Juicing?

[Conan The Librarian]

I'm thinking of skipping breakfast with solid food and juicing instead for a few months. That's putting fruits and vegies in the blender and turning it to juice, and straining out the pulp. Do you have any opinions or experience with this?

[PowPow]

You will lose the fiber.
I think there is something pshycological about chewing that you need to feel satisfied.
Also, chewing activates saliva production which is a necessary component of digestion.
Just drinking will skip the saliva part, and you may end up with indigestion more often.

[mirage1988]

you may lose most of the fiber, but you concentrate the nutrients and the flavor. Heres my V8 recipe that puts the store bought version to shame.
4 large tomatoes
1 clove garlic
1 small onion
1 jalapeno-whole, just cut the stem off
4 stalks celery
sprinkle of lowrys season salt
makes about 20 to 22 ounces, it has some bite to it if you don't like spicy cut the jalapeno in half and take the seeds out.
If you are serious about juicing you should invest in a juicer, its money well spent, much more efficient than a blender.

[KIMBER45]

I did it for years. What you have is mostly carbs. You need to eat some protein or you'll get hungry.
 

[Victor3]

 Everyone I've known who tried juicing ended up tossing their machine in the trash within a year. The consensus was that it became too much of a hassle to clean the thing every day.
 However, I do know a couple of guys who went from a juicer to a very expensive blender (can't remember the brand) that pulverizes stuff so well that no straining is required to make a drinkable liquid. Seems to me that would be the way to go, both for convenience and best nutrition.

[Ladobe]

Have long experience here.   I started juicing in the early-mid 90's and have done so off and on every since.   The off and on more because they are a PITA to clean than anything, so I had to be in the "mood".   As suggested, you not only loose the fiber, but some of the nutrients and benefitts in the fiber unless you use it in other ways in your diet.   And also as mentioned, to get the most benefit out of a juicer you do need to chew your juice.    Benefits are more energy and stamina, a natural preventative of health issues, weight loss and it tastes good.   As also said it's best if it is supplemented with other foods. 
 
When I was diagnosed with diabetes last fall I switched gears, changing my diet completely loosly following the so called plate method to beat it in only about 4 months, with the extra benefit of loosing about 35 pounds.   All my numbers are still normal, no more diabetes.   Then I took the next step a few months ago and switched to a raw diet.   I bought a very powerful commercial duty emulsification blender, and it gets used every day 2-3-4 or more times.   It starts off as a very powerful juicer that also breaks down the fiber and retains all the nutrients.   It will make frozen and cooked foods from raw foods, nut butters and doughs, is a grinder, a food processor, etc all rolled into one.   So instead of just juicing, I make fruit and veggie smoothies, sorbets and icecream, hot beverages, soups and stews, use it as a food processor for anything, a dough maker, etc.   So the juicer, Cuisinart, crock pot... literally 90% of the other kitchen appliances all remain under the counter unused.   And clean up is a breeze by just running some hot water and detergent in it for 10-20-30 seconds, rinse and set aside to drain.
 
If you go that last route, don't be fooled by those advertised on TV, IE the Ninja, Health Master and such.   Not as efficient or well made, they have short very poor BS warranty's and a not so good reputation for customer service.   It does cost more up front to get much better, but you'll only have to buy one commercial duty to last you the rest of your life in a home environment.    I did the research for weeks, read the blogs and reviews, and the smartest choices were Vitamix, Waring or BlendTec.    For my uses I decided on a Vitamix with a smaller container as I live alone that has most of the bells and whistles and endless recipes, bought a half dozen more ice cube trays, and a bunch of high quality containers of various sizes for fruit, veggie and meat storage/freezing that protect the nutrients.   Set me back around $750 all together, but you can get into just a blender for less than $400 when deals are running.    And it will have up to a 10 year no BS warranty with good reviews on customer service (Vitamix is a family owned business that gets 5 stars for that).   I also changed to a farmers market to buy my food - way higher grade, way more selection, and way cheaper than regular food chains. 
 
FWIW 

[PowPow]

OT, but Ladobe breifly mentioned a neat trick that my wife just learned a couple of weeks ago at a cooking demonstration and was impressed enough that she told me.
I always thought you had to disassemble a blender, put it in the disahwasher each time you use it.
Nope, hot water, dishwashing liquid, high speed, rinse. So simple.

[Ladobe]

With some juicers besides the base not all parts can't even be put in the top rack of a dishwasher, so are hand wash.   And in the case of mines "basket" anyway that grinds the product, it had to be scrubbed by hand with a brush to get it clean - every time, and the duller it gets the more cleaning effort it takes.   A dishwasher will not clean it, not even when new.   Besides, to use them right you use them several times a day, and that's a lot of trips to the dish washer and extra expense.   Add that some veggies especially stain juicer parts (like carrots, a very common base ingrediant), and the clear BPA free containers of the Vitamix can not be stained.   Back when I was always on the go this Vitamix would have taken far less time and effort to use, so would have been used far more than the juicer was, and with far less waste.
 
