6 Tips For Juicing At Home

Getting a juicer this summer has been nothing sort of life changing for me – in the best way possible.

I juice almost every single day – sometimes 2 or 3 times. I’ve noticed that my skin is clearer and brighter, I’m so much more energized – I require a lot less sleep – and I just feel so much healthier overall. I still make sure to eat lots of raw and sautéed vegetables (juicing removes fiber, which we certainly still need!), but I love how quickly and easily juicing allows our body to absorb the gorgeous nutrients on which we thrive. I was brand new to juicing at the beginning of the summer, but I’ve picked up a few tricks and tips over the past few months, and today I want to share a few! If you have any tips of your own, please share them in the comments. The more the merrier!

Washing produce

1. Wash those ingredients. Even though the juice comes mainly from what’s inside fruits and vegetables, it’s possible that what’s on the outside can contaminate the juice – like bugs, bacteria, and other parasites, just to name a few. Give your produce a good scrub before you put it through the juicer, and you’ll feel so much better when you sip on that delicious juice. If you’re interested, here are some tips on cleaning fruits & vegetables naturally!

Girl juicing

2. Juice flimsy with firm. Although most juicers come with a tool to help push ingredients into them, some flimsy vegetables (like baby kale) seem like they go into the juicer yet nothing comes out! To get the most out of these vegetables, insert them into the juicer along with something more firm – like celery or cucumbers. This will help push everything through.

Green juice

3. A little fruit goes a long way. I’m a huge fan of juices made entirely of gnarly greens – I’m talking kale, dandelion greens, swiss chard – those dark, leafy, nutrient-dense vegetables that do wonders for the body. But these produce a very bitter-tasting juice that is certainly not for the faint of heart. To make your vegetable juice taste a little more pleasant, add a bit of fruit. Fresh fruit is a healthy way to get some natural sugar into your body – just be sure not to overdo it. One small apple will do the trick! I also love adding a lemon to green juice as a low-sugar way to introduce an interesting dimension. Instead of putting it through the juicer, just squeeze half a lemon into your juice when it’s ready to be consumed!

4. Use a straw. Dark-colored juice – although wonderfully full of nutrients – can stain those beautiful white teeth of yours – especially if you’re juicing regularly. To avoid that altogether, vow to drink your juice through a straw every time! Easy.

Hummusbird juice

5. Drink it quickly. There are two main types of juicers out there – centrifugal juicers and cold press juicers. This tip applies mainly to the former. Centrifugal juicers are less expensive than cold press juicers, and they’re the most common (that’s the kind I have). They extract juice using a spinning metal blade, which produces heat due to its speed. That heat oxidizes the nutrients and destroys some of the enzymes in your produce, leaving you with a slightly less nutritious juice (though still incredibly nutritious). These nutrients decline as time goes on, so it’s best to consume your juice as soon as it’s made. If you need to store it, do so in a totally airtight glass jar, and place it in the refrigerator as soon as you can. I recommend drinking your juice within 24 hours of it being made – although I always strive to drink mine within the first minute. :)

Juicer

6. Wash your juicer right away. The cleanup is really the only part about juicing that kind of sucks. Juicers are made up of multiple parts, and the pulp has a tendency to get everywhere. Take it from me, though: Wash your juicer as soon as you’re done with it. The longer you let that pulp sit there, the longer you’ll probably end up leaving the juicer un-cleaned. The pulp can start to develop an unpleasant smell if left out, and it’ll become harder to scrub off of certain parts, as well. My juicer came with a handy plastic bristle brush to clean it, but I’ve found that a natural vegetable-cleaning brush with tampico fiber bristles works even better! While it seems like cleaning a juicer can take up an entire afternoon, it’s really only, like, three minutes total. I’ve timed it.

Vegetables, feet

Do you have any more juicing tips? Please share!

Follow Brigette on Instagram, and have a look at her blog and Etsy shop!

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M.E.
9 years ago

I’ve been thinking about getting a juicer for quite some time now, but I don’t know which kind I should get. Any suggestions?

Chelsea
9 years ago

Brigette- a helpful tip: Use a left over produce bag to line the pulp container. All of the pulp gets caught in the bag and makes for a faster cleanup :)

Meredith
9 years ago

Don’t let all that juice pulp go to waste! Another great aspect of juicing is researching and experimenting with juice pulp recipes! Lately I have been juicing beets with carrots and kale and making the pulp into savory beer burgers. Yum.

9 years ago

LOVELY tips, thank you thank you!

http://juliettelaura.blogspot.com

Dee
9 years ago

I think you’ve covered a lot of great tips here and don’t have much to add. I no longer juice fruits (I prefer to eat them), but I love adding lemon juice into the mix. In fact, I rarely have my green juices without a bit of lemon, as well as ginger and garlic.

DW | http://www.daundra.com

Jenna
9 years ago

I put a bag in my pulp catcher to catch the pulp- just like a little trash can. It makes cleanup easy, because when I’m done I can just add the pulp to my compost (or throw it away if you want).

