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lperry

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This week I was lent an Omega vertical macerating juicer, and the first experiment was with ginger. I keep ginger in the freezer to store it, and, after thawing, the juice was incredibly thick, pungent, and gingery in the best possible way. I mixed it with sweet lime juice, simple, and seltzer, and had what will probably be the base for a great summer cocktail. On a healthier note, I also have been making carrot, orange, ginger juice, and find it very enjoyable. The only caveat I can see is how much space is needed to hold what amounts to a pretty large quantity of produce.

I'm curious about how many people are juicing and if anyone has tips, tricks, recommendations, or recipes to suggest. I'm considering taking up the habit.

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This week I was lent an Omega vertical macerating juicer. I'm curious about how many people are juicing and if anyone has tips, tricks, recoomendations, or recipes to suggest. I'm considering taking up the habit.

I have the Omega macerating juicer as well. I love how well it works, although the clean-up is kind of a pain. I use it primarily to make a cleansing juice every morning: 1/4 head of cabbage; 1 apple; 2 carrots; 2 celery stalks; lots of green herbs such as parsley, cilantro, mint, basil. While I can't describe it as delicious, it's not bad at all.

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We also have the Omega masticating juicer and love it. My husband makes Junger's "green juice" from his book "Clean" several times a week. It is actually much better than you would expect.

Ingredients:

- 2 green apples

- 3 stalks celery

- 1 leaf lacinato kale

- 1 leaf Swiss chard

- 1/4 cabbage

- 1 head broccoli

- 1/2 medium cucumber

- 1/2 lemon

Directions:

1. Run all of the fruits and vegetables through a juicer. (We often strain the juice but it is not necessary)

2. Drink immediately or store it in the refrigerator for up to a day.

Recently we tried adding a little parsley and were surprised at the smooth flavor it imparted. Cilantro was not as good for us.

As for other ideas, one of my favorite combinations is carrot-apple, sometimes with the addition of spinach. When we first got the juicer, I wanted recipes or exact combinations. But we learned to improvise and utlize what looks good at the store and sounds good at the moment. I'm looking forward to the summer so we can start using good melons and berries again. Yum!

My best tip is something we recently started doing, a year and a half after getting the juicer. We will prep the veggies for several days worth of juice and store them in the fridge. That way we prep once and juice a few times.

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Thanks, Catharine, for the tip on prepping. The early AM chopping and peeling has not been my favorite part of juicing, and the idea of having ready containers in the fridge is very appealing.

Cabbage? Really?

I should also mention that I have not yet felt that "burst of energy" that the juice websites all discuss, but I have noticed that, if I have the veg juice in the morning, I don't get the 10 AM slump when I want to have a snack or caffeine. That's a definite plus.

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Mr. lperry watched the film "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead." Now I have a juicer on the counter and no room in the fridge. Carrot, orange, ginger juice (yum) already consumed.

Funny, I think he and I were watching it at the same time. Thanks, Netflix. It's hard not to consider doing some juicing after seeing this movie. If I don't want to buy a juicer, can I get by with just blending the crap out of the ingredients with a VitaMix?

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Fiber content depends on the type of juicer you have. I got a masticating one that leaves some of the pulp in, but I think some of the centrifugal ones strain it all out. Those types and the Vitamix will also heat the juice, supposedly destroying nutrients, if you believe the raw food rhetoric.

For this morning's juice, for two people, I used just over a pound of carrots, three oranges, half an apple, and a chunk of ginger. I don't think we could have eaten that many fruits and veg in one meal. We also eat vegetarian at home, so I don't really think about fiber that much. I'm more concerned about delivery of concentrated nutrients for Mr. lperry who sustained a lot of internal damage when his celiac was undiagnosed. For me, if I have juice with breakfast, I make it all the way to lunch with high energy levels. That did not happen with store-bought juices. Maybe it's the carrots?

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I don't think we could have eaten that many fruits and veg in one meal. ...I'm more concerned about delivery of concentrated nutrients

This. We use both a juicer and a vitamix. (We usually do smoothies for breakfast and juice during the day.) When you juice you get a ton of micronutrients. You couldn't get the same volume if you included all of the fiber.

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If you have a macerating juicer, you can put key limes through without peeling. I just got nearly three cups of juice from two pounds of fruit, and it is the most fabulously flavorful lime juice I've ever made. I got the idea from "lime juice" I used to order in Egypt whenever I saw it on a menu. A friend told me they blend up the whole key lime, then put it through a strainer, as the whole lime is more healthful. I'm not caring much about the healthfulness right now, but am thinking about the fabulous cocktails in my future. Amazing. If you are in need of key limes and are in Fairfax, Super H has really fresh, really big ones right now.

