Question for the Juicers of MFP!

It's your juicer. Get a Brevellier.

I actually have a Brevellier, but was still throwing too much good stuff away. I ended up getting a Vitamix (hear good things about nutribullet too) and I LOVE IT! It pulverizes everything so no grainy thick pulp, but man...it does great. There's no pulp waste, and I'd get the benefit of that fiber that I'd been throwing away without it completely ruining the drink.

My lunch drink today:
2 cups lettuce
1 cup spinach (both spinach and lettuce from our garden -- mmmmmm!)
A couple dozen almonds
Goji Berries
1 apple
1 banana
Sprinkle of stevia
Ice cubes
water

I can recommend the vitamix without hesitation...love it! Did I say that already? It's virtually self-cleaning too, which is nice.

Self cleaning is nice. Juicers are horrible to clean.

if u are juicing thats your personnel choice but why are u mixing with so much vegetables

Here's what I do to clean (based on their recommendation): I just rinse my container, fill it half-way with hot water, toss in a couple drops of detergent, and that's it. There's a 'clean' setting on there, and the machine runs through its cycle and cleans it.

Another cool thing about the vitamix is the auto settings (think that depends on the version you buy). Mine has presets though for everything from soup to smoothies, so I can set it and it runs through the cycle. I have found that I occasionally have to run it through the cycle twice when I have things like the almonds in there, but it works great. You'll have to play around with the amount of water that you add just for your preferred texture.

I use a TON of lettuce, spinach, and even cabbage in there. You name it and it's a candidate. Although there are a lot of recipes available, I generally go based on what's available from the garden or what I have in the fridge that I have a lot of. Apples and bananas added to nearly any green works well. I almost always add ice (full cubes...the blender handles it).

Other than my often-used leafy greens, here are some odd things that I've tried that work well:
* raw broccoli
* cucumber
* zucchini (though I found that too much gives me a headache for some reason...want to figure that out sometime)
* goji berries
* dried stevia leaves from the garden

I also made my own hummus -- good stuff.

They have a 'dry food' container that can be used for making things like almond butter or peanut butter. That's my next purchase (same base, so just the cost of the container). I can buy the nuts in bulk then and have my own organic almond butter for about half of what it costs from Whole Foods.

I have a Breville and get much more green juice, but basically the only green leafy veggie I juice is Kale. Why juice any other green leaf other than Kale, it has everything! Also, because it is "juicier/bigger" it has more juice.

Blending and Juicing serve different purposes...I Blend when I want more fiber, want to make a Smoothie with certain fruit (those that do not juice well) or want a change of pace from Juicing (which is less and less). Juicing has the greatest and most pleasurable nutritional benefits, and you can get all of the nutrients w/o the bulk of Blending. Digestion IS the aging process, so if you can reduce it as much as possible the better off we are, and some whole foods do not digest well unless cooked so Juicing is the best way to go. I'm an avid Juicer and believer.

Remember, you can always supplement green juices with liquid Chlorophyll and get better nutritional benefits. Don't get the "dried greens" it is a waste of money! AND liquid Chlorophyll is wayyy cheaper.

OP, I think it's your juicer. I have a Jack Lalanne one and it doesn't do well with leafy greens. Bummer. (Could easily be user error in my case.) I am jealous of you people with the Vitamix. It's been on my wish list for a very long time! I would love to make my own raw, organic peanut butter. Also, my current blender sucks for green smoothies. No matter how long I let it go it cannot handle kale without big un-blended pieces, so I mostly do baby spinach smoothies.



I also have a Jack Lelaine juicer, it does NOT juice leafy greens well. But as far as Blenders go get a Hamilton Beach or Oster for Smoothies, dressings, dips and such. I would only spend that kind of money (Vitamix or Blentec) on a Blender if you KNOW for sure you prefer it over juicing and will use it. I have a Hamilton Beach Blender that cost Me 25 bucks that is fantastic...crushes ice and make great smoothies, and hummus.

If you go the Vitamix route don't forget eBay and there's a refurbished section on the Vitamix site where they go for about 1/2 retail but still have the same warranty.

Vitamix vs. Nutribullet - watched this when trying to decide for myself. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7SvHja7fmk

I have a breville fountain plus and I have to say I actually agree. I think its much more beneficial to just eat the vegetables and get the fiber as well. I like to sneak spinach into a lot of my dishes that also use basil. I also make a healthier version of pesto sauce using basil and spinach. Its also great in your morning omelettes. I love Kale as well and would rather just saute it than juice it. I try to get creative.

However it is important to add vegetables to "cut" your juices so they are not just all sugar. I primarily use my juicer for when I have vegetables that might go bad before I am able to use them. I also juice things like the stalks of broccoli that I would normally not use. I love juicing green peppers as well and they yield a lot more juice.