There's a learning curve with so much these super blenders can do, but once you get it down highly varied tasty, wholesome and super fast meals are a breeze even for this old bachelor, and with almost no clean up.    I don't even have to do dishes at all if I eat over the sink.   
 
I can make steaming hot soups/stews in about 3 minutes from raw veggies, fresh spices and precooked meats... about twice as long as it takes to make a smoothie, sorbet or ice cream, or a container full of crushed ice.  Same with party drinks, alcoholic or otherwise, the fixings for omletes, etc.   With any a quick rinse is all there is for cleaning.    Take a little longer to clean after spreads or fondues or doughs sometimes, but only long enough to add and run some water and soap for 20 seconds before the rinse. 
 
Can't imagine anybody who still works for a living, has a wife and a bunch of kids not having one.   Foods kids normally won't eat will be readily accepted, easier for the wife, healthier than prepared foods (you have 100% control on what is in meals), and with a huge savings on the monthly food bill.   Even as an old dog living alone mine has already paid for itself in savings on the food bill.

[Drilling Man]

you may lose most of the fiber, but you concentrate the nutrients and the flavor. Heres my V8 recipe that puts the store bought version to shame.
4 large tomatoes
1 clove garlic
1 small onion
1 jalapeno-whole, just cut the stem off
4 stalks celery
sprinkle of lowrys season salt
makes about 20 to 22 ounces, it has some bite to it if you don't like spicy cut the jalapeno in half and take the seeds out.
If you are serious about juicing you should invest in a juicer, its money well spent, much more efficient than a blender.

  That sounded VERY good, so seeing i have everything i needed to make it, fresh from my garden, i just made some.  It was pretty good, but for me, it didn't put the store bought V8 to shame. 
 
  I think it would be a great "base", for a sauce...
 
  DM

[Brett]

When I saw the subject line I thought you were going to comment about Lance Armstrong.   

[Conan The Librarian]

Can't I use a blender? Why not?

[gypsyman]

I still have teeth!!   gypsyman

[benny123]

I have a Breville centrifugal juicer, as well as a Omega, masticating, juicier. Due to the time, I didn't get to read all the posts but I thought they were all pretty informative. I'm just gonna summarize my experiences.

You cannot use a blender to juice. Especially if your using it as a part of a diet regimen (not simply having a juice every so often)

A good juicer will extract the juicer and discard the fiber. The idea is the expelled fiber isn't nutrient rich. By drinking the liquid, your body has a chance to assimilate a lot more nutrients than if it had to use enzymes to break down cell walls and such. This ain't gonna happen with a blender. The blades will just chop up stuff finely but it's just that, blended. A juicer separates the wet juice from the dry pulp.


Although I currently only drink a juice in the am to get me going, I credit previous weight lost from juicing. I fasted about a week both times and, honestly, it wasn't that hard. Key was to drink when hungry. Also helped me wien off coffee. I just didn't feel liked had to have it in the am, like I used to.


I have had my juicers for a while and I would not get rid of either of them. Actually, the Omega is good in that it'll make juice from coconut. Every once in a while I'll make a coconut-watermelon. Just delicious.

If you haven't done so already, do a general web search with these topics, it'll help. Also, give you a idea on what juices well and what nutrients are key

[Ladobe]

...You cannot use a blender to juice...

I do not agree.   The blenders I have been talking about used right DO break down the cell walls, extract every nutrient, and there is very little to no left over fiber remaining.   IOW, fruits/veggies are completely broken down, liquified, and it would take a very fine filter to catch any traces of fiber (cell walls).   Not the same as the juicer I have that leaves behind nutrients because it does not break down cells as well.  IE, I might get some "foam" in a say coffee filter from this blender, but not the typical masses of partially brioken down fiber I do in a juicer.   Whatever little there is with this blender are important to health as well.   But it could also just be easily skimmed or filtered off the top if wanted instead of dealing with the mess a juicer leaves behind.   I don't bother.
 
I use it several times a day because of the ease of use and clean up, so get way more nutrients from it than I ever did from the juicer.   Different dtrokes I guess, but I am sold on this blender and the juicer is ancient history.   

[Conan The Librarian]

Lots of good information here! Thanks for taking the time! I appreciate it.

[mirage1988]

Hey DM-
Did you run my recipe in a juicer or a blender, if it's like a sauce then you prob just blended it. like has been said juicing separates the juice from the pulp and the skin, concentrating the flavors and nutrients.

[Drilling Man]

Hey DM-
Did you run my recipe in a juicer or a blender, if it's like a sauce then you prob just blended it. like has been said juicing separates the juice from the pulp and the skin, concentrating the flavors and nutrients.

  I juiced it, and i said it would make a good "base" for a sauce...
 
  DM

[bobg]

  I have heard good things about the Black & Becker juicer. Anyone ever try one?  I would drink more juice if i didn't have to run to the store to buy it. My problem is i would put a shot of vodka in it.

[bobg]

 That was suppose to say Black & Decker.