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Well, since little man has been sick, I've been pulling out the juicer this week. First up is the aforementioned carrot juice, but accidentally out too much ginger. Will have to think of something to tone the ginger spice down...

But I also tried this Kale-Cabbage-Cucumber-Pineapple combo, and it isn't so bad. Why this combo? I just saw somewhere that cabbage supposedly helps boost immune system. Will write back another day for LM's review on these....

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^ How was the cabbage? I'm both intrigued and a little grossed out by the concept. Thus far, for greens, I've juiced spinach (flavor best described as essence of soil), and sprouts (better, the broccoli ones are a little spicy). I'm thinking of trying the sorrel from the garden for a little lemon puckery-ness.

On another subject, I've been watching way too many videos on these slow juicers, but it finally paid off. There are videos on the Hurom site showing how to make soy milk or nut milks of any kind. This idea makes homemade orgeat much easier and, thus, much more likely to happen.

Edited to add - coconut milk too! Oh, happiness.

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^ How was the cabbage? I'm both intrigued and a little grossed out by the concept. Thus far, for greens, I've juiced spinach (flavor best described as essence of soil), and sprouts (better, the broccoli ones are a little spicy). I'm thinking of trying the sorrel from the garden for a little lemon puckery-ness.

The cabbage was masked by the cucumber and pineapple, on purpose, so I wouldn't taste it. :-D

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Since getting my Omega 8006 I have been juicing all sorts of things. Beets and their greens make for a good earthy and sweet addition to various mixes of apple, carrots, ginger, and lemon. I have found that sweet potatoes are not really worth juicing. I have recently tried adding what I thought was a large amount of fennel, but it surprisingly disappears in the overall mix. I am really looking forward to the bounty of the farmer's markets.

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I got brave today and tried adding beets into the mix, which tasted pretty good and made me feel virtuous. The color is amazing. The cabbage, um, I can handle it, but the last batch was apple, carrot, ginger, beet, and cabbage, and it tasted more than a bit like a stink bug smells. Maybe I need to be grabbing some of the mint that's sprouting in the garden to mask it.

I would also like to say that those crazy juice fasting people who claim you'll have more energy than when you drink caffeinated beverages are either delusional or are smoking crack. Possibly both.

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I like the Omega juicer, and what I make is green juice. Celery, kale, collards, cabbage, parsley and other herbs. Celery works well as a cleaner and pusher for softer vegetables like kale, put them in alternately and the celery fibers will push out the softer fibers. Green juice is good for blood pressure.

Chard has too much oxalic acid for me, I like it but just a few leaves, otherwise, yow! Teeth on edge.

I really, really like beet juice, which is supposed to be incredibly heart-healthy. but I am very carb sensitive, so tend to focus on beet greens and not so much on beets.

I use the horizontal one, and really like that I can dash home on my lunch break and make fresh juice. 15 minutes to home, 15 minutes to wash veggies and make juice, 15 minutes to clean the machine and drink the juice, 15 minutes back to the office.

Turmeric root is very healthy, full of anti-oxidants and also juices well, and ginger is lovely, and so is garlic. No peeling required.

Haven't tried coconut, my problem is with lack of physical strength in my hands and arms to crack and peel the coconut. It does sound enticing. I wonder if I could get one of my big, strong sons to break down coconuts for me? I use half a can of coconut milk every day in my smoothie, unfortunately full of preservatives. Fresh would be wonderful.

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New use for the masticating juicer: aguas frescas.  No more blendering and straining.  Just juice, add as much water and simple as necessary, and pour over ice.  We are polishing off a pitcher of cantaloupe and lime right now. 

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My husband just bought a juicer, & is doing a 40 day cleanse-pray for me.

OK, it's not horrible, but he's just so much damn healthier than me, I guess I shouldn't worry that he plans to outlive me by many years, I won't be around to see it.

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IKEA has some really nice ice cube trays right now.  They are little squares that hold one tablespoon each, so they are perfect for freezing all sorts of things (even though they are labeled, "water only.")  I froze a couple of cups of ginger juice in tablespoon cubes, vacuum-sealed the bag, and have been using it out of the freezer with great success.  The bite is still there, unlike with refrigerated ginger juice.

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My husband just bought a juicer, & is doing a 40 day cleanse-pray for me.

OK, it's not horrible, but he's just so much damn healthier than me, I guess I shouldn't worry that he plans to outlive me by many years, I won't be around to see it.

So whatever happened with the "cleanse?"

New year, new exercise recovery elixir: carrot, ginger, pink grapefruit, pomegranate, and banana.  A nice balance of sugar, vitamins, and electrolytes.  I've also found that the magic grapefruit eliminates muscle pain as well as Vitamin M.  (I don't care if it's placebo.  :) )

LA Mart had giant pomegranates for a buck fifty, and I got into the mélée and managed to procure a few.  Those little arils juice beautifully.

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