Target, and I’m honestly surprised at how awesome it is! Super easy clean up, and it works great.
I also love my breville- a little pricier than some but easy to clean and assemble, which makes me use it more often!
we love our breville elite juicer. cleanup is easy when you do so immediately (and the
payoff is great: sharp blades and efficient juicing.)
noise level? quiet! my husband and I took a step backwards when we turned it on the
first time and just laughed. it is not overtly noisy or unpleasant to use…remember what it’s
doing…grinding away and pulverizing everything you stick down the tube! and check out
BB&Beyond. great price with the 20% coupon; we use our juicer everyday. gorgeous vibrant
juice color. juices taste fantastic!
I have the Breville Juice Fountain and love it! I don’t have anything to compare it to but it works great and it easy to clean.
Get a Jack Lalane (or however you spell it) juicer!! He’s the cutest old man!!!
i juice every day, and LOVE my juicer. I got a breville fountain compact for $99 on amazon, and think its fantastic. I know it received really excellent reviews from most buyers too! 🙂 do it!
Julie, you don’t need a juicer, you need a Vitamix. Yes, it’s pricey, but it does so much. You can make soups, smoothies, juices, ice cream, bread, and the list goes on and on. It’s made in the USA and has an incredible warranty. I have purchased two of these machines from QVC when they were a Today’s Special Value. A juicer separates the juice from the pulp, but the Vitamix will pulverize your fruits or vegetables 100%, giving you a smooth as silk juice! There’s no waste and no lumps! Do yourself a favor and check out QVC and the Vitamix. I’ll let you know if I see it as QVC’s TSV; usually ships FREE too!
The green star juicer is the best in the market. Research it. I spent hours reading about juicers and this is the one I picked. You want to go with a masticating juicer which goes a little slower rather than a quick juicer like most have because you get the most out of the veggies and fruit you juice (my juice pulp is very dry, meaning all the juice was squeezed out!) I also would recommend running your juice through a nut milk bag so that it is nice and smooth. Good luck!
I’ve had the Jack La Lane and liked I. I now us the NutriBullet- not a juicer, but even better- love it!
I’ve never made my own juice, but I’ve always thought cantaloupe juice sounded refreshing and delicious!
It is super good! Especially if you can chill it in the fridge. Yum.
I watched Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead Ladt Friday night and bought a juicer the next day!! Only a few choices at my small town store so I bought the Cuisinart- so far pretty easy to use and clean. Today is day 3 of my 10 day reboot. Gotta say though my first few juices were terrible!! After 3 days almost finally tweaked recipes enough that they don’t taste like dirty grass!
I have the omega vert juicer and I love love love it! Easy to clean and makes the most delicious juice. Whichever juicer you decide on, I would highly recommend getting a masticating one. It makes the juice less “pulpy”.
I also use the Omega Vert and LOVE IT. Also a masticating juicer does not heat up the juice which does result in lose of nutrients. Centrifugal juicers heat up the juice which does cause it lose some nutrients. Additionally, masticating juicers are better with greens and centrifugal juicers are better with citrus. A vitamix (although a blender, not a juicer) will also heat up the juice and cause a lose of nutrients as well as leaving pulp making it more difficult to absorb the nutrients from the juice. Blends from a vitamix or other blender regardless of how pulverized the pulp is will be more filling. My advice is to juice vegetables and eat fruit to limit the amount of sugar you are drinking. So with that in mind you are probably getting plenty of fiber and just need to extra dose of super healthy juice 🙂
oops I meant that heating the juice results in a lose of nutrients and masticating juicers do not heat the juice.
Can you use your vitamix? I have one too but I’ve never tried it with carrots, beets and other stuff for juice… hmmm… if you do, let us know how it works out!
I have a Cuisinart. Not home right now and can’t think of the model # but its a stainless steel version and was around $150. Macy’s had a lot of options and they often have good sales. I was hesitant to go with one of their more expensive machines but so glad I did because it works so great!
