I decided a long time ago I really didn’t NEED a juicer. For one thing I like the fiber and nutritious “pulp” to stay in the juice. Second, we have a Vita-Mix and a Blendtec and they pulverize anything that goes in them. They make a mean smoothie for sure and for less pulpy juices or nut milk I just use a strainer or cheese cloth. When straining juice there were still some bits in it but that is okay with me. My kids, however, were used to super smooth juices in a bottle and did not like stuff floating in their juice.
When we started eating more raw and less processed and pasteurized I stopped buying processed juice…not even organic. I knew it had added ingredients that were less than savory because how else could juice sit unrefrigerated for weeks or months before you need to drink it? Sooo…I decided to buy a cheap juicer and see if we would like using it. I was curious to see if it was faster, smoother, and more efficient than my high powered blenders for making fresh juice. I want a Green Star juicer but since this was an experiment I decided to keep it at no more than a $100. We got a Jack LaLanne Power Juicer. For every 5 star review it has on Amazon it also has a 1 star review to match but I decided to take a chance. I may end up telling you it burned up after 3 months.
So far we have made fresh orange juice and apple juice. The machine worked well except I had to clean the filter out once in the middle of juicing the apples…there was too much pulp. Since I have never juiced before I cannot tell you if this is bad…but I think it might be a bad sign.
The juice was outstanding though! All my kids loved the orange juice which was perfectly sweet on its own and I even cut the sweetness with the addition of one grapefruit. The apple juice was super sweet and my oldest insists it is the best apple juice he has ever had. My daughter liked the taste but she doesn’t like the film that collects on the top…it is not smooth enough for her. But you can’t stick fruit in there and expect a bottle of Welches to pop out.
The clean-up takes about 5 minutes so all in all I would say juicing is slightly more efficient than blending and straining. Juicing is also great for detoxing which I REALLY need to dedicate to in the coming months…I am positive I still have all kinds of Chemo nasties still in my cells even though I quit before my round was complete and two years have past. I can’t wait to try some green juices and do a juice fast. I also plan to make some juice popsicles as well…yum!
So far I think it appears that having a juicer is worth it but the next few months will tell me for sure. If this juicer doesn’t last I already have its replacement picked out.
We put our juice inside seal-able glass bottles and drink them within two days to get the most nutrition out of them. The bottle below that we used for the orange juice is a Sesen glass bottle and really quite awesome. The stopper is BPA free plastic with a stainless steel sealer for a tight close. It comes with an ice blanket too that has water and no chemicals, that way we can freeze it and take the juice to the park for a picnic. The stopper and the blanket are also recyclable so it is a very earth friendly, reusable glass bottle. If you are looking for a nice juice jug/bottle check into them!
I have the Omega and Jack Lalane juicer. I love my Jack Lalane over my Omega anyday!
Thank you for your awesome picture. I am going this week to California and I will be coming home with a Norwalk juicer and can’t wait to get it going. Spread the word we’re on the hunt for a bamboo bottle brush to match with the Sesen.
I have an Omega Model 8005 juicer and when using apples with that there is always a bunch of pulp however the pulp from this juicer is a bit moist so it works well as apple sauce which I use in baked goods. You may want to check out this juicer as it does not heat up what you are juicing with blade friction which a lot of people try to steer clear of when they are active in the raw foods diet, also clean up with the Omega juicers takes about a minute, however it does yield a thicker juice then perhaps most juicers.
Thanks Brettney! Good to have this info!
That looks so good.
Tiff, I love my juicer! I have the same one you have pictured there. I’ve grown to just love apple carrot juice and my son likes it too. He was surprised that he didn’t gag ;)
I’ve done quite a bit of green juicing too – I like it but Sean isn’t wild about it.
I’ve never stored any juice – just made what I wanted at the time.
Have fun with it!
Yummy! Some other healthy beverages to think about offering the kiddos: green smoothies–yes pulverized in the blender so all the fiber doesnt get thrown out like in the juicer–and herbal teas–filled with nutrition and other added benefits that kids could use! I write more about herbs on my blog: http://www.daniemoore.com
Ah yes, must start juicing again… thanks for the reminder! Not sure what kind I have; spent about $200 at Macy’s and I think it’s a pretty good, mid-range juicer. I don’t like the clean-up, but it’s easier to clean than the $25 juicer I started out with!
thanks for sharing. This make me thirsty
I just looked at the Sesen website, and the ice blankets do have BPA (number 7). I realize that people probably aren’t freezing anything that is actually touching them, but it is still more BPA in the world. Just thought I’d mention it.
Thanks Manda for pointing that out. #7 doesn’t mean there is BPA in it, but it means there “could” be.
Not to worry Manda, they are BPA free certified from the manufacturer – Cryopack – a Canadian company. You often see Cryopack ice packs in the store, some have the chemical in them, but ours are their patented water filled version.
I love those glass bottles. They’re out of our price range right now, but I’m keeping them on my “some day” list.
I bought this juicer a few weeks ago and have been juicing myself silly! My kids love the juice and I’ve started drinking at least one full glass of fruit juice and one full glass of veggie juice every day. I’ve also made yummy popsicles (watermelon is my kids’ favorite so far) and used the pulp in baking. My favorite juice recipe so far- I juiced strawberries and froze in ice cube trays, then served in pretty glasses with cold champagne- yum!
Thanks for the glass bottle site too, I have been looking for some and those look great!
Yay for juicing!!!
I’m a big fan of the Breville and Green Star. I use my Breville in most cases though because it’s so easy and fast. It comes with a container to collect the juice in which has a nifty lid that keeps the foam back for clear and smooth juice. Green Star definitely rocks and the juice lasts longer without oxidizing and the pulp gets super dry, but it’s costly and takes longer to clean up.
Cheers and hugs!
Kristen :)
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i’m so excited. i’ve been thinking about getting a juicer and i was hoping you’d do a posting on juicing. i know you love your vita-mix, but i want a juicer. this year, i don’t want any of my csa to go to waste. my co-op sells the champion 200 or 2000, so i’m thinking of going with that. then, on-line i read about the omega 4000, i’m not sure. i do know i’d like a juicer that has easy clean up, doesn’t heat up, takes up minimal counterspace and is off good quality/materials. help me find the juicer of my dreams.
Nice I’m always seeing that Jack Lalanne’s powerjuicer in a TV Shopping network. I’m also tempted to get one of those. Since were dealing with some nice fresh fruit juice.
We have one of Jack’s juicers, too, and we love it! We have juiced just about anything that doesn’t run away from us! Thanks for the tip on the glass bottle!
I have the Jack LaLanne and LOVE it. My husband takes fresh squeezed oj to work and everyone is jealous because they have the store bought stuff. It is also nice to use that juice in your smoothies. I also used the carrot pulp from my juice last week to make carrot muffins.
You said that you use your vita-mixer to make juice as well, do you plop in the whole fruit? Peel, seeds, core, etc.
Yes, usually the whole fruit.
Congratulations on starting your juicing experiments! :) I love juicing.. And those bottles you show, are really,really nice. Even though we tend to press fresh every day, this is a good idea to have a bottle of a simple orange juice stored for couple of days for just an extra cup you want do drink as a regular drink instead of a rainbow morning mix of variety of fruits and vegs..