H
9 years ago

Juicing fruits is a waste, honestly – you’re really missing out on something that controls the sugar content: fiber. But to each his or her own.

Hypnotica Vintage
9 years ago

Feed the pulp to the chickens! They love it and then you aren’t wasting anything.
http://www.etsy.com/shop/HypnoticaVintage

9 years ago

I have a centrifugal juicer as well and it’s not always great at extracting the juice the first whirl through. I’ll push my pulp several times through my juicer to get as much juice out of the fruits and veggies as I can. Also, be sure to remove any stickers from the produce prior to juicing, you don’t want to juice those! (Not that it happened to me…)

9 years ago

This is fabulous! I am definitely going to start juicing this year, but don’t know what kind of juicer I should get… I was thinking low price but good quality… Any advice? xoxo
Love this post, fabulous pictures– thanks for tips!
xoxo

http://loveyenrose.blogspot.com

9 years ago

thks for all this tips. I will try them. Thks very much.

http://www.othermomix.com/en/

9 years ago

Thank you for these tips – especially the bit about using a straw! (& beautiful photography!)

Warm regards,
Alexandra
http://www.littlewildheart.com

9 years ago

Now I’m craving after some good juices. Unfortunately, most of the juices you get in the supermarket are packed with absurd amounts of sugar and other suspicious stuff. Thanks for the post, having a guideline is so much easier to begin with when you’re as unexpierenced as me.

https://cliffhangersblog.wordpress.com

9 years ago

You should definitely try making recipes from the pulp of the juice! You can make everything from cookies to bread :) Thanks for the tips!

https://www.mindfullyaudrina.blogspot.com

AM
9 years ago

I felt terrible throwing out the pulp. Now I freeze it in ziplock bags (remove as much air as possible) and bring them to my friend’s farm for his chickens. Nothing is wasted, all that fiber and nutrition is so good for them, they have a blast pecking over their frozen treat, and we laugh like crazy watching them! An all-around win! :)

Morgan
9 years ago

I love juicing but you do miss out on all that fiber–so we got a vitamin instead! It’s technically an insanely powerful blender but it juices too! And there’s no need to peel fruits/veggies, you just throw it all in! Clean-up is easy peasy, a dap of soap & a little water, run the blender and pour out!! Honestly, we will never waste our money on several different appliances again when the vitamin can do it all! Did I mention we make natural peanut butter, soups & smoothies too?!

Morgan
9 years ago

Oops! auto correct! It’s called a Vitamix. They are awesome & last a lifetime!

9 years ago

Great post! I love juicing ;)

http://justsem.wordpress.com/

kk
9 years ago

My fiance and I love juicing and we started putting the pulp from our fruit juices into our homemade gluten free breads. Add some walnuts and raisins, and the pulp from that beet, apple, lemon, ginger juice to give great dimension to any grain bread.

Alyssa C
9 years ago

Can I make a recipe recommendation to try??

2 medium beets
2 small navel oranges
5 carrots

It is the most beautiful red color and tastes delicious! Perfect earthy/sweet/tart blend. ENJOY!

Nicole B
9 years ago

I love to freeze the pulp in an ice cube tray so I can add a few cubes to my green smoothie! Reduce, reuse, recycle!

9 years ago

Been juicing for two years and I love it! It’s a great way to get all the greens and nutrient fast.

Two of my favourite recipes:

Green Juice

1 apple
bunch of kale (or rich dark greens)
Thumb size ginger
half lemon
cucumber

Breast Cancer Juice

1/4 watermelon
1/2 lemon
1 tomato
1 cucumber

And my boyfriend, Jess, makes a wicked fruit juice!

1 orange
1 apple
half lemon

served over ice.

I love to use my juice to make soups! I juice beets, carrots, celery, and even sweet potato. I use the pulp to thicken and the juice as a “broth”, add a few spices (turmeric is always a good choice, so many health benefits!) Its a great way to keep all the nutrient and super easy!

Even dips! Here’s a quick tatziki recipe:

juice two cucumbers and use the pulp (instead of grating and having to squeeze the juice out) Add some lemon juice, garlic, dill and greek yogurt! SOOO DELICIOUS! And the cucumber juice is a really refreshing bonus.

Cheers!

Aleisha Raquel

9 years ago

haha great post! it seems we have come to similar conclusions in our short time of juicing( i also really got into it at the beginning of this summer). Definitely going to have to bulk up on muh greens though!

9 years ago

Thats funny that you say to clean it immediately, I was telling my friends that and they were like “THAT’S WITH EVERYTHING THOUGH!” and I’m like yeah but you don’t understand. I’m glad you do

Max
9 years ago

I have a great juicer that I’m looking to find a good home for. It’s still in the original packaging. If anyone is interested feel free to take a look at this post. All the details are there, but it’s a Hurom HH Series. Top of the line!

http://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/app/4904595079.html