I’m with all the people who say Breville! My cousins have one and they swear by it.
While a juicer is great (I’ve used a Cuisinart before), BUT I received a Vitamix as a wedding gift and use that bad boy for EVERYTHING! I make green juice every morning, plus make almond butter, hummus, soups, pesto, breadcrumbs, etc. and save a lot of money as a result. GET A VITAMIX!! Easy to clean, powerful, super versatile!
Jack Lalane, works amazingly and is only around $100 at costco
We use the Omega 8003 and love it! The best thing about this juicer vs. a lot of the ones others have mentioned, is that it uses low rpm, causing way less oxidation and also gets much more juice out of your produce. Definitely worth the money. Good luck on finding the best juicer for you! You will love it. 🙂
Also check out Drew Canole w/ Fitlife.tv if you haven’t. He is a wealth of info on the topic.
I second the Omega Vert. The Hurom is made from the same factory and is very similar ( if not the same). Overall, you want a slow juicer to maximize the nutrients and not oxidize the veggies/fruits.
We have a $40 Black and Decker juicer. I’m glad we didn’t spend more, because this one works great. It was definitely tempting to get one of the super fancy ones.. I love juicing and I need to get back in the daily habit. I wish there was a juice bar nearby!
I have a Cuisinart juicer that I got for $80 at a Williams-Sonoma outlet! Because it was so cheap I picked it up, though many said that masticating juicers were better, but tough to clean. I love my Cuisinart juicer! Its normally priced around 200, which beats the masticating juicer price of 400-600. It makes amazing juice, is fast, quiet, the pulp is mostly dry and one great plus is it is SUPER easy to clean!! Ive juiced carrots, apples, lemons, cherries, melons, cucumbers, you name it!
Breville. LOVE IT! Love my juicer 🙂
4:20am is way to early! I want a juicer, seems like a great way to get veggies in!!
I’m pretty much obsessed with juicing. We have a Breville, which is a pain in the butt to clean, but it makes awesome juice. I actually detox like twice a year with it, and usually make a batch of juice weekly. You can store it in the fridge as long as it’s air tight since it’s not pasteurized – we use mason jars. Once you start juicing, you’ll be hooked!
Hey!
I have an Omega 8600. They’re pricey but worth it. Its the masticating version which juices the veggies slowly getting the most juice out without breaking the enzymes down. Its quick to put together and clean. From start to finish including drinking takes 30min. I juice, swiss chard, cucumber, carrots, celery, ginger, lemon and parsley (ill switch it up and use beets and bok choy). I then take that and blend it with kale and avocado. Kale doesn’t juice well as their is more fiber and adds substance to the drink. I juice first thing in the morning as it gives you a good shot of energy right off the bat. You also want to make your juice and drink it right away because it loses all of the enzymes and nutrients as its exposed to air, plus it tastes better fresh.
Need any other suggestions let me know.
Nicole
No juicer tips, but I’ve picked up your “easy peasy” phrase (mostly for recipes, which seems to usually be where you use it). do you say it or is it just used by Blog Julie?
I have the Hamilton Beach Big Mouth Juice Extractor 67650 which you can find on amazon for about $60. I love this juicer because it has a powerful motor unlike some of the more expensive juicers and it’s very easy to clean. I used it during juice fasts (not recommended) so you know it has gotten it’s fair share of usage. Anyways, good luck on your juicer quest!
Definitely the Omega vert!!! Masticating juicers make the best, most nutritious juice. It is super easy to clean and juices everything (including wheat grass).
I love juicing!! I watched Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead & I was hooked! I use a Breville Juice Fountain Multi Speed. It works beautifully!! It’s a little bulky but totally worth it! Different speeds for different types of produce. And it comes with great recipes!!
http://www.brevilleusa.com/the-juice-fountain-multi-speed.html
I used to make my own juice YEARS ago when I was still living at home, but that was boring stuff like pure orange juice, apple juice, etc. Today, there’s a whole world of things you can put inside juice. I am going to add a juicer to my Christmas wish list, I think! That one you had sounds delicious…love beets!
