I'm heading on back to the good old days. That's right, this is a juicing for health site, and I'm stomping back to the old school. I'm saying that because of late, my posts have been more concentrated on weight loss than juicing. For those not needing to lose weight, sorry but I really had to take the opportunity to address the issue, since I was (and still am!) receiving tons of emails about juicing specifically for that purpose. So now, finally, I'm writing this to jump back full speed into the business of juicing, because after all, I live by the juice - and you should too. :)I'll start today by offering an honest and comprehensive review of the Breville Juice Fountain Elite, my pick for the overall best juicer on the market today. I've mentioned it a few times on the site, but this time I'll really give you the "low down". Yep. Every fresh start at a topic deserves its' core ingredient be attended to first. Every house needs a foundation. Every dog has his day. Every.... ok, ok, I'll shut up already.
1st off, you need to know that the Juice Fountain Elite is my #1 pick over ANY other juicer currently on the market when price is a consideration. As mentioned, I preface this statement by letting you know there are better juicers, but they cost a tad more, especially if you buy the JFE through my links ($140.00 off!!). So when I say it's hands down the best, I mean that it's the best - in a value for your money sort of way.Here's a list of reasons why this Breville unit is Super Cool, Unreal Freaky, and Awesome:
- Reason 1: It has a 3-inch chute which means that many fruits and large veggies can be juiced whole. This helps a great deal for those that don't necessarily have time - or an inclining - to cut their portions correctly for juicing. Also, juicing whole fruits allows that more of the overall nutritional value of said food item can be juiced, and therefore consumed.
- Reason 2: There are several parts to clean, but fear not, because most of these parts are dishwasher safe. This certainly adds to the appeal since most of us dread having to hand wash small parts.
- Reason 3: If you get up early in the morning for a juice, your kids won't wake up startled and wonder why you've seemingly fired up your lawnmower in the kitchen. In other words, as juicers go, the Breville is a fairly quiet unit.
- Reason 4: Editors at a popular product review company had tested 29 juicers, using various methods. They had basically processed 600 oranges, 10 pineapples, 150 beets, (and a whole slew of other fruits and veggies) and compared results. Out of these various brands, 2 Breville juicer models were hands down winners in almost every category. In fact they only lost points because of their weight and girth.
- To that "girth" ^^^ criticism I say ... come on(!), juicers are not meant to be strapped around our necks like an I pod, they are meant to live on your counter-top for crying out loud. They're supposed to be big and beautiful, so that when you reach the kitchen every morning you are immediately sucked into its' gravity field. Sheesh, I thought we all knew that.
- Reason 5: Forget bulky, the Breville JFE is nothing but Uber Sexy. Yep. It's stainless steel, which - to interior decor - is the new black. Get the Juice Fountain Elite and you will suddenly find yourself running to the appliance store to trade in every other appliance you own, for something in "stainless steel". Trust me, I did this last year and now even my can opener is of the "stainless" variety.
Expanding further on the test mentioned in reason 4, said testers were quite horrified to discover that certain very popular brands simply broke down during the process. How that matters to us is simple: if these heavily marketed juicers couldn't withstand one simple go around to gather data, they wouldn't last 3 months in your home. I'll play nice for now and not name these brands, but I can assure you they ARE some of the more popular (and more useless) juicer brands that we see every day.
All in all, the more expensive juicer models (like Breville and Greenstar products) have a significant and obvious advantage over pretty much anything from a catalog or on TV. That's not because they cost more, it's because they are meant for more robust usage and for a more serious juicing fanatic. More bang always costs more bucks, people. I can speak highly at a few top end products, those being the Breville Juice and Blend, and the Greenstar Juice Extractor. There are more products and companies that are truly awesome, but detailing them would take another article or 10. (BTW, click the links above to check them out)
One thing of utmost importance when considering juicers folks; if you are in the market, never, EVER go cheap because cheap breaks, cheap frustrates, and cheap can stop your progress when it's rendered useless by an overly ambitious pineapple recipe. Stick with the brands known to do the job over and over again. As I've mentioned, Breville (and Greenstar) are both companies worth their weight in gold.
Just for fun, and just because I'm hoping you are really a fanatic about juicing like I am, check out the Breville Mega Super Unreal Millennium Falcon Juicer. (That's not its' name, but it should be) It has a certain drool factor if you're a juice freak like I am :). As I've said somewhere, that thing could juice a Cadillac and still have enough "hudspa" to liquify your old hockey sticks. One good thing to know is that Amazon has these Uber juicers at $100.00 savings (again, if you click the link I gave that is ;)) Another great thing about the Juice and Blend is that it has a fully Uber Awesome blender attachment. So what might seem a tad expensive at first go is not really so steep - since you save on blender expenses.
Seriously, The Breville Juice/blend combo is a very advanced juicer and most people owning these models are already very serious about juicing, or they need to produce large volumes in short periods. Having said all that nonsense, this is the model I have and I just love it. Firstly, it will not ever quit. Secondly, if my BMW ever blows a gasket, I'm sure I have the replacement engine in my kitchen, right beside the microwave.
To conclude, for a reasonable cost there simply is no better juicer on the market than the Breville Juice Fountain Elite, in my opinion. You can look it over yourself (click the links), or as always, click on the fancy-shmancy pictures I always feel inclined to provide. You can buy it directly from my links at Amazon, (I've got the sweetest deals in existence;)) or by finding a brick and mortar store that carries Breville or Greenstar products. Either way it is a responsible and smart purchase if you are entering into the juicing lifestyle and want something that's both Uber Sexy and Uber Functional.
Here's an excellent juicing vid featuring my baby. Cheers!
