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new to raw.. questions about juicing!

I just went out today and bought a new juicer, blender, and food processor. My main question is what should I be juicing?! I know you can juice just about anything, but what products are the easiest?

I juiced all the oranges in my house today, and the juice came out way different than I expected it to.. (much thicker) and I made an attempt to juice a bunch of kale that I had bought the other day. It worked (and smelt kinda bad), and I plan on putting that in a green smoothie tomorrow with some peaches and some apricots.

Also, which is considered "healthier", smoothies or juice?

Comments

  • Thanks. As I was juicing the kale (and making a complete mess) I thought I was the only person in the world who would try something like that. :)

  • joannabananajoannabanana Raw Newbie

    My all time favorite fruits to juice are apples and watermelons! There is nothing like fresh apple juice. I love the foam on top of the juice. And you can get a hell of a lot of juice out of watermelons. It's really sweet but tasty.

    My favorite veggies are carrots and celery. You have to juice an orange with a few carrots. It is amazing.

    I never juice greens because my juicer hates them, but when I get a better one, I'll try spinach since it's mild.

    I think that smoothies are healthier because you are eating the whole fruit/veggie. There isn't any waste, so you get all the nutrients.

  • emtpdmomemtpdmom Raw Newbie

    Here ya' go . . . A list of the juice recipes on GoneRaw. You can refine this search (see link below for tips on searches) by keying in the ingredients you have available, or even those you do NOT want to include.

    Click here and check reply #30 for some tips on searching recipes.

  • Welcome to juicing!!

    When I started juicing, I was amazed at the energy I'd feel after drinking it. Just try many different juices and I bet you'll be pleased. I haven't started smoothies yet because I'm a broke wuss who's happy with having the same thing every day!

  • GlitterGirlGlitterGirl Raw Newbie

    Always juice some greens! You can easily mask the green taste with some apple juice and ginger ; )

    One tip, try to drink the juice asap after juicing it. Once you juice it it starts to lose it's goodness. I've heard that you should drink it within 48 hours at most if your using the best type of juicer (masticating). If you bought a centrifugal juicer (the taller kind) the juice loses a lot of nutrients right then and there (it usually warms the juice and oxidizes it with the spinning) and that should definitely be consumed right away...

    As to what's healthier, it depends on what you want. If you are trying to "cleanse", straight juice is best because your body doesn't spend time processing all the fiber and takes the nutrients straight from the juice into your body. If you want fiber, the smoothie could be your better bet!

  • I love both! Smoothies really fill me up, and i usually blend my fruit with spinach especially strawberry banana or peach and banana - it really neutralizes the spinach.

    As for Juice- I love to juice one head of romaine lett. 5 sprigs of Kale, one whole lemon, i small piece of ginger and one green apple to neutralize the greens.

    For me, juicing and smoothies are the best way for me to get my greens, since other than snacking on peppers and cucumbers, i only have greens when i eat salad for dinner .. which is not everynight (sometimes i just want that canataloupe!!)

    Enjoy your juicer!!

  • I just can't seem to find anything I'm really satisfied with. The kale was actual quite nauseating.. I guess you weren't joking in the slightest when you said it was an acquired taste...

    I don't know. I'm sipping on a orange mango banana smoothie (that has a very small amount of spinach in it) and it doesn't seem right.. like it's missing something and I'm not sure what.

    I just don't want to be wasting all this produce I'm buying because I can't make a good juice or smoothie, ya know? hah

  • I juice every day.... the same thing....its all i like 6 tomatoes 2 kale, slice of ginger 1/2 lemon 1scallion 1/2 cucumber handful of spinach add 1/2 tsp pink himalayan salt and some raw hot sauce.....my very own virgin mary or spicy v-7!!

  • Yeah I was not kidding. The only was I can get my niece to eat kale is by toasting it in the oven with some olive oil and salt (kale chips) she loves them, but I have a hard time "sneaking" them into some juice. I can juice kale by itself now, but when I first started, wow did I have to cover it up! Back in the day I used a lot of pineapple, lemon, and ginger. Carrots have a wonderful covering flavor as well. Try some Tomatoes, carrots, lemon, ginger, and apples with your Kale and see if you can get a flavorful balance.

    Good luck

  • I love to juice kale, but it is an acquired taste, I have to have apples, lemons and perhaps some celery with it. The beauty of juicing is you can juice just about anything! As a poor student, I usually hit up the grocery store for all their "bad" produce and fruits, and some of it is good to eat as is, but if it's on its last leg into the juicer it goes! My juicer is kinda of like a crock pot for making raw goulash.

    My recommendations: always get some greens in there: spinach, kale, mustard greens.....; Carrots and celery just seem to go with just about anything; apples and lemons to equalize the flavor a little.

    Also, celery will "water it down" for you if you want more of a juice then a smoothie as will most fruits.

    You can get a billion books on juices and smoothie from your library, and just play around with the things you like. You can never go wrong with fruit juices though. Apples and cranberries is cheap and delicious too.

    Like I said all my leftovers go into the juicer, and then I use the left over pulp to dehydrate some "bread."

    Good luck

  • pixxpixx Raw Master

    I can't stand apple with greens, but have found carrots or beets go really well with greens (in the juicer). For a smoothie, I toss whatever fruit (frozen or fresh) that I have on hand into the blender. Add in a bit of nutmylk. I always try to have bananas on hand, because a banana will make the smoothie really creamy! Then add in no more than one or two other fruits (if more is used it's too many flavors, and it all starts to taste like "punch" which I don't care for). Once it's all creamy, I add in the greens, and blend again. The creamy fruit mix helps to pull the greens down into the blades.

