The Juicing Recipes Q & A, 2.0

As time allows, or rather, ever so infrequently, the Juicing Recipes blog senses that the most popular and most pressing questions just need answers. I believe my last Q and A, written in 2007, answered some very similar questions to the ones I've received lately. In fact, most of the questions I receive here have a very common theme. Well, instead of being lazy and directing you to my 2 year old post I figure it is much more neighborly of me to try and clarify here, in the year 2009. (I'm nothing if not persistent).


Question:
I need a good juicer. Which brand should I avoid?

Answer:
This one is easy. A poor juicer is defined by its' price tag. Unfortunately you get what you pay for with juicers. While I can't give you specific brands to avoid, I can tell you that if you see something for sale at anything under, say, 70.00 USD, run screaming in the other direction. Having said that, if you only have x amount to spend, I would much rather you get a decent blender and save up for your juicer. A blender will make it harder for you to juice many items, but at least you will get a start on juicing and have an appliance that won't burn out in 6 months.

Question:
Is fasting with juices unhealthy?
Answer:
Hell no, in fact going on a juice fast for 5 to 10 days is an incredibly good thing to do for your body. Fasting cleans your body of toxins, it "Reboots" your metabolism and clears your head (and bowels). Note that I'll be detailing juice fasting in a future post.

A good juicing fast can actually change your life. I personally fast twice each year, using juices to augment the nutritional requirements. I love it so much I recently wrote a detailed, step by step juicing fast Ebook. Because my book is being sold exclusively on another website I can't promote it here at "Juicing Recipes" (for another six months or so). However, I can tell you that I was initially inspired to complete my first juice fast thanks to the book "Juicing, Fasting, and Detoxing for Life". This book is also an excellent read, it's cheap @ 10.00, and will give you a good companion to any juice fast.

Fasting itself is not an easy task and definitely one you will want to prepare for. At or around the 3rd day you will feel misreable, that I can guarantee. Think - headaches, sore throat and hyper sensitivity to happy people. However once the horrid toxins start to make their way out of your body, the change in your mental and physical clarity is literally breathtaking. When you alleviate the suffering your body faces from the every day constant barrage of toxicity, you WILL come out of a fast feeling like you could leap over a mountain. This I can also guarantee.

Question:
What is the best juicer and how much will I have to pay?
Answer:
What I continually recommend for juicers are all manufactured by Breville. One day they should really start paying me to promote their products (disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated to Breville in case you think I'm trying to be "Joe the Salesman" here)

Breville is a company makes a superior product to anything else I have owned or reviewed in my entire juicing life. The Breville JE900 Juice Fountain Professional is what I personally use. It is to juicers as the Bugatti Veyron is to automobiles. This thing could likely juice my coffee table (if I ever discovered hidden vitamin benefits from a coffee table). It's pricey for sure, but it really is a sexy and Uber-capable juicer.

If you are operating on a smaller budget, the Breville 800JEXL Juice Fountain Elite works perfectly. My Mom uses this model and hasn't complained in 4 years. It's a significant drop in price from my model and still gives you tons of bang for your buck. In fact I should say this is my #1 recommendation, the JE900 is for those of us that need extra oomph.

If you can't afford either of these units, the one I recommend the least is the Breville XXJE95XL. It is a good, quality product but if you buy this and start juicing on a regular basis, you will become dissatisfied with its' limits. It is limited to 2 speeds, it is small(ish), and certain hard fruits and veggies will give it a run for its' money.

Question:
After I juice there's a ton of pulp left over. Is this stuff useless?
Answer:
Hell no. (As you can tell I like to say that) Pulp is exteremely high in dietary fibre. You can add the juicer pulp to meal recipes to increase the dietary fibre levels of said recipes. Adequate levels of dietary fibre are sadly missing in western diets, and as a result causes many digestive disorders. Just as a quick example, carrot and apple pulp muffins are a delicious way to utilize leftover pulp and add fibre to your diet. Carrot cake is a traditional recipe that can easily be converted to Carrot Pulp Cake. There are tons of recipes that utilize pulp in foods. I'll certainly try and throw some up here now that I know people are interested.

