Juicing Recipes

If you only want orange juice a simple citrus press will suit you just fine but when you progress on to wheatgrass and carrots or perhaps root ginger you will need one of the many juicers there are now on the market.

I have to say that experience has proven to me that many of the juicers you can buy at your local electrical outlet are just not man enough for the job. Worse still, they produce fairly disgusting juice that has a scummy looking foam on the top. Oxygen is introduced during the juicing process, which destroys nutrients and all-in-all, they are not good.

If you are serious about juicing you need to go for one of the specialist machines and the type of food you want to process for juice will dictate the type of machine you buy. Take a look at juicer reviews where individuals are encouraged to leave their own views about the juicers they have purchased. It might help you avoid making a costly mistake.

1. Everyone is familiar with Fruit Juices These nutrient rich juices cleanse and nourish whilst offering anti-oxidant protection too.

Don't be afraid to process the whole fruit through your juicer, first making sure that all skins and rinds have been thoroughly washed and cleaned.

Some soft fruits are better processed in a liquidiser or blender as the fibre within them is so soft it is easily processed within the digestive tract.

Don't be tempted to gulp down fruit juices. Sip them, hold them in your mouth to give the saliva a chance to begin the process of digestion. Savour the flavour and the freshness of the taste.

2. Green juices are the next group and these are the cleansers; the detoxers and the rejuvenators. (I'm making words up here as I go, but you get the picture) Green juices are very good for you but they don't always taste that good so be warned!

Green juices are full of chlorophyll which, in its chemical make-up, is the closest thing to blood we have. This makes sense as it it is the life force of plants in much the same way as our circulatory systems are our life force too.

3. Finally we come to vegetable juices. These are wonderful for restoring the pH balance of the body to an optimum close to alkaline state. Any vegetable can be juiced. Adding garlic to the juicer will give the immune system a boost although it may make you a little unpopular with your lover.....

It is the vegetable juices that should be embraced by slimmers as they are wonderful for breaking down fat deposits and increasing metabolism.

Juicer recipes are very much a matter of personal taste and preference. Think about your health and the needs of your body. You might consider a green juice at night to work its cleansing magic whilst you sleep. An energising fruit juice in the morning to give you a burst of energy. A welcome vegetable juice later in the day to counter the effects of any acid forming food you have eaten.

Juicing can become a way of life very easily. With the right equipment and the right preparation it is quick and easy to do and your body will thank you for it.

The first step in understanding the different juicers is to have a rough idea how they work.

Centrifugal juicers spin a very fine grater at very high speed. The pieces of fruit and vegetable are dropped down a chute and when they hit the grater the pulp is separated from the juice with the juice being 'spun' out in one direction through a centrifugal motion and the pulp in another. These machines are quick to use and usually fairly easy to clean but they are noisy, they get hot - which destroys nutrients and they can introduce oxygen to the juice which once again affects nutritional value.

A variation on this theme is the whole fruit centrifugal juicer which operates in exactly the same way but the large feeder chute allows whole fruits to be processed. This obviously reduces preparation times. I personally cannot recommend any of these machines because of their very high operating temperatures and the horrible foam they produce which sits on top of the juice like a scum.

Masticating juicers 'chew' the food to be juiced, breaking down fibres and squeezing out the juice. They operate at relatively slow speeds and therefore do not generate so much heat. A type of masticating juicer is the single auger type which works like an old fashioned mincer. A screw like device rotates and crushes and pulverises the food against a mesh screen which allows the juice to pass through.

If you are in the market for a juicer drop by Juicer Bargains to check for machines at the best prices.