Juicing

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Hello one and all. I am new to the group and was wondering if anyone else here juices during flares or any other time? By juicing, I mean extracting juice from fruits and vegetables reaping the benefits but leaving the pulp and fiber behind. I would love to hear some recipes. My favorite is a simple but proven one. 3 red apples, 1 green apple, 3-5 carrots depending on size.

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  • viscumin
    viscumin Posts: 12 Member
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    I juice all the time. I was just diagnosed in November and I bought a juicer soon after. I use juicing as a way to get vitamins and minerals in an easily digestible package.

    As far as recopies are concerned I just throw in what ever sounds good. I use a lot of spinach, green apples, pears for sweetness, carrots, grapefruit, oranges, cucumbers.
  • Honka1
    Honka1 Posts: 5 Member
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    How do you maintain weight on just vegetables? How much do you eat a day? Have considered juicing, but not sure if I could carry enough produce / juice bottles to work with me.
    - Side note: Crohns made me drop from an already lean 180 to 125lbs... when i stopped weighing myself. I eat a high protein/fat diet with low carb stretches. Similar to a CKD diet I guess. I just cut carbs (namely bread) when my intestines feel on fire or Crohns interferes with my sleep/work. The high fat / minimal bread stretched straighten me out for awhile.
  • lbs42
    lbs42 Posts: 7 Member
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    Any suggestions as to what to look for in a good juicer?
  • kunibob
    kunibob Posts: 608 Member
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    I just got a juicer on the weekend (Breville Juice Fountain), and I love it! My diet was super veggie-heavy pre-UC, so it feels good to be able to consume huge amounts of veggies without aggravating my symptoms. :) I don't use it as my only form of sustenance, but it makes my limited diet feel much more rounded. I had previously been buying fresh juice for $8 a pop at Whole Foods, so this will have "paid for itself" within the month.

    Current favourite is 1 apple, 2 carrots, 1 beet, a cup of kale, a cup of spinach, and ginger...YUM! Because my juicer is high rpm/centrifuge, the yield on leafy greens is pretty low, so I usually blend the kale & spinach with a wee bit of water in my magic bullet and strain that into my juice. Adds another minute or so onto the prep, but feels like I'm getting more out of them that way.

    Other favourites: cucumber, celery, kale, apple, a bit of lemon and (optional) ginger (I really like ginger).

    3 carrots/2 apples/1 beet. Beets are surprisingly sweet! Also tastes good with ginger. MMM GINGER!

    I haven't tried berries yet, but excited to try some other varieties.
  • kunibob
    kunibob Posts: 608 Member
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    Any suggestions as to what to look for in a good juicer?

    Part of it is going to depend on what you want to juice. If you want the ability to do wheatgrass/kale/spinach very easily, for example, then you'll want a masticating juicer, but those can be VERY expensive. There's a lot of info out there if you type in "which juicer should I buy?" in Google -- people have been compiling a lot of info that's organized more clearly than I could ever make it, haha. Highly recommend reading through a couple of those sites; I learned a lot in a very short period of time.

    It's always important to identify these key things:
    -what do you want to juice?
    -how much are you willing to spend?
    -does it matter to you if it's easy to clean or not?

    For me, it was mandatory that it was easy to clean (I know from experience that I won't use it if it takes more than 5 min to clean), that it was a reliable name brand (Breville has a good reputation), etc.

    Budget was my limiting factor, so I went through Craigslist. Luckily, juicing is a bit of a fad right now, which means a lot of people who got juicers for Christmas or New Year's on an "I'm going to be healthy!" whim are ditching them now because they're realizing they won't use them. It's a great time to swoop in and get near-mint juicers for cheap!

    Also, when it comes to smoothies as opposed to juices, I highly recommend a contraption like Magic Bullet (I think there's another called Nutriblast or something like that?) Mine was $30 new, and makes personal smoothies in seconds. I like to blend almond milk, banana, and almond butter for a snack that's high in calories when I'm flaring and trying to keep my weight up. (Sometimes I'll put in protein powder, too, if I can tolerate it.) I know people who spent a lot of money on some very fancy blenders, but honestly, my Bullet has lasted me a few years now, and it still works great. Just last night, I blended avocado, almond milk, lime and a bit of salt and froze it to make a healthy fats "ice cream."

    Anyway, now I'm rambling. Hope that helps! :)
  • lizcr13
    lizcr13 Posts: 26 Member
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    I was so glad to see this topic!! I have really wanted to try juicing but didn't know how it would affect my crohn's. Awesome to see other people are having success and I definitely want to go for it now. Thanks for the info :)
  • HardcoreP0rk
    HardcoreP0rk Posts: 936 Member
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    Part of it is going to depend on what you want to juice. If you want the ability to do wheatgrass/kale/spinach very easily, for example, then you'll want a masticating juicer, but those can be VERY expensive. There's a lot of info out there if you type in "which juicer should I buy?" in Google -- people have been compiling a lot of info that's organized more clearly than I could ever make it, haha. Highly recommend reading through a couple of those sites; I learned a lot in a very short period of time.

    is the breville you have a "masticating" juicer?
  • macelmer
    macelmer Posts: 55 Member
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    Has anyone tried juicing in a Vitamix? We got one at Christmas, but I am unsure how to juice with it and it has been recommended to me by my primary care doctor as a way to get extra nutrients via liquid.