Do you juice?

[Apiphobic]

Pros? Cons?

[Parrothead]

I tried it. Didn't like the mess. Thought the juicer was a waste of money. I'd rather eat the whole fruit or veg.

[Momof3littles]

No, too much sugar for my insulin-resistant self. I'd rather add raw spinach to a smoothie or something that works better for my particular needs.

[pixeldog]

I only juice in the summer. Right now we're drinking carrot/apple.....waiting for more of a harvest from our garden. I always dilute it in half with water. Have tried the green drinks but no one here really likes them much.

[regentrude]

No. Don't see the point. I rather eat fruits and veggies.

[HappyLady]

I love fresh juice and the combination possibilities. I actually don't really enjoy eating fruit so for me, this gets me to "eat" my fruit. I have both a juicer and a Vitamix and just end up using my Vitamix and then straining it through a nut milk bag if I don't want the pulp. I don't do it everyday, but if I had someone making it for me I would most definitely drink fresh juices everyday. :lol:

[Oakblossoms]

I love kale, carrot juice. I have been trying to do green smoothies. But, the juice actually sits with my good sugar better. Go figure.

[Petrichor]

I've been drinking green smoothies. I'm a part of a CSA, and we get way more leafy greens than we can eat. Any greens go in, including parts that would be normally discarded (like strawberry greens or broccoli stems). I stick things in the freezer until I'm ready to stick them through the blender. Liquify, then freeze in ice cube trays. When I'm ready to drink it, i mix frozen or fresh fruit with a couple green cubes in the blender or food processor.

 

the only cons for me are the clean up (I hate cleaning anything though, :lol:)

[PollyOR]

My family makes fun of me for wasting the fiber. I've never been much of a veggie/fruit eater so this is better than nothing.

 

There are a few drawbacks. I bought a masticating juicer which is slow. By the time I cut up my vegetables and fruits and juice them I've invested close to an hour and I still need to wash the dishes. The other drawback is I always seem to have spinach stuck between my teeth :D. Oh, and one more. Very green poo. :smilielol5:

 

I make green juice (kale, spinach, celery, cucumber) with a granny smith apple and one sweet apple so I haven't noticed a problem with a spike in blood sugar.

[ereks mom]

I bought dh a juicer from Christmas a few years ago. he LOVES it, but doesn't do it often. Right now, dear friends are using our juicer to supplement the diet of their 16yo son who has leukemia.

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

I try to alternate between juicing and green smoothies. I love them both. The down side to juicing is cleaning the juicer! Other than that, it's awesomeness in a glass!

 

I posted about my 10 day juice fast on my blog.

[Seasider]

I voted yes but drawbacks.

 

I think it's kind of expensive. I don't do it regularly, but about twice a year I will juice fast for 2-3 days to kind of reset my digestive system. I love the benefits but I don't like the waste. To eat the whole fruit/vege I am juicing would be so much more filling. But, i am sure I would never eat a whole raw beet!

[stripe]

No. I am happy with the occasional smoothie, but I would like to juice a carrot once in a while.

[acurtis75]

I juice daily. I have done it off and on for years but really became more disciplined starting this February. After a month of consistent juicing I was able to stop taking the daily allergy/sinus medicine I've taken for years.

 

I juice once a day in the morning and take juice with me to the office. I don't have time to make it 3 or 4 times a day so I just make it once and keep it in the refridgerator. I find it keeps me from snacking so I just sip on it all day. Sometimes I eat breakfast or lunch and other times I just have juice.

 

I normally add kale, cucumber, apple, celery, carrots, lemon & ginger. If I have other stuff on hand I'll throw it in there also.

 

I have blood sugar issues if I have sweets early in the day but juice doesn't cause a problem.

[Seasider]

I juice daily. I have done it off and on for years but really became more disciplined starting this February. After a month of consistent juicing I was able to stop taking the daily allergy/sinus medicine I've taken for years.

 

I juice once a day in the morning and take juice with me to the office. I don't have time to make it 3 or 4 times a day so I just make it once and keep it in the refridgerator. I find it keeps me from snacking so I just sip on it all day. Sometimes I eat breakfast or lunch and other times I just have juice.

 

I normally add kale, cucumber, apple, celery, carrots, lemon & ginger. If I have other stuff on hand I'll throw it in there also.

 

I have blood sugar issues if I have sweets early in the day but juice doesn't cause a problem.

 

The thought of not blasting a steroid up my nasal passages daily is pretty appealing to me - I might just dust off the juicer and promote it to daily use if my allergies would settle down! Might have to give this a try, and do a test run on dd as well.

[pixeldog]

I have a Breville juicer and it only has to be washed every couple of days. The other thing I like about juicing is that sometimes I can sneak in veggies (as long as I include apple) that wouldn't otherwise be consumed. Yes, I'd agree that it would be better to eat the whole thing but it just doesn't happen....my kids' taste buds are still developing.

