About Juicers

It’s all in the juicer – well, hopefully it is in your juice!  I started juicing with a WaringPro juicer that my father won at a golf outing.  It was just fine for the amount of time that I used it originally.  My juicer of preference now, after getting some experience, is a masticating juicer: the Omega 8006 model.  So, what’s the difference?  Centrifugal vs Masticating:

Centrifugal juicer

Centrifugal juicers are much faster then their masticating counterparts, they generally have larger shoots that require less cutting prep.  The downside: I have found that in the processing quite a bit of fruit and vegetable product is left behind. For me, this is not a terrible thing because I freeze this pulp in my stock bag and make vegetable stock out of it later.

Centrifugal juicers allow you to juice more product in less time through a larger shoot, but there is moist pulp left behind that could be in your glass.

If you are a beginner juicer something like the WaringPro may be the way to go because of the price point (about $70), and they work pretty well for things like apples and carrots – if you want to add softer/leafy items like kale or spinach you should alternate softer products and leafy greens with harder items like carrots into the shoot.

I have now invested in a masticating juicer, the Omega 8006.   This juicer has a price somewhere around $300.  I have seen it at Bed Bath & Beyond and if you want to make the investment look for one of the 20% off coupons in the mail or Sunday paper for a considerable break in price.

Masticating juicer

Now, why is this masticating juicer better?  First and foremost it does a much better job removing liquids from the product.  The extruded pulp is bone dry and there is virtually no waste in your fruits and vegetables.  So, you may be spending more for your juicer, but in the long run you will get more juice from the investment of fresh fruits and veggies.

The Omega is also MUCH easier to clean.  While it might take longer to juice your products: because the mechanism crushes the juice from the veggies rather then grating them (which is really what the centrifugal juicer does), it cleans up is a fraction of the time.

This masticating juicer also works very nicely with leafy greens and is wonderful for wheatgrass.  Additionally, you can use it to make your own nut butters and banana ice cream.   So it these features are appealing to you then this may be worth the investment.

The Omega is the juicer on my counter for everyday use and the one I will be using for my 3-day detox starting Friday.  Check back tomorrow for my juice plan and a shopping list.  Like “Lara McNeil on Nutrition and Food” on Facebook for updates and recipes as I progress.