Pulp is also beneficial as compost. If you garden and grow your own vegetables and fruits, firstly let me congratulate you on being awesome. Secondly, the pulp from your juices can act like a mulch. That I even know this makes me feel like I should be wearing overalls and riding my horse and buggy, but oh well. :)

Well that's a beginning. There were plenty of other questions that I'm sure I will get to soon enough. Remember, don't go cheap on your juicer, don't be afraid of doing a juice fast, and don't throw away the pulp from your juicing recipes.

BTW, here's a great juicing recipe for your heart.

SMART HEART START

• 1 Bunch of Asparagus
• 1 Handful Colard Greens
• 2 Stalks Celery
• 1 Carrot
• 1 Apple
• Add Gardentrio

courtesy of ezjuicers

Cheers!

Juicing Recipes That Cleanse Your Colon

There must be a sale. Either that or there has been a major colonic breakthrough on the news that I've missed by being stuck in the gym for the past week. I've had at least a dozen juicing recipes emails from my readers regarding colon cleansing, asking about or touting its' benefits, or inquiring as to how it can help them to lead a healthier life.

What is a colon cleanse? Well it's really simple. Since the colon is essential to your well being - for the elimination of toxins and your bodies waste products - it is a bodily function that gets a lot of wear and tear (not literally of course). The smaller intestine is situated below the stomach and liver and is the major part of our digestive tract. Now this statistic may just blow you away, but did you know that the total surface of the gastrointestinal system is about six thousand square feet? Yep, I am not joking.

So one would think that a set of organs so massive would need some sort of regular cleaning to work at optimum capacity, and one would, of course, be right. When we are overloaded with toxins, our glandular and immune systems are suppressed, which lowers our normal temperature and our craving for water. Bad bacteria thrive in the intestines and produce ammonia, which lowers the pH. The lower pH in the colon or intestinal tract creates an environment for parasites. I could go on, but is that really necessary? You should be running to my handy and helpful juices and links already since I mentioned the words "parasite" and "intestine" in the same sentence.

As an FYI, here's some reasons why juicing recipes can help ease any persistent nightmares about aliens growing inside your stomach.

• Carrots can help an inflamed colon.
• the skin of apple contains pectin, which help remove noxious substances from the system. Pectin helps to prevent protein matter in the intestines from spoiling.
• The juice of a lemon is a natural antiseptic, it will help destroy harmful bacteria.
• Celery has been known to help in diseases of the kidneys, pancreas, liver and gallbladder.
• Cucumbers contain Erepsin, an enzyme that helps to digest protein.
• Honey is just a great super food and contains many nutrients that help your digestive tract in many ways.

So, as opposed to inundating you with all the things that can be wrong inside your digestive engine, here's a juicing recipe to help you cleanse your colon using the properties of the items involved. Alternately (or additionally, depending on how ambitious you are) you'll find a great colon cleansing 7 day kit here and a colon cleansing treatment here. Both come highly recommended.

Colon Cleansing "Power Juice" Recipe

• 1 red apple
• 1 medium size carrot
• 5 slices of cucumber
• 1 stalk of celery (optional)
• 1 big glass of cold water
• 1 tbsp of honey or 1 tsp of muscovado sugar
• A juice from one lemon if you want a sour flavor or 1 tbsp Apple cider vinegar.

Instructions:

Mix the apple (the greener, the better), stalk of celery, carrot, five slices of cucumber, lemon juice and honey or sugar in your juicer (or a blender) with ice cold water. Puree into a shake.

Drink immediately before it oxidizes.

recipe courtesy Forever @ Colon-Cleansing-Power-Juice-Recipe

You may also consider a colonic irrigation, or visit one of the many spas that caters to colon cleansing. All in all, it is extremely important to keep your intestines healthy. Although the subject of your colon may conjure up all sorts of embarrassing problems or potential compromising situations, the methods you can use to maintain a healthy digestive tract are really not that intrusive, and the benefits are great and many. So run off now, make that juicing recipe, and give your colon a break.