Julie, it is much healthier to eat whole fruit and veggies than to juice them. It is okay to have juice from time to time but every food contain poison and cure. Fiber is the cure in fruit. Removing fiber you make the juice fast absorbing. You may want to research this before buying a juicer. Blender for smoothies is much better in my opinion because you consume the whole plant 🙂
When we first began juicing one of my biggest concerns & obvious questions was, “wouldn’t it be better to just eat the vegetables & fruits???”
You should still definitely eat whole fruits and veggies too. Nobody should replace that with juices. Juicing is good for adding extra nutrients. That’s what I use it for. I have kale, spinach, apple, cucumber, carrot, and ginger juice every morning and then i eat my normal meals including salads, and other veggie and fruit items.
Yes! Lol…the rest of my comment didn’t show (or I erased it?) !☺My expert other half explained to me how your body absorbs nutrients better, it would be impossible to eat that many vegetables everyday (2 bundles of kale daily will NEVER happen unless it’s in juice:), & what is wasted is mostly fiber which we get from our regular meals & psyllium husk cocktails regularly:) We do a similar one as you that we drink thought out the day with small meals mixed in. And he has made me my FAVORITE which consists of sweet potato (who knew you could juice a sweet potato?!?), apple, & peaches! :):)
I’ve wanted to try the psyllium husk drink!! Do you just mix it with water usually? And I’ve never tried to juicer a sweet potato. I may try that!
Yes!! It gathers everything & cleans you out lol! Literally! We just put a scoop half a regular 20 oz? water bottle & shake it up, then drink quickly:) before bed is the best time (from what I’m told). It could make you feel bloated I guess. I’m no expert. My other half is the professional! I just do what he says:):)
And that sweet potato drink (Creamsicle is the official name:) is like dessert! so refreshing–especially after a run, yoga, or workout:) hope you try & enjoy as much as I do!:)
I just ran across a Groupon for a juicer! Here’s a link to it: http://www.groupon.com/deals/gg-1-vitapress-pressure-juicer
I have an Omega 8005 juicer. Omega juicers are wonderful and all have really incredible reviews. It is easy to go crazy with a juicer and spend too much money when you don’t need to. This particular one is a great basic juicer that many friends had recommended to me. It juices slowly which is important for keeping the integrity of the enzymes in the vegetables and fruits. It does a really great job juicing every type of vegetable I’ve tried including sometimes hard to juice wheat grass and greens. It is super easy to clean and take apart (important for people with limited time) and I have absolutely no complaints over the 2 years I have had it. Good luck with your juicer search! It is a worth while investment.
I actually only have a blender NINJA which works perfectly! I prefer the fiber from the fruits and veggies in my juices/smoothies, which you won’t get in a juicer, but the blender still grinds everything up super good!
I have the Hamilton Beach big mouth Juicer and it works great. It can be a little bit of a pain to clean but I makes some mighty tasty juice. I got mine at Sears on sale for a little under $80 so for what I paid, I think it is great!!
I have the Jack LaLanne juicer from Target, I think it was under $75 so not bad for a major kitchen appliance. We used it a lot in the first few weeks and really enjoyed the flavorful juices, but quickly learned we prefer smoothies over juices (and felt wasteful throwing away all that vegetable/fruit pulp that we could’ve digested) so now it sits in a cabinet. Chances are you know someone who has a juicer sitting around, just ask some friends and someone might let you borrow it for a week to try it out. It’s painful to juice leafy greens like kale that cost a ton of $$ and you literally get drops out of it – the best bang for your buck is a carrot/apple/ginger combo.
Waking up at 4:20 is the worst! Life of a fitness instructor, I tell ya 😉 I will never get used to it either 🙂