I have thought about trying juicing. But I cannot afford a juicer. I have an old one. But it wastes much of the fruit/ vegetable as pulp (which is separated). It doesn't make much juice at all. I have heard it's supposed to be good for fibro patients. I went vegetarian. It has helped with my energy level.

We juice a lot in this house, and also do pureed soups. I gave up on smoothies.

We have Breville juicer. It's huge and expensive but it gets every bit of juice out and is great. Even juices raw ginger root! (ANd not that bad to clean compared to my food processor. No blades. I am the queen of cutting myself when trying not to, LOL.)

Hubby does a regular "juice" cleanse once a month but we do pureed soups and juices regularly. I love pureed soups because they are easier on worn-out GI systems---and mine can bget stressed from GERD. I don't puree anything with rice, but lentils puree beautifully IMO.

I prefer my juicing stuff raw at all times for max nutrition. Quite honestly? I can't believe how much the Breville gets out of things like celery, carrots, apples, etc. I usually do pineapple when it's in season (OMG, so good), pomegranate seeds (now in season and wow), etc, but hubby likes to mix up his own "v-8" with tomatoes, etc. THe pulp on the Breville is fairly dry, and if you compost, it composts nicely. Sometimes I use the pulp from veg juicing to soups for extra fiber, but prefer whole cooked veg for max nutrients on soups.

Truth? I can't go back now we have the fancy Breville juicer. Noisy, yes. Worth it? Wow. We have had three other juicers, tried blenders and food processors, and for juicing, it's the best we've found. We got it b/c a juice bar we visited had it and they liked it.

BTW, if you make homemade veggie soup? Don't add anything to it, puree the broth and veg tofether, and it's nearly a sauce. I keep some on hand with my pre-cooked lentils, rice etc. for the week's cooking. (As well as plain old homemade broth). Throw in some tomato paste, poof, amazing marinara.... I've done this about 10 years and we've juiced about five, and I know it helps me feel overall healthier. And hubby's health is overall better.

Sorry to go on so long. Tired and rambling. Hope this helped!

Leo, that tip for marinara sauce is great. Will definitely try it. You do feel that pure is easier to digest.

Katie, please tell me more about the cantaloupe, cucumber, and kale. I am assuming that athe three things provide all the major vitamins. How much of each? Cucumber with the skin? What do you mean by real gelatin? Brand name, please. How do I know it is real?

Katie, you recommend it to your clients because they don't like fruits and vegetables and it is the only way to get them to eat them? Would you still recommend it to people who eat lots of fruits and veggies?

I use to juice all the time,but got out f the habit. There are some great juicing recipe books in the store and recipes Online.

Katie. Thank you so much!

I go through phases where I'm juicing regularly, every day and then I slack off.
I have a Breville juicer too. I've been through different ones but I really like my Breville. Yeah it's a bit noisy but it's got some power. I have been able to juice all sorts. And it's never let me down.

There's a difference between juicing and blending.
I do either when I am in the mood. And for different reasons.
Juicing is good for cleansing and fasting and just to drink for any time to get a bunch of live enzymes and nutrients.
A glass of juice is different to a glass of smoothie. Smoothie has fiber juice does not.

I use the Breville juicer and I use a regular blender to make smoothies, pured soups etc.
it works fine for me.

I would go on Amazon if you want to read a wide a range of reviews
On the items that have been mentioned in these posts.
There's hundreds of reviews on Amazon.

I think that for now I want to blend because I want the fiber to aid digestion and to fill me up. I am forever trying to loose those 5 lbs that I fool myself into thinking will get me back to my old shape. They won't because I was super toned AND premenopausal. But that is a different story. It would still be nice to loose them.

As to the 20 minutes, that is rough. For instance, I I've started making a smoothie to drink in two portions in one day. And, a blended soup to eat in two dinners. The soup will have some spicing like ginger, turmeric (all antiinflammatory), garlic, onion, herbs, and a base of either carrot or sweet potato and lots of spinach or Swiss chard, and chia seeds. For yummy I add half a can of coconut milk. I am tempted to start using one of those nutrition apps to figure out nutrient percentages.

Katie, I understand that nutrition is lost with time and/or with cooking. But time is also a factor, or rather my lack of time. So, if I am losing 10% I just might have to live with it. If I am losing 50%, then I will have to reconsider. I am going to start googling to look into it, as soon as I have some time.

Thanks, Katie. That's what I figure. Like with exercise, better some than none.

My hubby and I plan to use his blender soon. I really have to find a way to get some energy and health back. I need some pure nutrition. I plan to use raw berries and spinach. I need recipes. Cooked hot soup is super good for you and perfect for winter. I have plenty of organic, pureed soup (Amys) stocked up.

Emily, I wanted to add that you can always combine raw and cooked. We do for blending. I love raw green onions and herbs into a cooked soup, for example, and so on. And desserts are awesome blended. My favorite is pistachios, a squirt of lemon juice, and honey, blended with raw tropical fruit, over some greek-style yogurt (plain, and that I've chilled an hour in the freezer). Super gooey and sticky but good! So no law says it has to be all one or the other. But if you do raw berries, strain htem through a mesh strainer. Those tiny bitty seeds (like strawberries and blackberries) can irk heck out of GI systems. My mom had severe lower GI issues a few years ago, we had to be super careful of stuff like that.

Good luck and bon apetit!

Good luck:-)

Great point, Leo!

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=raw-veggies-are-healthier

Here is an excellent article, with lots of reputable citations. Seems like the bottom line is "fruits and vegetables, eat them raw and eat them cooked. Just eat them".

Thanks for all of the great tips

Emilly710: I have been using a nutrition software for years. (Just thought I would put in my two cents.)
http://www.dietsoftware.com/
It lists many of it's competitors software so you can compare them, but just looking at their software sold me. The customer support is very professional. Their home page lists all that the software does. I love being able to sync between my devices, so I can enter recipes exercise, or my food intake no matter which device I am using. And no I don't get a kick back. Just thought I would mention it.

KatieAngel: Thank you for your information. My cousin only consumes blended drinks (no solid foods), and I was concerned because she insisted on my sister following that "diet" while she stayed at my sisters. I have experienced that burst of energy when I juiced some carrots, but I doubt I ever could drink every meal like my cousin does. Your information is very informative. Thank you again.

I'm all for a yummy vegetable juice, or a banana smoothie now and then. Just a word of caution if you're doing a heap of fruit juices, that the amount of fructose you're going to get from a cup of juice is going to be possibly 5 or 6 times the amount of eating a piece of fruit (how many oranges does it take to make a glass of juice?)

I'm just putting this out there, because some folks like me are fructose sensitive, and have to be careful what blends we try - otherwise, Gastro City Here We Come! I am on the FODMAP diet as much as possible, myself.

Best of luck with it :)