Looking to get into juicing, any advice?

[wesleymarin]

hmm, so a little background. Im 21 and living in Oceanside, ca. I am currently completely vegan and have been so for at least 6 months now =D. Ive decided that I need to get more fruits and vegetables in my diet, cause right now it's mainly beans, rice and potatoes (college kid diet). Anyway, I love juice (especially carrot juice) and have decided to spend my tax return on a juicer!

Any tips on what kind of juicer I should get? I think I'm mainly going to be juicing fruits and veggies, but I also want to be able to try wheatgrass or other sprouts. I want something thats going to last awhile, and that I wont be wishing I had spent a little more 5 years down the road. Im thinking of it as a long term investment =).

Idk, currently I'm thinking about the Angel 5500, but I'm open to any suggestions! Ive heard you can make soy milk and tofu with it, which would be awesome, as well as nut butters, has anyone else done this? Does it work very well?

Thanks for any help you can give!

(just realized this mightve been better off in the juicing thread)

[MysticTree]

I wouldn't buy an Angel. They are too expensive. I mean uber, uber, dotty expensive.

Start with a cheap and cheerful one and see if you are going to use it daily before spending lots of money on a crazy-priced one - and then you still don't need to spend angel-juicer-prices.

[wesleymarin]

I wouldn't buy an Angel. They are too expensive. I mean uber, uber, dotty expensive.

Start with a cheap and cheerful one and see if you are going to use it daily before spending lots of money on a crazy-priced one - and then you still don't need to spend angel-juicer-prices.

I know its something that I want to get into, and I want to get a juicer that will last a long time and will be efficient enough that I don't feel like I'm wasting produce. The angel is very expensive though, are there any other alternatives that you feel could offer the same level of effiency and durability?

[michigan roman]

tons of juicer vids by juicer knowledgable john kohler http://www.youtube.com/user/rawfoods

[michigan roman]

and also johns site with more great info http://www.youtube.com/redirect?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.discountjuicers.com%2F&session_token=HENOI3OH3qz6kEpw0yUo6--1ZPB8MTMyOTE3Njc4OEAxMzI5MDkwMzg4

[michigan roman]

all i can add is ive hade two cheap centrifugals and they frothed heck out of juice ruining taste to me ,
if a more high powered / faster one makes less frothy juice i dont know . but i doubt it from videos .
but a very respected centrifugal is the $300 breville

ive also had a champion and an omega 8004 . champion spins too fast frothing juice up . omega turns slow and works good for greens and hard stuff but turns soft stuff like tomato / pineapple into a sauce rather than a juice

the step up to 500 range were vast majority dont go is the green star , has alot of fans but the masses have not used it much so've not spoken to many owners

though on the green star and all other white juicers i say the white color is bad because obviously with juices itll stain up and look dingy in weeks , so if youve a choice i would suggest
another color

[wesleymarin]

all i can add is ive hade two cheap centrifugals and they frothed heck out of juice ruining taste to me ,
if a more high powered / faster one makes less frothy juice i dont know . but i doubt it from videos .
but a very respected centrifugal is the 300 breville

ive also had a champion and an omega 8004 . champion spins too fast frothing juice up . omega turns slow and works good for greens and hard stuff but turns soft stuff like tomato / pineapple into a sauce rather than a juice

the step up to 500 range were vast majority dont go is the green star , has alot of fans but the masses have not used it much so've not spoken to many owners

though on the green star and all other white juicers i say the white color is bad because obviously with juices itll stain up and look dingy in weeks , so if youve a choice i would suggest
another color

Thank you! Great advice, and im checking out those videos you linked to.

[michigan roman]

other point is try hard to buy from a store rather then on line because it can become impossible to return stuff to some places , plus those that accept returns can start costing big coin for shipping if they dont cover .
its why i bought an omega frombedbathbeyond in my town , i can return it to them zero hassle . that said there not many places that sell big dollar juicers im aware of , but maybe where you live somebody does

another point is if i wasnt into fasting ide not own a juicer , ide put money into a vitamix . and many raw foodist buy all the toys and vast majority say only end up using blender . and you can juice things like greens and hard veggies in blender by blending with water then straining . and blenders WAY easier clean up

[Revvell]

I've had the Green Star, Green Power, Sampson (currently) and a couple Champions. IF all you're going to make is a lot of juice with hard produce such as carrots, I'd get the Champion. It's just not good with greens and softer produce. Any of the other 3 are fine imo. I've heard people love the Omega. Not one I've had or tried.

If you don't have one yet, I'd do what MR said and buy a less expensive juicer than the Angel and invest in a Vita-Mix with the funds you'll be saving.

[R'Mila]

MR, How do you like your omega? Is it the vertical model? I've read some reviews that said it leaks. What has been your experience thus far?

[streetsurfer]

I've been totally pleased with our L'equip juicer. Its a model 110.5 Its got a stainless bowl where the extractor is, parts are easy to clean, does not leave much juice in pulp, nor cause much foam. Todays juice I measured two teaspoons of juice able to be hand squeezed through a strainer bag from the ejected pulp. That was from 1 kiwi, four apples, four carrots, three kale leaves ,one blood orange, one lime, one tangerine. I strained the juice through a fine seive and pulled out but drank a tablespoon of thicker juice which was mainly the kale leaf debris. Netted a quart of juice and about one cup relatively dry pulp.Build quality and appearanze, and compact size all get good marks by me. I think these can be had in the $130 range. It's quiet compared to other centrifugal juicers (Lalane, Braun, B&D) that I've used and sits stable on the counter. I hope you find that review helpful. I have no desire to buy a masticating juicer since I have no complaints over the L'equip. But then neither do I juice wheatgrass due to wheat allergy. If I were doing that I'd probably just use a manual twin screw.

[wesleymarin]

I've had the Green Star, Green Power, Sampson (currently) and a couple Champions. IF all you're going to make is a lot of juice with hard produce such as carrots, I'd get the Champion. It's just not good with greens and softer produce. Any of the other 3 are fine imo. I've heard people love the Omega. Not one I've had or tried.

If you don't have one yet, I'd do what MR said and buy a less expensive juicer than the Angel and invest in a Vita-Mix with the funds you'll be saving.

Yeah, great advice on here, thats the route im thinking of going now. I want to be able to juice harder produce such as carrots, and softer things i can blend, and I would also like the option to be able to make nut butters with the juicer, which most of the juicers you referenced to seem to be able to do. Whats your personal take on the Champion vs the Sampson?

Im getting a lot of help, thank you!

[wesleymarin]

other point is try hard to buy from a store rather then on line because it can become impossible to return stuff to some places , plus those that accept returns can start costing big coin for shipping if they dont cover .
its why i bought an omega frombedbathbeyond in my town , i can return it to them zero hassle . that said there not many places that sell big dollar juicers im aware of , but maybe where you live somebody does

another point is if i wasnt into fasting ide not own a juicer , ide put money into a vitamix . and many raw foodist buy all the toys and vast majority say only end up using blender . and you can juice things like greens and hard veggies in blender by blending with water then straining . and blenders WAY easier clean up

Yeah, thats a good point. Ill have to check out the stores around here.

I like your blender idea, I have a cheap one right now and ill have to try and see how well the water/straining works. Right now im thinking of splitting the funds up into a juicer and a better blender. It would be nice to be able to get a Champion or maybe an Omega to be able to juice harder veggies, as well as make nut butters or frozen desserts, then the softer veggies i can blend up into smoothies with some fruit.