Let’s get juicing!

So I finally busted out the juicer again, the one my parents got me a while back.

I’ve been soaking up info on juicing for several days now and felt confident that I could master this beast this morning.  But first I had to prep all the produce I got yesterday.  Because ya can’t just toss it all in there…like the juicer says “Read instructions before using”!!

But before I go into the actual juicing process.  Let’s start at the beginning….

So you want to juice.  Well you’ll need a juicer.  My juicer is a Jack LaLane Power juicer.  I have heard great things about Breville, and Omega juicers.  Juicers can range anywhere from $100-$400; so do your research and find what kind of juicer works for you.  Here is a great quick video by Joe Cross, of Fat, Sick, & Nearly Dead fame,  explaining the different types of juicers.

Next, you need stuff to juice.  There are several great videos about juicing that I discovered, and I found that the videos were MUCH more informative than some blog posts that I read.  I will turn to blog posts for recipes, rather than the getting started part.  Check out this movie first, The Joy of Juicing.  It’s only about an hour long, but it’s made by a Doctor, Gary Null; he’s written a book about it too.  The movie was super informative, and got me really excited about juicing.  Then, John over at discountjuicers.com put together this great video about what to juice.  He walks you through the produce sections and talks in depth about juicing fruits and veggies.  Great, great video.

Now, you’ve got your juicer, and your produce.  So now it’s time to prep it.

First, you want to wash it.  I used warm water and some vinegar to wash it.  But you can get a veggie wash too.  I just didn’t want to spend the $5.

Then it’s time to cut, peel and store.  In total it took me about 2 hours…washing, cutting and all with the Bump awake and distracting me with her seriously ridiculous cuteness.

I cut my carrots and celery into more manageable pieces for the juicer, and stored them in plastic bags.

Next I moved on to my leafy greens.  I got Kale, Parsley, Cilantro and spinach.  Now, not all juicers process leafy greens the same way.  And they tend not to move through the juicer so well wet, so be sure to dry them good with a paper towel before putting them in the juicer.  Also, it’s a good idea to follow up the greens with a solid fruit or veggie like an apple or carrots.

I also moved out of my comfort zone here a bit and got a small bunch of beets.  I am not a fan of them, so I was nervous that I would taste them in my juice…so I peeled them and cut off the root part.

I did save a bit of the stalk, as that also has good juice and nutrition benefits in it.

And now for the part you’ve all been waiting for…

THE JUICE

Oh my goodness the color!  So above is what I juiced this morning.

Follow the instructions on YOUR juicer for the best way to make your juice.

And this is what is left over!  As you can see the Parsley didn’t go through the juicer as well as I had hoped, but it’s a learning process.

I tossed the pulp in a bag and put it in the fridge.  I don’t want to toss it, as I can add this great fruit and veggie fiber to a smoothie tomorrow, or use it in baking…I am researching some new recipes that use juiced out pulp.

And the finished product…was oh so yummy…I cannot taste the beet, and it’s very lemony.  So perhaps I’d add another juicer veggie like a cucumber or two, 1) to make more juice and 2) to tame the lemon.  But all in all…it ROCKS.

Now the fun part begins!  Creating seriously yummy juices!  Check out Yumz Juice on Facebook for tons of yummy juices!  Or create your own!!  Share your favorite juices in the comments below!