Juicing

Lauren3

Juicing

Lauren3

I'm interested in learning more about juicing.  Does anyone have any tips or helpful websites they could refer me to? 

LJ13-2

Just curious, why juicing, as opposed to eating whole fruits/veggies?

Lauren3

I'm doing that too, just trying to "up" my intake and I've heard juicing is a good way to do that (?)

CrunchyPoodleMama

I tend to prefer eating whole fruits/veggies (for one thing, juicing strips away all the fiber). I suspect that if I were at death's door and too weak to eat, I'd be juicing a lot more as a way to infuse more nutrients more quickly.

That said, in addition to my regular 3-4 healthy meals each day, I have occasionally been juicing 5-6 organic carrots with a bit of ginger, and/or some organic leafy greens with a whole organic apple, just as an added nutrient boost. I figure raw, organic whole veggies/fruit are best, but juicing veggies/fruit is probably better than taking a synthetic vitamin.

If you do juice, I'd limit juicing fruits and stick with vegetables (other than maybe an apple every now and then to cut the "green" taste)... fruit juice can cause spikes in blood sugar.

Have you tried making green smoothies? They're a great way to get a TON of nutrients in one swoop, while retaining all the fiber. What I do is use a cup of spring water and a blender-full of organic leafy greens (kale, spinach, spring mix, etc.) I blend that until it's smooth, then add either an organic apple (seeds and all!) or blueberries to make it taste better. I also sometimes throw in an inch of ginger root, half a lemon, and/or some spirulina or chlorella. Maybe some vitamin C powder. It tastes SO yummy, and it's like drinking liquid nutrition!!

rreynolds1

I've been juicing for a few months.  From what I have read, much of the nutrients are trapped in the indigestable fiber of the whole fruits and vegatables.  They gave the example of eating a raw carrot from which we can absorb only 1% of the beta carotene.  By juicing, we can absorb 100% of the beta carotene.  Also, because they are raw, none of the nutrients are lost in the heating process.  I had done some research under benefits of juicing on the internet and there's lots of information. 

The juice is also delicious.

Roseann

Angee

We bought a vita mix right after my dx. It blends up all the veggies to smoothie consistency. That breaks down all the fibers so it is easy for your body to digest and absorb but you still get the fiber. This is my morning smoothie:

4 Kale leaves

3 handfuls of baby carrots

4 stalks of celery

broccolli sprouts

broccolli stem

1/2 cucumber

4 prunes

piece of ginger

stevia

cinnamon

nutmeg

pure water

Julia - I like your addition of lemon. I need to add that. I need to look at

spirulina and chlorella. I have heard of them but have no idea what they are.

althea

I dusted off my juicer 2 years ago.  Back in those days, I used it for carrot juice.  Sometimes I'd add some celery to the mix.  Now I put all kinds of things through the juicer.  My fave over the summer was watermelon juice -- rind and all, with unrefined sea salt -- absolutely delish!  Now one of my favorites is carrots, orange bell pepper, a peeled lemon, a slice of ginger, and a few springs of parsley.  I plied this one on my brother last week.  He's been a good sport in trying my juices, but that carrot/pepper mix I think he really liked -- oh, I added a couple of apples to sweeten it up.  

I know a lot of people love their vitamix.  Personally, I liked pulp free OJ since I was a kid, and even though the vitamix would retain the fiber, I definitely prefer the pulp-free juice.  When you shop for a juicer, you'll want a masticating one, not one that uses centrifugal force.  My champion juicer is over 20 years old, sat idle for many years, but since august of last year, I've been using mine every single day, often twice daily, sometimes three.  

CrunchyPoodleMama

Roseann, wow, that is very interesting -- I'll have to look into that more.

Angee, I love my Vitamix! Your morning smoothie sounds delish! Spirulina and chlorella are types of algae... as weird as that sounds, they are a fantastic vegan source of protein and they've been shown to have all kinds of nutritional benefits.

Althea, watermelon juice sounds amazing!! Love your carrot/pepper juice "recipe" too... will have to try that. I was always a pulp-free girl and that's probably why I still prefer eating oranges whole rather than juicing or blending them.

althea

crunchy, I thought I was a big fan of ginger til I saw you post about putting a whole inch of it in your smoothies.  If I have ginger that gives me a slice about the size of a quarter, I'll make the slice about 1/4" thick.  I tried a batch with twice my usual ginger, and boy did that ever get my attention!  I have to say, I liked it better with less. 

I figured out along the way ginger keeps my left hip from aching.  Just one slice a day, sometimes two, is all I need.  I had some times when I ran out, and in just two days, my hip starts aching again.  Now I make sure ginger is in the house at every moment.  Plus it smells and tastes great. 

CrunchyPoodleMama

Heh heh, I'm kind of a ginger freak! but yeah, I've made the mistake of putting in more than my usual and boy did it hurt to drink. LOL! (kind of like eating a clove of garlic raw. Ouch!) Interesting that it helps with your hip!

