juicing

unfortunately, i have no passion for cooking and as a result i don't eat as well as should. not bad but not great. i've had a couple of nasty colds this winter (still have) and a friend says mate- you gotta get juicing! he's all about it. i thought i read some of you guys mentioning juicers or related vegetable processing devices.

i don't know much about it other than there are very high end machines that are extremely expensive and they are supposed to be the best at extracting the nutritive benefits.

would like to hear your input or advice, perceived impact on health, devices, etc….

I prefer to just snack on the actual fruits and vegetables. Apples, oranges, peaches, cherry tomatoes, carrots or celery sticks etc.. no cooking or prep time required, even less than juicing in fact. Are juicers supposed to help us extract more of the good stuff? Is there really a big difference?

If you're going to juice, get a Vitamix or equivalent mixer. You'll be drinking everything, including the fibre, which normal juicers typically waste.

If you're going to juice, get a Vitamix or equivalent mixer. You'll be drinking everything, including the fibre, which normal juicers typically waste.

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I've been on the nutribullet program since last December .

Lost 16 lbs . . . Stomach/gut/digestive tract feels way better .

Replaced breakfast and lunch with a smoothie , and a sensible dinner .

typical ingredients : greens , kale , Apple , pear , yogurt , ginger , flax seed , frozen fruit , beets , cabbage , lemon , orange , cashews , almonds , sunflower seeds , banana .

I don't cook , like , at all , but I like cutting stuff up and throwing it in the 'bullet .

^ ditto

I got a Nutribullet and it has been a great way to up my fruit and veggie intake. I dropped 15 pounds without even trying. I look and feel better, my energy level is more stable throughout the day and I cant remember the last time I had a cold.

I do a lot of spinach (like 2 cups packed down), but apparently it's something you can overdo. Need to replace it with kale more often. Costco has massive bags for less than $5 here that last me a week or so. I will also try some nuts. Can't do beets, though, they taste too much like dirt.

we got a blendtec from costco, and smoothies are a daily thing for the family. kids are little so i find this helps to get some greens into their gullets. it is a combo of stuff pretty much as patrolskid listed. we also bought the little twister jar so you can make peanut butter, etc with it.

my inlaws don't like their juicer as they say it wastes so much food, which i have seen…i like the smoothies, they are a little chewy if that makes sense

they are a little chewy if that makes sense

But they don't have to be if that's your fetish.

I too prefer a little meat in my juice.

i do a big fruit shake every morning. hemp powder,4 bananas , aj, and lots of blueberries or other fruits..

canadian wild blueberries are the key

i never get the flu shot bullshit..going good this winter (touches wood).. :)

i do a big fruit shake every morning. hemp powder,4 bananas , aj, and lots of blueberries or other fruits..

canadian wild blueberries are the key

i never get the flu shot bullshit..going good this winter (touches wood).. :)

4 bananas is a lot of sugar! Fruit can be overdone. But certainly i would think blending is better than juicing. Try to sneak some veggies in there.

BTW I have read that blending pulverizes the fibre and so its still better to eat fruit intact, but i do not know if there is science behind that.

BTW I have read that blending pulverizes the fibre and so its still better to eat fruit intact, but i do not know if there is science behind that.

hmm, do you honestly think blending will pulverize fibre on a molecular level that makes it ineffective? how does this compare to the grinding effect of chewing your food? or the corrosive effect of acid in your stomach with a ph of 1.5-3.5? there's also the idea that blending may increase the availability of some nutrients. a quick search shows there is relatively little scientific research and the only thing i found was a link in a nutrition article. like the article said, some things may be better and some may be worse. at the end of the day smoothies/juices are an easy and tasty way to get nutrients in so there's probably no reason to worry about any negligible losses.

http://www.readcube.com/articles/10.1111%2Fj.1365-2621.1987.tb05886.x?r3_referer=wol[HTML_REMOVED]tracking_action=preview_click[HTML_REMOVED]show_checkout=1

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18973339

4 bananas is a lot of sugar! Fruit can be overdone. But certainly i would think blending is better than juicing. Try to sneak some veggies in there.

BTW I have read that blending pulverizes the fibre and so its still better to eat fruit intact, but i do not know if there is science behind that.

well it is my morning fruit shake, so i generally have veges later in the day…been doing it fairly regular for about 20-25 yrs so far.. (only added hemp powder this year) seems to work..:)

12g sugar / banana ! thats why I'm so sweet…

http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/bananas-raise-blood-sugar-5388.html

http://www.livestrong.com/article/527607-is-the-sugar-in-bananas-bad-for-you/

^^
Sugar in Bananas
A medium banana, measuring 7 to 7 7/8 inches long and weighing 118 grams, contains 14 grams of sugar. This amounts to about 53 percent of its total 105 calories. The sugar in bananas is primarily naturally-occurring fructose, although glucose, sucrose and maltose are also present. Pure fructose added to products can cause elevated triglycerides when eaten in excess. However, when fructose occurs naturally - as in bananas - and comes with a bundle of nutrients and fiber, it is unlikely to cause problems.