I have been interested in juicing for awhile, but simply do not have the money to dish out for a $200-300+ juicer. I have seen tutorials on Youtube of how to do it in blender, but the heat from the blender kills some of the enzymes in the veggies, and I want all the nutrition.
Does anyone have a cheapish juicer that they know of that juices greens well along with fruits and veggies? I hope there is one out there!
If you want all the nutrition, eat the fruits and vegetables.
Most true juicers strain out, arguably the best part (the fiber). The pulverizer-style, non-straining juicers keep the fiber but are essentially high-powered blenders. The pulverizers are supposedly the healthiest option, but I haven't ever seen a cheap one.
That being said, the little bit of heat that a blender is going to add isn't going to reduce the nutrition all that much (sitting on the grocery store shelves and in the veggie bin probably does worse).
Another option is adding very cold ingredients such is ice or frozen juice or frozen veggies or fruit in with your fresh fruits and veggies. Even very cold juice or water would help That way the cold ingredients will offset the heat created by the blender's motor. As will pausing the blender between pulses to allow the heat to dissipate.
When it comes to juicing you want to be careful what seems like a cheap investment can end up costing you more in fruit. I would highly recommend you check out reviews online and on youtube. There are a lot of great videos with juice yield comparisons it also gives you an idea of the noise level.
I did a lot of research before buying my juicer I wanted something that was quiet, left some but not all fiber in the juice and easy to use and clean. I went with the Omega 350 vrt. It is expensive but it also has a 10 year warranty and I use it almost everyday. Also compared to how much fruit and vegetables people put into juicers like the breville I find mine produces a lot of juice for very low cost in the fruit and veggie department.
It also depends on what you mainly are planning on juicing. If you are looking mainly fruit then the noising centrifugal juicers are not the best bet, hard vegetables they have the market on and leafy greens are wasted on those spinning beasts. Research is really important if you don't think you are going to use it or become discouraged from low juice yields any investment will be a waste. Go with what best fits you and be willing to up your price point because juicing is awesome and you deserve the best!
I just bought my Breville from BB & Beyond. I signed up online and received a 20% off coupon in my email. Took it to the store the same day. My $149 juicer only costs $119. The store worker said it is the easiest to clean and works the best out of all the juicers. He said they are having a really hard time keeping it in stock. My local store didn't have it, so he looked up different locations, and I drove about 10 minutes to another store. He also said he could order it for me and not charge shipping. I have a Vitamixer also, which I use to make smoothies. I have tried many times to make juice in it and keep the pulp/fiber, but it just doesn't tastes as good as the juice that comes out of the juicer. I had to add lots of water to get the blender to blend carrots and other fruits.
Thanks guys! Lots of good advice here. I need to check out all of these juicers. I heard the Breville was really good and If I can get it for cheap as you did (Isabunny) I might try to get one really soon!
I just bought my Breville from BB & Beyond. I signed up online and received a 20% off coupon in my email. Took it to the store the same day. My $149 juicer only costs $119. The store worker said it is the easiest to clean and works the best out of all the juicers. He said they are having a really hard time keeping it in stock. My local store didn't have it, so he looked up different locations, and I drove about 10 minutes to another store. He also said he could order it for me and not charge shipping. I have a Vitamixer also, which I use to make smoothies. I have tried many times to make juice in it and keep the pulp/fiber, but it just doesn't tastes as good as the juice that comes out of the juicer. I had to add lots of water to get the blender to blend carrots and other fruits.
thanks for comparing... I was wondering how/if the vitamix made juice from whole fruits and vegetables. does it then just makes them into a puree? couldn't a regular blender or hand blender do that?
maybe i'll look at the Breville deal mentioned above... I also heard BedBathandBeyond is good with returning things if they break later.
I have a breville as well and bought mine at BB&B, i freaking love the thing. I have had it for almost 2 years now and use it almost every day and make several juices for the next day. IT's seriously so easy to clean, and is well worth the money.
The Fat Sick and Nearly Dead has a website called The Reboot. There is a thread on juicers.
There are two types, one is more $, quieter and gets 30% more from greens. The downside is you have to cut stuff up quite small so it's slower. The other type which the Breville used in the movie is like is loud and you can juice faster. You do not get as much juice from greens.
I have both the Breville and the Angel which is my brother's $1,000 juicer and I use the $300 Breville because it is faster and easier to clean.
If you already have a blender -- try it there and see if it is powerful enough to whole juice. Chop stuff up and hit "liquefy" and see what you get. If it works out, you don't need another appliance.
I used my Oster that way for a while but I had to add water or juice to help it to "go" and deal with occasional chunks.
If you are not a fan of pulp in the juice, the Hamilton Beach "Big Mouth" does a nice job. Line the container with a grocery bag to catch the pulp and make clean up easier, clean the other parts right away with the brush it comes with. That was my first "official" juicer and did great for the fam.
Around $60 so not too bad as an entry point juicer.
Later I saved up for Vitamix -- the pulp is back in and the result is smooth very drinkable. But I LIKE pulp in my juice. Not everyone does. (The motor in it is a lot stronger than my old Oster. This is going to matter in terms of the final result.)