Fruit juice

I don't see any reason to not dilute it: you prefer the taste AND you get less calories and sugar for the same volume.

I never drink fruit juices myself though, I'd rather spend my calories on something else more filling (such as fruit).

harper16 wrote: »

kimmaltsev wrote: »

I don't drink it all the time though like I used to just mainly want to hear other options and see why 100% is better

I'd rather drink 100% fruit juice, than some fruit drink that's 10% juice, and 90% stuff I can't pronounce.

Most non-100% juices are that way because of added sugars and water, high fructose corn syrup isn't that hard to say.

OP, "better" is a really loaded term. Some people feel like 100% juice is better because the sugar is naturally occurring in the fruit and nothing has been added. But to me what has been SUBSTRACTED (the fiber in the fruit) is pretty relevant -- not because I think it's bad, but because I personally find eating fruit with some fiber to be more filling. Another factor for me is that you can consume a lot of calories with juice really quickly and easily. 100% fruit juice is just as calorie dense as other types. These may not be factors for you, but they're reasons why I choose juice relatively rarely.

You also can easily make whole juice from the normal edible parts. Just cut up as you would to eat, add water or ice cubes, and blend. Also popsicles can be made from any juice, commercial or otherwise.

A vitamix or blendtec does a great job pulverizing even hard seeds in raspberries and blackberries. There's a Ninja that seems comparable (the more powerful one, not the little ones). But soft fruits like melons and stone fruits can probably be juiced well by any decent blender, maybe just not always as smoothly as the tougher ones.

My first attempt in a refurbished vitamix decades ago was a thick honeydew melon shake with just the cut up melon and ice cubes. My only regret after tasting this bit of heaven was not going into debt for a vitamix sooner (allergic to dairy, missing ice cream, nondairy not available in stores in ancient times). I was very congested that pollen season, and thought the vitamix would encourage me to get more fluids into me. It did.

Actually, refurbished vitamixes are reasonably priced and can be purchased in installments. My original refused to die but a few years ago I wanted one with a smaller footprint, a clear spigotless container, and more power (my criterion was blackberry juicing with seeds... I was having trouble with seeds in general at the time, even strawberry seeds) so for $50 a month for five months, I got their idea of a refurbished personal blender (20oz plus 40oz container with tamper). Free shipping codes abound on the net for both vitamix and blendtec, don't know about Ninja. And obviously they are darned near indestructible (usually 5-7 year real warranties and mine is still working from the 1980s).

I just freeze fruits (cut up or sectioned if needed) and dump any of them in the vitamix with some water and let it rip for a minute. Can make thick or thin juice depending on how much water. Can also use ice cubes instead with room temperature fruits. Can even add a little veg, for example some celery or bell pepper or cucumber or raw zucchini/summer squash tastes really good with fruit. (Don't go nuts like infomercials with gobs of greens... unless you really like it that way). I experiment a lot and all my concoctions have been quite drinkable. This gives you the fiber missing in juices and loads of variety.

Cleanup is also easy, which is really important to me. Often just swishing with tap water is enough. If not, run it with a little soap with some water. I tried a friend's juicer once and it was awful. Cleanup was a pain and it was so wasteful. Lost me when it took five apples for a dinky glass of apple juice. With the vitamix type of machine, you can make a nice glass of apple juice with just one apple and you can add other fruits as well.

When I do drink commercial juice, I typically also dilute with water (even 50%) because they seem too sweet to me also. You can also use juice as a base in a blender, adding other fruit or veg or protein powder.