MsBliss

I bought a Breville juicer for $90.  I find it juices greens pretty well and I cook with the pulp that is left over.  The Jack La Lanne Juicer was good--but I found the Breville was a bit better with greens.  They are both centrifical juicers, but if you reuse the pulp, there is no waste really.  I put the pulp in soups, eggs, stir fry, even chili beans, but only for the last 3 minutes of heating--delish!  Also, it composts really well. 

I make a juice with organic kale, carrots, beets, broccoli, radishes, celery, parsley, garlic, ginger, and savoy cabbage.  It is different every time, but I always use kale, carrots and beets.  It feels like a vitamin shot!  Sip a few ounces at room temp, put the rest in the fridge as it will be good for a few days. 

 Also, if you simply add the cruciferous and mustard family greens to your diet, without juicing, you will metabolize estrogen differently.  It will actually raise your 2/16 metabolites which are protective against breast cancer.

rreynolds1

I have the Breville also.  My son gave it to me on my birthday.  It works great and is easy to clean.  He paid more for it.  MsBliss, where did you buy yours for $90.  He paid $200 at Macy's.  He's not much of a bargain shopper but other's have asked me what I use and $200 is pricey for many of them.

Roseann

CrunchyPoodleMama

Also, if you simply add the cruciferous and mustard family greens to your diet, without juicing, you will metabolize estrogen differently. It will actually raise your 2/16 metabolites which are protective against breast cancer.

WOW! Now this one tidbit is worth its weight in gold. I've been trying to eat more cruciferous veggies since my dx but didn't realize how beneficial it was re: estrogen. Thank you!!

Angee

Julia, I put an inch of ginger in my smoothies too. I love ginger.

Althea - Great tip in the ginger - I did not know it helped joints. I googled and it is known for helping with joints and inflammation. I am going to have my hubby add it to his morning smoothie for his joints. Your carrot /pepper juice sounds wonderfu!! I am going to try it as a smoothie.

Ms. Bliss - I am going to make your recipie as a smoothie this morning.

I have a juicer I bought years ago - it is messy though. I have looked at the Breville but I am thinking about the Greenstar though so I can juice wheatgrass also.

Does anyone know if it would be as beneficial to just add wheatgrass to my smoothies or must it be juiced?

LJ13-2

Roseann says, "From what I have read, much of the nutrients are trapped in the indigestable fiber of the whole fruits and vegatables."

That doesn't make much sense to me. By chewing food with our teeth and putting it through the digestive process, the nutrients are "trapped" but mechanically chewing the same food with a juicer magically "releases" the nutrients. Sounds like marketing by the juicer manufacturers.

Do you have an authoritative source for this claim?

anondenet

I have a Champion Juicer but it's hard to clean. Are any of yours easier?

I've noticed adding beet juice in the blend is energizing-- but you have to juice three times a day to feel the difference.

deni63

We have a Breville Juice Fountain. It is OK although there is a good amount of pulp that comes through. However, the good news it that It is fairly easy to clean, which is a plus!

Husband11

We have a "Juiceman" juicer, but its a lot of work to clean.  Bev and I prefer to use a blender and get the added fibre and the entire fruit or vegetable.  I see Wheatgrass is typically juiced.  Is there a reason why it can't be pulverized in a blender and get the same effect?  The wheatgrass juicers look highly specialized.

CrunchyPoodleMama

Wheatgrass can be pulverized in a blender, but wheatgrass "experts" say it must be strained, because the fiber isn't able to be digested by humans. Then again, isn't that true of all indigestible fiber?? I suspect could do it but would have some rather grassy-looking poo!

I have an Omega juicer which, when I first bought it, I thought was a hideous pain to clean. Now I'm just used to it and it doesn't seem so bad.

althea

anom, I'm guessing the screen is what you find difficult to clean on the Champion?  I keep an old toothbrush by the sink and a quick scrub on both sides works for me.  Part of my routine for juicing is having a set of three stainless steel bowls.  The largest one I use for holding the produce I'll be juicing.  The middle bowl is for catching the pulp.  The smallest is for catching the juice. 

When it's time to clean, I put the pulp from the middle bowl into an empty container that doesn't recycle, usually an empty coconut milk half gallon container.  I don't have a compost pile of my own, but once a week I contribute to a community garden.  But this part is recent.  Before, I'd just put the pulp down the disposal.  

Then I disassemble the juicer and place the parts into the medium bowl.  I put that in the bottom of my sink on the disposal side and turn on the water.  I have a dish rack to hold all the accessories and I get them all clean by the time the sink fills with water.  The medium bowl comes out of the sink last.  A giant air bubble will come out of the drain so move it slowly to avoid a splash.  Then I turn on the disposal, use the medium bowl to collect a bit more water for rinsing the sink.  I think it takes only 2-3 minutes.  Maybe I'll time myself just to see.  

