I like to think of myself as a low-maintenance, low-drama, simple girl who doesn't require much, if any at all, in the way of fancy things...
But then I shake myself out my fantasy of being every guy's dream girl and remember that "simple girl" is an oxymoron. Just by sheer virtue of being female, I want to be taken out to a dress-up dinner every once in a while (and not just on my birthday, or better worse yet, on your birthday), I will storm out of the house in an irrational rage at least once, probably twice, most likely three times, and though I may not require a diamond bracelet, a Birkin, or a pair of Louboutins, every once in a while I like to add some brand-new, shiny, sparkly thing to my collection of...
...kitchen accessories.
I preach that one should be able to get by in a kitchen with a very good knife, a large pot, and a pair of chopsticks. Even for something as awesome and seemingly magic-required to make as Bacon Jam, you can just use nothing more than a knife and a pot. Finely chop the bacon with a knife, fry it in the bottom of a large pot, then waste three watchful hours slow cooking it in the same pot on the stovetop.
You can do it with only two basic tools and three hours of your life, but why? Take back your three hours with a fancy food processor and a crockpot.
A bread machine. Blender. Ice cream maker. KitchenAid stand mixer. And most recently...
...a juicer.
I bought the Breville Ikon juicer. (<-- full disclosure: that's an affiliate link to amazon! If you click it and buy something, I will earn, like, eight cents!)
I love this juicer and recommend it to anyone who is thinking about buying one. Admittedly, I did very little research before I bought the thing, simply scanning a few health and wellness blogs and a few reviews on amazon, and this is the only juicer I've ever used, so I can't legitimately claim that it's "the BEST juicer ever!!!" so let me just illegitimately claim that it's the best juicer ever. So far, it is easy enough to use (the animated gif below show how the components go together) and clean that I have been using it every day since it was delivered to the house.
My green juice every morning is a really good permutation of celery, kale, spinach, romaine lettuce (more for the "freshness," less for the "green") and ginger in varying ratios. Every once in while, cucumber makes an appearance with the greens. To help tame some of the overwhelmingly "green" taste, I add any or all of lemon, apple and pineapple (at the suggestion of some friends, thank you!).
At some point I will probably juice broccoli and Brussels sprouts. At some point I will probably "graduate" to shooting pure green juice. And at some point, the novelty of my new toy will wear off and I will store my Breville juicer away along with my ice cream maker and bread machine.
But until then, I'm slipping into the only pair of Louboutins I own and drinking this juice.
If you make/drink juice, what is your "recipe?" What other fruits and vegetables have you tried that you love? Do you have any other suggestions for juicing? Thank you!
Ultimate Green Juice
makes about 16 ounces of juice in a Breville Ikon juicer
Ingredients
1 bunch of kale
1 bunch of spinach
3-4 stalks of celery and its leaves
1 piece of fruit: green apple, pear, or spear of fresh pineapple (base your choice on whatever is available to you as fresh and organic)
1 whole peeled lemon (save the peel for its zest!)
2-inch piece of ginger (use less if this is too spicy)
optional: half a hothouse or 2 Persian cucumbers (unpeeled)
Directions
Wash everything and make sure they're all dry. It's great if the fruit comes straight out of the fridge so the juice is cold.
Send everything through the juicer one by one. I have no idea if this is important to the mechanics of the juicer, but I start with the "softest" vegetables like spinach first, and end with the ginger.
Stick your juice in the freezer for 10 minutes to chill it down before drinking it.
Deviolinist says
No, you know what you are talking about, Breville is the Best of the Best. We have one of their eariler models, (it doesn't look so fancy) and we love it!. We alternate the softer and harder veggies, but i don't know that it makes any different. Towards the end though, you won't get as much juice out because the filter gets clogged with pulp (just from use, though i guess if you really wanted to get an extra tablespoon or so you could stop and clean it halfway..) and so I would recomend sending the drier ones through first too... Anyway, just thought i would share!
TheDelicious says
deviolinist: i had never thought about stopping halfway, but after reading your comment, i started doing that and though it makes the process longer, i (like to think that I) get mote juice! thank you!
Guest says
BTW, celery leaves can add bitterness. Suggest you try once with and once without... Also, if you are not interested in the sugars in fruit, which can sometimes overwhelm, carrots are a good substitute. Lastly, wash as many items as possible in advance, even organic.
TheDelicious says
didn't know celery would be bitter! i actually can't taste the difference with or without them... the sugar in fruit is ok for me, but i tried carrot tangerine juice and basically thought it was the greatest thing on earth!
Farahnazf says
This sounds yummy and looks great! I am going to make it tomorrow morning!
Lynda Bay says
Wow! Looks perfect for my fitness lifestyle. :)
Shelley says
YES! This is the best green juice! Your recipe is very similar to mine and I love it. Makes it easy to get healthy stuff down. For a time saver, I often put ice in the pitcher, so as it is juicing it starts to get cold. I don't know if that is proper juicing etiquette, but it works well for me. Have fun with your new toy!
Sarah @ Two Tarts says
Good tip on the ice...I'd never thought of doing that!!
-sarah @ two tarts
TheDelicious says
shelley: brillz! i may actually expand on your idea by freezing a cube or two of today's juice to ice down tomorrow morning's juice... THANK YOU!