[5knights3maidens]

I use spinach, kale, apples and carrots. Sometimes adding oranges and/or ginger. My juice is getting greener and greener. :001_smile: I like to make a pitcher of it so it lasts a few days. My son juices enough for 7 days at a time; he stores this in mason jars. He has lost about 20 lbs or more so far.

I did mention in other posts that my oldest has lost at least 50 lbs. :001_smile:

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

My family makes fun of me for wasting the fiber.

 

The point of juicing rather than eating the whole fruit or vegetable is to get a high level of fresh food enzymes into your system at once. The digestive process apparently kills off some enzymes before they can be beneficial to your body.

 

You need to eat whole fruits and vegetables as well, because your body does need the fiber.

[Apiphobic]

Thank you all for answering and sharing your thoughts. I've recently started juicing and when I shared on facebook about it I was surprised to find out so many were juicing or had juiced.

 

We'd bought a juicer years ago but only used it a few times. But then we recently watched Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead, so we thought we'd try it out again. Now we're hooked! So I was curious how many here had tried it and how many stuck with it. I was also curious to hear why you started, how it's working for you, what your favorite combinations or routines are... I just had a whole bunch of questions!

 

Thank you again for taking the time to answer my questions.

[HSMom2One]

It's a LOT of work for the end result. I own a juicer, but haven't had it out of the cabinet in ages. The juice is delicious, but the cleanup is more than I care to do every day. Like someone else said, I eat the whole fruit. The fiber is especially important when your intake of fresh produce is limited. Most Americans just don't consume enough, so my recommendation (fwiw) would be to buy fresh and eat whole. Then stop at a juice bar once in awhile if you enjoy the taste.

 

Blessings,

Lucinda

[Lisbeth]

Love it! Do it regularly! I can pack so much more into one jui e than I can eat in one sitting. Since juicing, my health made a huge improvement. I am skeptical abt a lot, but this really made a big diff for me. Bought one of the nicer Breville juicers. Juices even greens like a champ; easy to clean! So much better than processed juice.

[Lisbeth]

I juice daily. I have done it off and on for years but really became more disciplined starting this February. After a month of consistent juicing I was able to stop taking the daily allergy/sinus medicine I've taken for years.

 

I juice once a day in the morning and take juice with me to the office. I don't have time to make it 3 or 4 times a day so I just make it once and keep it in the refridgerator. I find it keeps me from snacking so I just sip on it all day. Sometimes I eat breakfast or lunch and other times I just have juice.

 

I normally add kale, cucumber, apple, celery, carrots, lemon & ginger. If I have other stuff on hand I'll throw it in there also.

 

I have blood sugar issues if I have sweets early in the day but juice doesn't cause a problem.

 

This sounds a lot like me. I also have tons more energy. I don't think it is placebo for me, either, because I didn't expect much and was totally surprised!

[kalanamak]

I'd rather eat the whole fruit or veg.

 

:iagree: Until I'm too old to chew and swallow the fiber.

[Walking-Iris]

I do have a juicer, but I use it infrequently. I much rather have a smoothie and a huge salad. We drink those nearly every other day. But we do juice fast periodically.

 

Pros: great for periodic detoxing, micronutrients, great taste if you research and experiment to find just the right combo of fruit and veggies, fun to do--kids think it's neat. Some things are just yummier in fresh juice form imo---carrots, green apples.

 

Cons: the clean-up, (although it helps to line the canister with a plastic grocery bag to catch the pulp and then to dump that into an outdoor compost pile---easier clean-up), the prep (this is my least favorite thing---washing, chopping, slicing, tearing...), and the cost. Seriously our shopping cart is full of produce when we juice and it isn't cheap and it takes a lot of apples, carrots, and kale etc to make just a pint of juice. Adding that grocery bill onto the regular grocery bill is a bit of a burden, that's why we do it infrequently, usually when one of us feels the need to detox. I haven't actually juice fasted in a few years because it's not recommended while pregnant or nursing.

[4ofus]

We juice but not even close to exclusively. I juice in place of a meal probably 1-3x/s week. And anytime anyone in the family feels like they are getting sick/puny~the juicer comes out & gets heavy usage. It usually only takes a day or two & the illness generally backs off.

[Farrar]

I kind of enjoy it when others juice for me and when I lived in Asia the only juice you ever got was completely fresh and made in front of you and I liked that. But as a way of life or a common thing... way too much trouble for me. I don't own a juicer and I don't really want the extra hassle.

[besroma]

I only juice in the summer. Right now we're drinking carrot/apple.....waiting for more of a harvest from our garden. I always dilute it in half with water. Have tried the green drinks but no one here really likes them much.

 

:iagree: We love the carrot/apple juice combo.