You've decided to add juicing to your arsenal for operation Let's Kick Some Ass in 2015, and you are going to love it! Juicing is a great complement to eating home-cooked, balanced meals — with occasional treats thrown in — and adding more movement into our days. Juicing provides an immediate supply of nutrients straight to your body and you should notice a boost to your energy levels. I don't use juices to replace meals, but to accompany breakfast or as a snack, and I subscribe to the idea that small changes make a big difference. Baby steps to better health.
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Before the rush to the local kitchen appliance store begins (for those who don't already own a juicer), let's consider what to look for in a juicer and a list of pros and cons for masticating versus centrifugal juicers.
You're spending money on a juicer and on fresh fruits and vegetables, so invest wisely. The adage, "You get what you pay for," is one for a reason. If you cheap out on a juicer, and let's be blunt, buying a juicer for $50 buys you a cheap juicer, nothing more; you will spend more money on fruit and vegetables and see much of that go to waste. A cheap juicer can't handle the rigors of chewing up fibrous and leafy vegetables and many kinds of fruits. Expect to pay $150 and more for a good quality juicer.
A good quality juicer lasts longer.
A good quality juicer provides higher juice yield, saving you money on produce and providing you more nutritional benefits from juicing. And isn't that why we're doing this?
RELATED: This Green Juice Packs A Nutritional Punch
Find a juicer that doesn't require an Engineering degree or an Ikea allen key to assemble. It should be easy to use or it'll become a place to dry socks, like that old treadmill.
Masticating juicers are nothing more than big motors with augers attached. The auger (along with the attachment) chew up any type of fruit, vegetable, roots, seeds, and nuts. I've had one for 17 years and it's still as efficient as when we bought it.
Centrifugal juicers use a central spinning basket or mesh with sharp teeth to shred fruits and vegetables, which are then funneled out to separate juice and pulp chambers.
I compared my masticating juicer to a borrowed centrifugal juicer in the same price range and of the same quality by making a green juice, and suspected the yields would be similar. It turns out the masticating juicer yielded almost 250mL more using the same ingredients as the centrifugal juicer. The centrifugal also spat out entire pieces of vegetables without juicing them and the juice separated almost immediately, so I'd add that to my list of cons following this little showdown.
A favourite juice, and one my family drinks almost daily — In fact, I'm typing with one hand and holding this juice with the other because I'm a multitasker and brave, or tempting the laptop fates — is a super green juice that allows us to consume more kale than we would otherwise in an entire year. And there are so many more recipes, which you can find here and across the web that will introduce you to flavour combos you might never have thought of.
I'm not making any promises of everlasting life, but this pink drink will help your mojo. Bonus, it's delicious at breakfast and uses red cabbage, which some claim is one of the healthiest foods we can eat. Or drink.
Our Meatless Mummy writer, Nicole MacPherson has a round up of three recipes to help you bounce back if you've overindulged. They star beets, spinach, and carrots and are vibrant and packed with nutrients. Nicole also looked at slow juicing and serves up a great green goddess juice recipe.
Bon appétit! And drink up!
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