Juicers are expensive!!

I've been four months raw and just fine and dandy without one. I can juice citrus by hand. But lately... I've been finding myself at a local juice bar, and fresh squeezed apple juice speaks volumes to my inner child. I think I enjoy juicing way more now than I would have when I started being raw. It's also getting to the point where if I keep going to get these juice fixes every day, it will have been cheaper to have bought a juicer in the long run.

Plus, I'd have the advantage of using ORGANIC apples (I won't normally eat ones that aren't, sigh). I could also do juice feasts. If I did invest, which would be the plan, I could also eventually grow my own wheatgrass.

But I hear they are a MONSTER to clean. I like the no prep/no dishes/no cleanup aspect of being raw. And our great great ancestors didn't have juicers, either. Also, part of the pact with the plant is the seed, so I wonder, strangely, how intended we are to juice?

Would I use a juicer for more than a week?

Has anyone been on the fence about buying one of these things? Have juices improved your life? What about those people who juice everything--skin, leaves, more than just we would normally eat?

ALSO. I have always sort of wanted a Vitamix. Is that powerful enough to throw in some apples and basically get the same results?

So many questions!! Haha. Thanks.

If unsure about a juicer, just pick up a cheap walmart or similar type for about $60 and try it out. They work just fine, unless your into specific needs. You can always upgrade easier than being stuck with an overpriced gadget you don't care for or use that often. No way around the cleaning though.

You can put practically anything in a Vitamix and it turns it to liquid or a paste. Do you need that though?? If yes, get it :O)

Being you are so new, do whatever works to keep you progressing or enjoying what you are doing.

Juices provide a load of sugars all at once, while the sugars of the whole fruits are absorbed more gradually because of the added fiber. Personally I would never juice fruits, except for an ill person, in cases where you want concentrated nutrition without all the fiber.

I prefer to juice my green vegetables, because of the tough fibers which my system can't handle. Juices are also more cleansing. Fiber reduces the intensity of the cleansing.

It also depends on how much greens you are going to take. For small
amounts blending would be better but if you want to take loads of greens then it would be better to juice.

Green juices have cured my chicken-egg-large goitre, blended greens never touched it.

So it all just depends on your goals!

Greenpower

Visit my website and my blog!

[www.natureshealingsecrets.com] (closed on Sundays)

i use my juicer every day and I clean it

Can you combine green juices with fruit? I really have to choke back the wheatgrass... but to have another available source of greens that might be yummy is always good.

Also, I didn't know about the sugar/fiber relation. I do get hungrier faster after juices (guess that's obvious ).

I will eventually get the Vitamix someday. Would that work the same for fruit and green juices? If I bought one, I would probably over the long term use it about once a week, every week, for the rest of my life. That's the frequency at which I've been using my blender--the only difference would be more options, recipies better prepared, and less curse words. And juice!

Juicing is expensive!

I can eat 5 oranges and feel pretty full. But its easy for me to juice 12 oranges and drink that juice and feel just as full. So for me, its easy to consume much more produce juicing than I would eating whole foods.

But I enjoy an occasional orange juice, and I splurge and enjoy a large glass of orange juice.

I use my vitamix at least once, most times twice a day. I have a great new tamper (thanks WY) and I can't rave about it enough. I have a cheapo walmart juicer - or something like that and it does the trick in a pinch. I use it to make apple juice for my kids mostly. I used to use it a lot, but now only really use the vitamix. You can get it in three payments over a period of time - like four months or so. They send it to you immediately too. Ebay is always an option. (Do I sound like a salesperson for Vitamix? Haha....thinking about possible job opportunity...!) I would definitely promote that over any other appliance, however, my next purchase is going to be a wheatgrass juicer. Still looking for a second hand.

Phantom, I'm tellin' ya, I don't know your money situation, but just get a cheapie $60 juicer and find out how you like it. The difference between that and a high priced juicer is marginal in your position. Try it out for a month and don't over think it. You'll find if you progress in raw foods you don't need a juicer as time goes by anyhow. This way your out $60, not a big deal and better than a couple hundred. If you love juicing than consider the higher priced ones.

You can juice whatever you want. Whatever works for you. People have their rules or opinions, just make up your own then. The cheapie juiceers will juice carrots, cellery, lettuce, fruit, etc good enough for you to use until you really decide. Even then you can always just stick with this type of juicer.

Exactly - I would do what tanawana suggested....wait....that is what I did do!

But, for the juicing experts, will the greenstar juice apples? I know that most people use it for carrots and celery, maybe wheatgrass, but what about apples, pears, etc?

I have a Jack LaLayne juicer, its great, but getting cobwebs lately; I juiced fatithfully for a few weeks, then sporadically for a few months, then it was consigned to the cabinet.

On the other hand, my Vitamix lives on my counter, and I rev that sonofagun to the max every morning at around 6:30, making my daily meal(s)-breakfast, lunch and appetizer before dinner.

I also have a terrific Thermos, all stainless steel inside and out, and that's where I put my quart of smoothie for lunch. Yummie!

If I get sick, or want to do the "healthy weekend" thing, I'll pull the juicer out and use it: great with beets, fennel root, broccoli stems, lemon, carrots, celery, etc. But then, of course, I say to myself, "Self, what a waste of terrific fiber!" and away the juicer goes again.

I'm not into the dehydrating thing, so the fiber goes on the compost pile, and usually feeds the raccoons... :-(

Oh well, just my 2 cents.

i'd like to say i use it but really, hardly ever. the blender nearly everyday, would be more if i had a better blender i'm sure. i don't use a lot of tools though, knife and cutting board, grater, veggie peeler, wisk. oh yea, fingernails and teeth. heh.

There is something terribly wrong with tap water in my opinion and experience. I'm now back to drinking only distilled water. I also am juicing green juices with some other veggies, or fruits..like carrots, apples, etc. Juicing greens is a great way to get a liquid feast into your system that has the balanced minerals our bodies crave and in the right proportion to each other and in a usable form. I would prefer getting my minerals thru the plants I eat or drink.

Green smoothies are great also, but liquid juices are life altering..imo of course

Love,
Prism