    Have fun!

  • If you are new to Raw I would highly suggest making 75% of your juice green. This includes kale, celery, cucumbers, spinach, chard, beet greens, zucchini, etc.... Make sure all of the ingredients are organic. You can also add in a few root vegetables like carrots and beets. I was juicing with more "sweet" veggies in the beginning but noticed a huge difference when I started using more greens. Green juice is very alkalizing which will really boost your body into becoming alkalized vs. acidic. This is really important for colon health. When it comes to cleansing your body you want to start from the bottom up:)

    Nicole

  • I'm not sure I can get all organic ingredients. One, they're much more expensive where I am, and two, I don't think the store I go to has all organic produce. They have some.. a lot actually, and I usually buy what I can, but they don't have everything..

    PS. I'm having a really hard time staying raw. I'll make it through the whole day 100% raw, but by the end of the day I usually end up eating something not raw.. Last night it was Oreos.. Any suggestions on how to stop this?!

  • I wish I could sat there's a magic trick to sticking with it but there isn't. It takes a lot of will power and determination. If you're an all or nothing type personality, straying even a bit is not an option. I am an all or nothing type so I don't cut myself any slack or give myself any excuse to fall off the wagon. This may be you too. I would suggest, if possible, not having anything un-raw in your house. I have three kids and a hubby around so for me that's not possible but I ignore the "crap" food. Just keep plugging away at it and you'll get there:)

    I just posted a "Dirty Dozen" list on my blog of organic/non-organic produce. Check it out. It will help you prioritize what produce to steer clear of if it's not organic and which ones you don't need to worry about as much.

    Hope that helps!

    Nicole

  • Make raw cookies. Raweos. Those raw treats and raw entrees that reminded me of cooked meals are what kept me on track in the begining. Now all I crave lately is my greens and salads and green smoothies and fruit. Weird. Kale salad I cannot live without.

  • emtpdmomemtpdmom Raw Newbie

    RachelElizabeth -- When I first started drinking smoothies they were not sweet enough for me. Maybe this is the "something" you are missing. I just added a tablespoon of local honey to my smoothie . . . which served two purposes. 1. It made the smoothie more palatable / tasty. 2. I believe ingesting the local honey "cured" me of a few pollen allergies. I still use the honey occasionally. If you think the "sweet" taste is what you're missing, you could use a date or two instead of the honey. I personally have never developed a "taste" for Agave, so I don't use it anymore.

  • Thanks! My boyfriend actually harvests honeybees (well, used to) so I've got a ton of honey just lying around that I know hasn't been heated.

    And does anyone have a recipe of raweos, cause that would be pretty cool if I could give those a shot.

    And yeah, I am all or nothing. My parents think this is very stupid, and I really can't de-raw my house.. when they buy most of the food. lol But I keep a section of the food cabinet to myself that has no junk food in it. :)

    Today has been going good so far.. I gotta go to work though, and I work at a grocery store.. not too easy when you're cashing out cookies and ice cream.

  • I have a smoothie for breakfast every morning, and I pretty much follow this suggestion from "Running Raw" (). I can't even taste the kale in this recipe, and I use a whole leaf!

    Just an aside: PIXX mentioned nutmylk. I found that when I combined nutmylk with kale, I got a stomachache, but maybe that's just me.

    To satisfy your cravings for non-raw treats, do more searches on this wonderful site and make lots of raw treats! I find that since I started snacking on delicious raw treats, the SAD versions don't even call my name any more - and that includes two of my favorite things: chocolate and ice cream!

  • pixxpixx Raw Master

    Hmm, that's a shame, Territa, that you get a stomach ache from nutmylk and kale together. I use *several* whole leaves in my smoothie with no problem. My nutmylks vary every time (as do the greens and fruit used for the smoothie itself). Sometimes it is made from hemp, which would result in a similar smoothie to the recipe on that link you provided.

  • waterbaby12347waterbaby12347 Raw Newbie

    "PS. I'm having a really hard time staying raw. I'll make it through the whole day 100% raw, but by the end of the day I usually end up eating something not raw.. Last night it was Oreos.. Any suggestions on how to stop this?!"

    RachelElizabeth~ It is so easy, just clean house... Get rid of all those items you don't want to consume and you won't have trouble staying away from them... Then if you decide to have something from the past make a raw version... It does satisfy you and you will feel better for it... smile

    The food bank is a good place to donate your unwanted food items...

  • superfood2superfood2 Raw Newbie

    Fruit and nuts don't mix well together, no wonder you didn't feel well! Leave the smoothie with just fruit and greens, nothing else, no oils, nuts, seeds!

  • pixxpixx Raw Master

    I do realize that fat & fruits are looked upon as not good food combining. I will point out, though, that even Frederic Patenaude (who I think is a Natural Hygienist) claims that a few nuts or seeds in a green smoothie is not enough to be problematic. Sorry, I don't remember which article of his I read that, or I would link to it.

  • Easiest are melons. That said, it's worth the effort to mix it up now and then. Kale is good in green smoothies with pear & raspberry, and also mango& banana & papaya. Good with pineapple, too. Some favs are apple/celery jce, cantaloupe/valencia orange jce, pineapple/celery jce, etc. Get some good recipe books.

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