Anonymous

I love to juice and I think you get more nutrients into your bloodstream quickly because it's in liquid form. It's kind of like a shot in the arm as far as energy goes, and the juicing of 5 or 6 carrots with an apple and some spinach leaves all condensed in the juice gives you all the nutirents in the drink that you would have a difficult time eating that many all at once.  I also juice cranberries this time of year with apples and grapes to sweeten them.  They would be just too sour to chew and eat.  Celery and spinach and cucumber with apple is also great.  I know chewing is good with digestion, but when you juice it goes right through your intestines and absorbed into your blood stream.  It gives you such a healthy glow and so much energy.  Enjoy!

Husband11

Looked into some wheatgrass juicers sold online.  Not cheap.  Looks like a decent manual wheatgrass juicer is around $150.  Yikes.  We still want to pursue this.  How good is the juice,  you wheatgrass enthusiasts?  Bev's energy levels are really lacking and she's reading that wheatgrass helps.  What have you experienced?

Lauren3

Thanks for all the comments, this thread has turned into exactly what I was hoping for!  Keep those "recipes" coming ladies! 

Also - this might sound like a dumb question but if you put 5 servings worth of veggies/fruits into the juice does it count as that many servings once it's in the juice form?

anondenet

Thank you, Althea,

I see I need a system like you have. That was an inspiration reading your description. I also may need a new juicer. Mine weighs about 50 pounds and shakes the kitchen counter. Whenever I make juice, I feel like Lucy and Ethel must be nearby. 

xo

Anonymous

Last night I was having a hard time falling asleep so I started watching an infomercial for the Monel Williams Living Well Healhmaster, and I got so into it.  Unlike a juicer, you put the whole fruit and veggies in and it pulverizes it to a smoothie. So this morning I did basically the same thing with my own blender and added a little lemon ade to help it all puree.  I made a whole pitcher full of yams and spinach apple cranberries and grapes.  Been taking small glasses of it all day.           

CrunchyPoodleMama

if you put 5 servings worth of veggies/fruits into the juice does it count as that many servings once it's in the juice form?

Sure; you're still getting all the nutrients - but FWIW, I consider the 5 servings a day to be the bare minimum. I try to get WAY more than that. I will often drink 5+ servings in my morning green smoothie (I sometimes use a whole bag of organic baby spinach which is 4 servings all by itself), but then have a huge salad that's at least another 3-4 servings' worth, plus several more servings at dinner, not to mention any random piece of fruit I might snack on. (I would never rely JUST on juice for my fruit/veggie intake because I want to get as much natural fiber in whole foods as possible.)

Shanagirl, yup, that's what a lot of us do (see my green smoothies comment above)... perfect way to get all the nutrients AND the benefits of the fiber too! I haven't tried yams in my green smoothies... will have to try that! Thanks for the idea!

Lauren3

Thanks - I was just using 5 as an example.  Right now I'm aiming for at least 9 servings per day but once I get a juicer I'm hoping for more. 

Anonymous

Wow!  I didn't realize that a whole bag of spinach was equal to 4 servings.  Now I'll do the whole bag.  

althea

Here's a link to a video interview with George Malkmus, the founder of Hallelujah Acres.  It's brief, but filled with inspiring information.  The founder's mother was a nurse who died of colon cancer after following all the treatments her doctors recommended.  So when he got a case of colon cancer himself in 1976, he sought other other options.  He eats 100% vegan diet, mostly raw and lots of juice, and obviously, he's still around.  The interview was recorded just last month. 

In regard to juice, he says the removal of the fiber from the fruits and vegetables allows the nutrition to reach us at a cellular level at a rate of 92% absorption.  Our digestive system is not invoked by consuming juice without fiber, so the nutrition of the juice enters the bloodstream quickly.   Plus, our bodies are not spending energy on digestion.  One delicious nutritious recipe for a quick pick me up.  Of course, our bodies need fiber also.  He also mentions that it takes one pound of carrots to get 8 ounces of juice.  I like carrots, but dang, I'd rather get that nutrition from the 8 oz glass than a pound of carrots.  That's a lot of carrots!

interview with founder of hallelujah acres

PS73

I have the breville too as well as the kitchen aid (I think its a kitchenaid).  Both were gifts but I like the breville better because of the pitcher it comes with since it keeps the pulp froth down when pouring. 

Wheat grass does not pulverize without a fight ..and a mess.  I sadly gave up on juicing it.

I had stopped juicing because of the same reason julia, I wanted the fiber from the fruit but I have completely discounted the veggies.  I should be juicing them raw in the am as well as cooking them everynight. 

ps- if you want to add a sweetness note, add cinnamon - it also elevates your body temp if its low.  ...and a little bit of pineapple to aid in cell rejuvenation.