Below you will find some Juicing and Cleaning Tips. In an effort not to make this be insanely long, I've cherry picked a few tips and attempted to condense the bigger issues that have come up, like flying food (wasting it) in the Breville and how to clean juicer accessories (even if you don't own a Breville, all juicers have small areas that can be difficult to clean at times. My "Q-tip" suggestion (with pictures) will hopefully make life easier for all who are doing a juice fast / cleanse.
Juicing Tips:
Something I realized... juicing doesn't have to be just hit and miss... or a mish mosh as I took a chance at early on. Juicing can be an art. When cooking a "real meal" most people don't just toss ingredients in. They either have a recipe or they taste as they go. That is my new philosophy as I am juicing. If I am trying something new, I am slowing down. Adding the new ingredient. Tasting it. And then I contemplate, what will complement this best. I'd much rather take a few extra minutes and taste as I go then just toss in a bunch of ingredients and then have a horrible tasting juice that either gets choked down or tossed out. I don't toss out juice... so if it is gross, I generally tell myself in thirty seconds it will be gone. Well, that is what I used to do. Now, I take my time and, like an artist... I create a juice. One that I will enjoy.
Below I am going to show how to use (in my opinion) your vegetables and your juicer to maximize your juice potential. The Breville spins the vegetables around at a high rate of speed, which can blow delicate fruits and leaves of greens into the remnant catcher unless you find a way to smash them between heavier products. My solution... stuff em!
I used this stuffed pepper in the juice below. It was pretty good.
5 roma tomatoes
1 Full bok choy
5 carrots
1 orange pepper stuffed with as much spinach as possible. (Cut a whole in the bottom to allow access to pepper). <-- I leave the stem and seeds in. If you want to remove them, make your hole in the top, not the bottom.
Last night I was trying to take the bite out of the bitter flavor of two Indian Bitter Melons (my wife and I think this looks like a rat. She coined the phrase; "rat juice" when she saw the look on my face upon first tasting it. "How's the rat juice?" haha That name has stuck.
In an effort to sweeten up this juice, 7 braeburn apples were used. In one of them went a medium piece of ginger. Simply took a knife, hallowed out a small section of one of the apples and stuck the ginger in.
Anytime you have something you're not sure if it will juice well or be blown around (parsley, cilantro, wheat grass, berries... if something else, that is going in your juice is dense enough that you can hallow out a bit of it and stuff in the ingredients, you'll maximize your juice potential.
Yes, I know there are more efficient juicers out there. The Norwalk is $2,400 and the Omegas between $200 to $400... both of those are efficient when it comes to juice quantity, but with raising two kids I am in high demand. I don't have time to spend 20 to 30 minutes preparing a juice (slicing, chopping, stuffing, waiting...) just so I can squeeze out a few extra ounces. I'd like to get all the juice, but I have to be practical too. The Brveville has a 3" food chute. I can literally toss an entire apple, pear, cucumber, and tons of other fruits or vegetables in whole. That alone, the saving of time, is the real winner for me. Someday I may get an omega for the delicate fruits and for wheatgrass... but for now. I'm happy with speed, efficiency and creative ways I'm coming up with to maximize my juice getting potential.
If you have a pineapple corer, in my opinion it is the best way to prepare a pineapple for juicing. The first time I ever juiced a pineapple I left the skin on and it didn't get separated as much as I'd like. Some friends told me they leave all the skin on. Maybe I'll try it again. For now, I core it and throw in the pineapple slices. The Livestrong website gives tips on how to juice it if you don't want to leave it on. It says that the skin contains "vitamin C and bromelain."
I started using the Breville fountain plus juicer about a week and a half into my juice fast. Before that I used a Jack LaLanne juicer that my neighbor wasn't using (however, he is now).
Cleaning:
I did a post a few weeks ago about the oxo brush that I use. Since then, experience has taught me that the brush that came with the Breville is amazing at scrubbing the bladed and filter, but pretty pathetic for squeezing between the chute and the edge of the cover. I found that the oxo bottle brush that my wife had under the sink works the best. Amazon has several cleaning brushes, I prefer mine as the black pivoting point just below the brush head really allows flexibility when I am cleaning this, and the stainless steel water bottles that I blogged about before. Those are exceptional for keeping the juice cold when we're out and about with the family.
No matter what juicer you use the spout needs to be cleaned. And for the Breville so does the screen and blade device... somehow food accumulates in the bottom of it. These two spots can be hard to get to. My solution. Chopsticks and a piece of paper towel. Seriously, it works! Imagine it being a large Q-tip.
This works perfectly! And only takes a quick moment to clean it out.
Well, there you have it. juicing and cleaning tips as of today... I'm sure I'll learn more as time goes on. And I'm happy to answer any questions you have as well.
My Progress: 38.4 Pounds lost / exterminated!
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