What is your take on juicing?
 

Last night I saw this amazing juicer on the home shopping channel...(which by the way I love watching)... anyway... I got to thinking what a great way to get in my 5-10 servings of fruits and veggies... it is easy to do, leave the peel on most of them, and have a better than V-8 since it is made at home with no added perservatives, and you can even make your own soy milk with soy beans and water... coolest thing ever... fresh milk that will not go bad in my fridge....
so what is your take on juicing?
anyone ever do it?
how were your result? (how did you feel)?
and are there any downfalls that anyone knows about?

I hate to spend the money on it without putting it out there for some input from other who may have juiced or have some information on it. :carrot:

My advice? Borrow a juicer. Chances are, you know lots of people with juicers hidden away in their cupboards that they never use. When I got started, I borrowed one for a while to get the hang of it before I got my own.

Yes, it is better than V8 if done right. It doesn't have the preservatives, paste, or sodium and tastes SO much better to me and contrary to popular belief (or at least with my juicer), you do maintain some of the pulp so you aren't losing all the fiber. I don't juice much fruit so sugar isn't a big problem and it's not like I juice 10 apples at a time so i'm getting a normal serving anyway. I do like to juice grapefruit because I love grapefruit juice, but a good natural one is hard to find. I found that when I started my skin started looking better and it was a good way to get a lot of water as I don't drink enough (I tend to use celery as my base) and quite frankly, I feel pretty darn good when I do it, which is often. I've never tried to make milk, though, primarily veggies.

Most people tend to not stick with it because it can seem like a pain to clean and it does require a certain taste, which is why I recommend not dropping a couple hundred bucks on a juicer until you know you will get some use out of it. There aren't many "juicers" here on this board and you will find skeptics more than anything, but I believe in it and it certainly can't hurt!

Well I have never tried it personally but I am all for it! I make a smoothie every morning in my blender of a small apple, an orange, usually .50 a grapefruit and 3/4 cup of blueberries. That is how I get my fruit in and I love it. Alot of times I will mix yogurt or kefir with it.

I think she is right about borrowing first. If you like it maybe there is a person who will let you buy it off them cheap?

I'm one of them. It became a little too tedious for me.

However, I LOVE fresh carrot juice. But I can buy that in the store.

Some people are really into the juicing thing, but I'm just too lazy to bother.

Hi Butterfly,

Honestly, I had to give up juicing because I found it too expensive to do (you need alot of fruit, etc, to get half a glass of concentrate). I still have it stashed and bring it out now and then for a treat .... but it is also extremely messy and a pain to clean up.

Also, the food guide only allows one to count one glass of fruit juice as a fruit serving, and one glass of veggie juice as a serving. So, even if you drink 5 glasses, it will still only count as one serving.

It is great for your health, though, if you enjoy it and the juice is out of this world .... especially the apple. Nothing like the store bought stuff. It comes out frothy.

I had one of those juicers that were a pain to clean, and it was a juicer exclusively (couldn't use it for anything else but juice.) I didn't like it and didn't use it. Then I got a Vita-Mix and I love it. I feel like a Vita-Mix commercial. I use it almost every day and not just for juice but to chop things, to make soup, and to make nut butters as well. And it is the easiest thing in the world to clean. It's expensive but I believe it is worth it.

thanks for all the help, I just found out that a freind of mine has a juicer.. Maybe I can borrow hers for awhile to see how I like it.. have a good day chicks...

I don't like juice (all the kind I have had is too sweet, but that is probably because I haven't had the real thing in awhile!). The thought of making your own soymilk is *awesome* though. that's totally cool.

I prefer to eat my calories rather than drink them, so I never drink juice, homemade or otherwise.

Also, I'm pretty sure that juice is just water and sugar from the fruit/vegetable. You lose a lot of the nutrients if you don't actually eat the fruit or vegetable. So I'm not sure juice is really a substitute for a serving of fruits and veggies. I know when I've used a juicer (a long time ago) there was a lot of waste and a lot of the nutrients are in that waste.

From the point of view of a diabetic . . . juice is not a good thing . . . you lose all the fibre and with it, a lot of nutrients.

From the point of view of a fat chick . . . eating is generally more filling than drinking . . . once again, it's the fibre.

But . . . if you absolutely hate fruits and vegetables, I guess juicing them is better than not having them at all.