The way you think, the way you behave, the way you eat, can influence your life by 30 to 50 years. ~Deepak Chopra
So you’ve decided to do your own research and come to the decision point where you are ready to buy a juicer. Good on you!
As I always share with new juicing enthusiasts, sooner or later, you will want to invest in a good juicer that produces high quality juice. For green juicing to become a daily habit and a part of your routine, investing in a good juicer goes a long way. It is reliable, it will serve you for years and it will help you stay on track with your juicing.
Your Blender is Not a Juicer
To begin with, let us differentiate between blenders and juicers. If you have a food processor or blender at home, you can use it to liquefy your fruits and vegetables. However, you cannot use it to extract the juice from the fiber in the way a juicer does.
Blenders can be used for mixing ingredients, for making smoothies, sauces, dips and even soups. Food processors are good for slicing, chopping, kneading, grating and home-made hummus, of course!
When you blend your veggies and fruits, you retain the seeds, the skin, the flesh and other parts in the form of pulp. In other words, the output will be more of a whole food rather than juice.
Now, there is nothing wrong with smoothies..However, since we’re talking about green juicing, you want to invest in a good juicer that will separate the pulp from the juice, which is a juicer’s sole purpose. The output is pure fresh-pressed juice minus the pulp.
The benefit of drinking juice is that it sends rich nutrients directly in to your bloodstream and cells, and therefore it is easier on the digestive system. Plus, they taste YUMMY!
A Word about the “Unjuicable” Vegetables
There are some “unjuicables” in the juicing world that are worth a mention. The main ones are eggplant, okra, mushroom, squashes, cauliflower, avocado, banana, and green beans. I also do not recommend juicing mustard greens or leeks for their super-strong flavors.
Not only are these vegetables not good for juicing because of their low water content and taste, they can also do possible damage to your juicer because of the hard shell in some of the vegetables and dryness of the ingredient. Avoid juicing them. You’ve got plenty of other options!
How to Choose the Best Juicer for You
There are many juicers available in the market ranging in price from as low as $50 to as high as $2000+ USD. The most expensive brand on the market is the Norwalk juicer at above $2000. It may be on my shopping list someday but not now!
As a new juicing enthusiast, you can always start with low-priced juicers and slowly work your way up to more expensive ones. In the beginning, you are getting familiar with how green juicing works, and the last thing you need is an overly-priced juicer when you’re still getting used to juicing and learning the ropes.
A friend of mine and a member of our Green Juicing Clinic, started out with a $50 juicer from Wal-Mart and used it every day for a month. Only once he was satisfied and comfortable with regular green juicing and daily commitment did he invest in a $250 juicer.
Personally, I started out with a $100 basic model Breville juicer. It was fast, it worked well, and it was affordable while serving its purpose. Breville is one of the most popular juicers out there for new beginners. Then I moved on to the Omega juicer which to this day I have and use on occasion and love. This is a mid-range juicer that can serve beginners and intermediate juicers for life.
Today, my top recommendation is the Green Star Elite juicer by Tribest. It is a phenomenal machine that gives you up to 30% more juice than other juicers with a system that extracts all the juice from the fruits and vegetables. Your pulp is about 50% less than the average juicer, sometimes a lot less and it is wonderful to see so little of your produce go to waste.
3 Most Important Things to Consider When Buying the Best Juicer
Before buying your first juicer, consider the following factors:
1. Does the juicer come with a lifetime warranty?
Or, do some parts have a lifetime warranty? One of my main criteria when buying a juicer is the warranty. I bought my Omega juicer mainly for this reason – it had a lifetime warranty and all three times when it stopped working, the company fixed it for me free.
2. Is it a centrifugal or a masticating juicer?
A centrifugal juicer works on the principle of moving the food away from its axis. It has sharp teeth on the floor that spin when the food is shoved down the chute. Once the food is meshed and converted into a pulp, the juicer separates the juice from it. Centrifugal juicers are not very expensive, so they can be a good place to start.
The only disadvantage of these juicers is that you cannot easily use kale, wheatgrass or spinach. The juicer is not equipped to handle the leafy vegetables well. Kale and spinach are my number one choices for green juicing, so it becomes a tad difficult when these ingredients are off limits. Centrifugal machines also yield wet juicy pulp, so the extraction is far from 100%. Over time, you lose money on produce.
This problem is solved by their more expensive, slower, and quieter counterparts – masticating juicers. Masticating juicers sell anywhere starting from $200. They are a lot slower than centrifugal juicers but the quality of juice produced is much better with less foam and ideal for storing. Also the pulp is much drier. Your produce has been properly juiced!
3. Does it fit with your lifestyle priorities?
The most important thing is to evaluate whether your juicer fits well within your routine and lifestyle. If you’re a super-busy person, you may want to start with centrifugal juicers that take half the time to produce your juice as compared to masticating ones.
If, on the other hand, it is more important to you that the juice be fully extracted from the pulp and that the nutrients remain intact, plus a desire to store the juice for a day or two, you may want to opt for a masticating juicer.
As always, I challenge you to go out on an adventure of your own. Start anywhere. Just begin green juicing today. That is all that matters.
Remember, juicing is like getting a puppy. You’ll never look back! And if you want to start juicing with (what I think is) the most FUN and TIGHT juicing community online, join us in the Juicing Intensive Clinic while it’s open!