Sarah @ Two Tarts says
I love juicing too - I have the Breville Juice Fountain Elite (it looks very similar to yours...maybe a bigger motor? I'm not sure). Either way - it truly IS the best juicer ever. So - good choice!! It is so fast, the chute is big to accommodate things like whole apples, and it is very fast to clean. I've owned other juicers in the past (including fancy ones like the Green Star) and I love this style of Breville juicer much more. I make a green juice similar to yours, isn't it delicious? I'll have to try out your exact recipe next :)
-sarah @ two-tarts
NaturallyMariam says
Great green juice recipe. I got some more green juice recipes here http://www.greenjuiceaday.com
Fish says
brevile is a good juicer, but Omega makes more efficient juciers
check em out, got a 15 year warranty too!
http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/the-best-juicer/
lunchboxbunch says
LOVE the color! the photo is simple gorgeous. Isn't green juice awesomely addicting too?
Guest says
I strongly recommend a slow juicer. My husband and I had a Breville centrifugal juicer and are much happier with our slow juicer. Hurom is the manufacturer and it's very similar to a Champion. It uses an auger to crush or almost chew the fruits and vegetables. We lose very little juice as the pulp is very dry. We also strain our juice through a nut milk bag to remove any remaining fiber. When I juice my goal is to absorb nutrients quickly, when I make green smoothies I'm looking for the fiber content.
Kit Garcia says
I'm so glad you got this juicer! My husband has been begging me for the same one, and I've been dragging my feet to buy it. This is just one more great review to reference. Thanks!
Cate says
Glad to hear you like this... I struggled with which juicer to buy, but I just settled for the cheapest Breville because I didn't know how much juicing I'd actually do.
Of course now I keep getting emails from Williams-Sonoma claiming that the Hurom slow juicer is the new best of the best. But I guess there will always be some newer, better and shinier appliance to lust after :)
TheDelicious says
cate: i basically used the same logic - i don't want to spend a fortune on a juicer until i figured out whether i'd actually stick with it. at some point i'm sure i'll upgrade, but then again, it also seems that the "better" machines are slower, louder, and are harder to clean!
Youmadethatblog says
Sounds fabulous, and looks so healthy too. I do love the photo the green drew me right in.
Jessie says
Love the photo and cucumber garnish. Green juice is great!!!
Rebecca Renne says
Love your site, pics are great, and adding what you have eaten is pure fun! Just curious, are you following a gluten-free diet?
TheDelicious says
rebecca renne: no, i don't follow any specific diets... though i naturally eat a low-gluten diet because of culture and taste preferences. i'm asian so rice is a big factor for me, and i gravitate toward the texture of chewy whole grains and lots of vegetables! (but i also love junk food, ha)
rooth says
I have pretty much ZERO in the way of kitchen gadgets. You would laugh at my food processor. I could chop a quarter of an onion at a time, it's that small
TheDelicious says
rooth: something is better than nothing!
Mangobutter says
How are you juicing kale and Spinach? I have this juicer as well and when I try to juice leafy greens it just gets shot out to the discard bin.
TheDelicious says
mangobutter: i take a few leaves at a time and roll them up into a bundle then send it down the chute
Twolittlechefs says
Love the post, and I appreciate you being honest, green juice isn't good, it is just good for you.
Kcho says
This post is hilarious. A few days ago i was picking for a green dinner then i realized I needed protein.
Abby says
I have been juicing for a few weeks now after being inspired by the book, Crazy Sexy Diet. I have been drinking a kale, cucumber, carrot, celery, ginger and lemon concoction. Today I added a red bell pepper to the mix and it added some sweetness...it almost didn't need lemon to cut the flavor. I tried to make a green smoothie this week and it was BAD. I will stick to juicing veggies and blending fruit! I have a Sharper Image juicer on loan from a friend, but the pulp I am throwing away every day still looks very juicy, I think a better quality juicer is in my future, thanks for the tip. I found you by googling edamame hummus on the Internets, thanks for the post....good stuff!
beez says
you may as well not juice as you are killing all nutrients by using centrifugal. buy cold press and do it properly.
Ashley says
beez is correct; centrifugal juicers and blenders are awful, buy macerating or cold press if you can afford it.
Sandra says
Which do you recommend?
Farnoosh says
Gonna be pinning this to my "Greenterest" juicing board now! :)
Sarah J. Gim says
Thank you! And if you actually do try it, let me know what you think!
Ariana Ost says
Check out my amazing green juice recipe! You will love it
http://ediblejewels.com/post/52801876396/the-best-green-juice-recipe
Tin City says
Got a great juicer from Amazon. They have the best reviews and help me choose. I'm so excited that I am going to share the same deal that I received with anyone in the market for a good juicer: http://amzn.to/1ei6aEo - My wife is really happy with this one.
Albert einstien says
Awesome!
Immense information there.snow ice machine
Sandra says
We use our Breville for green juices as well, but I have noticed that it is splattering and green juice droplets are surrounding the juicer on the counter and backsplash as well. Does anyone know how to correct this problem? Everything seems to be lined up properly and fully locked.
Lindsay says
Make sure your fruit/veg are in the chute before turning it on.. If you have to turn it up or down depending on item, turn it off and fill, then turn back on. I had this same problem. I didn't notice at first and woke up the next day like "why are my white cabinets spotted with red and green?" Lol
ilovejuicing says
not all fast juicer are the same- http://www.juicingscience.com
Sid Mehta says
Fresh green juice wins health points over packaged fruit juice and smoothies on several counts. First, most fruit juices sold commercially in the UK are pasteurised. Nutritionist Vicki Edgson says
organifi green juice reviews @ http://www.iorganifireviews.com/
3 week diet plan reviews @ http://ithe3weekdietplanreviews.com/
athletic greens @ http://www.iorganifireviews.com/athletic-greens-reviews/
Jhon Steadman says
You'll find details related to cold pressed juicer, juices, and recipes
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