So, after learning more about raw food, juicing, smoothies, and dehydration, I went to browse the products... and they're EXPENSIVE! I know that they aren't horrible pricewise, but for a person like me who is on an extremely limited budget, I am wondering how much I can do with just my blender. Smoothies? I would think a blender would do smoothies fine. How about juicing, though? I have a tea-press type of cup that I used to use with Yerba Mate (you put the leaves in, pour hot water and press.) Would this work with pureed apples, etc.?

If not, what do you po' folk use for juicing?

ok.....a person after my own heart!

cheese cloth or some type of stronger material that allows the juice to pass through the holes.

a hemp sprouting bag may be the ticket for you.

seems as though your yerba mate press would work to a certain degree.i would also use a wire mesh strainer with gravity.

the real expense in juicing though is not the machine as one may think ...but the continual purchase of veggies etc.

i have heard of cheap juicers at thrift shops...but the problem with most juicers is that they waste alot of juice left in the pulp.

greenstar is the best squeeze down from the 2500 dollar norwalk which uses a hydraulic press to squeeze the pulp from a folded up piece of strong cloth material..like nylon or something like that.

you could probably design your own press using a bottle type hydraulic jack for changing tires but you have to be careful about the hydraulic fluid since it is petroleum based.

if i were you i would use a blender and a wire mesh strainer letting gravity help out the flow and filtering process....transfer what is left into a cloth bag like a hemp sprout bag or what ever you can dream up.

good luck to you in your endeavor!

juicin' john

Oshinn

There are superfine wire mesh cones with handles called chinoise..The better ones are all stainless steel with a triple wire mesh & SS rods reinforcing the outsides of the mesh for protection..Most are made in France, as was the one I purchased from Bridge Kitchenware years ago..

Unfortunately they are not inexpensive, costing approximately $100.00..All good restaurants use these to filter out the solids in stocks & sauces..It is possible to purchase a stand so that the chinoise can be suspended above a container for slow straining..

A little ingenuity could easily improvise a substitute for the commercial stand..

Matfer, of France, makes a plastic-framed wire mesh chinoise similar to the SS ones..It should cost approximately $60.00-$70.00..However, the SS ones are worth the extra money..They will outlast the plastic ones by a ratio of 5-10 to 1 in the average restaurant kitchen..

The following link will take you to an old catalog page that shows the chinoise (#15) & the stand (#20) in the second photograph..

[cfd03.cfdynamics.com]

When I accessed the Bridge Kitchenware website I could not find either the chinoise or the stand..The no longer mail out catalogs..They have recently moved to a larger retail location, moved their warehouse, & started the website to replace the mailed catalogs..They state that the website is not complete, with many items yet to be added to it..

I would suggest calling or e-mailing them if you are interested..

[www.bridgekitchenware.com]

Hope this helps..

Bruce

I have a $30 blender from Target and a $50 Jack LaLanne juicer, not very pricey and I was using the blender before I went raw anyway. The blender is fine, it's no Vitamix but it makes my fruit smoothies and green smoothies every day just fine so far.