Juicing

[haverawcake]

I had one of those 'I want to stay in bed' mornings this morning. My own fault really - I was up until after 2am changing the delivery details on my website because of the postal strike. Then went I got into my bed my 2 year old wanted to spend most of the night attached to the boob! When the kids got up at 6.30am I can't say I felt ready for the day. In the old days I would have gone straight to the coffee. Instead, I knew the power of greens so I grabbed a huge bag on spinach, 6 sticks of celery and 3 plums. Into the juicer they all went and out came a huge dose of green juice. I can honestly say that after drinking it I came back to life and have lasted out all day feeling fine. I truly believe raw greens are magic.

[Debbie Took]

If anyone would like a list of great juice combinations (nothing flash - just a list) e-mail me on thisgeneration@btinternet.com.

Including all my favourites, such as: spinach/apple/celery, pear/celery, butternut squash/apple, etc.

[Kirsteen]

I have a question about juicing. I've been making a lot of juices and green smoothies and really enjoying them. However because of my M.E. there are some days when I'm literally unable to stay on my feet long enough to do this. Is it all right to freeze the freah juice or smoothies. I know it's not ideal but i remember reading somewhere (Jason Vale possibly?) that if you freeze fruit you only lose about 5% of the nutrients. I wondered if the same applied to juicing. It would give me something to fall back on, on the days I'm really bedbound. Any advice welcome

[Jax]

Hi Kirsteen, I think I've read about that too.....................and to set your mind at rest I've just checked the Jason Vale book I have and you're right, he says;

"When you freeze raw produce for a short space of time you only lose about 5% of the enzymes"

I've also been told in the past that you can juice, then put the juice in thermos flask straight away and it will be fine to take to work. As long as the juice isn't incontact with the air much it won't oxidise as much, the oxidation process is what you want to slow down or stop - but I can't remember where I heard that sorry.

[Kirsteen]

Thanks - yes I actually have Jason Vales juice flask. It's not a thermos but it does keep the juice or smoothie fresh in the fridge. On Sunday I had to spend the night in hospital and knew I 'd have to eat lunch there on the Monday as I wouldn't get out till 5pm. So I made a green smoothie and put it in the flask and asked the nurses to keep it overnight in the fridge for me. I reckoned whatever nutrients it lost, it was still going to be way better than the hospital lunch. I guess I'll try freezing some juice for emergencies. Thanks

[Jax]

OOOOOOOO I didn't know he did a flask, I bet that's quite brightly coloured!http://www.rawinuk.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

[Kirsteen]

Yep :) I've got a bright red one

[Jax]

LOL I just knew it would be bright with him http://www.rawinuk.com/images/icons/icon12.gif I've had a look again on his site, I see he's got Sigg ones, they're Ani Phyo's fave.

If anyone is interested here's a link to Jason's shop (http://www.juicemaster.com/shop.php?cat=70)!

[Kirsteen]

I bought the wheatgrass growing kit and I'm having great fun with that.

[Jax]

Ah cool, I've been pondering about it but not sure if my juicer would do it justice and wondered if it was difficult to grow, how have you got on with it, is it easy??

[Jax]

LOL I just knew it would be bright with him http://www.rawinuk.com/images/icons/icon12.gif I've had a look again on his site, I see he's got Sigg ones, they're Ani Phyo's fave.

If anyone is interested here's a link to Jason's shop (http://www.juicemaster.com/shop.php?cat=70)!
Ah having found that link there on Juice Master I have just spotted a vast range of Sigg bottles on the Onya site (http://www.onyabags.co.uk/shop.php?crn=215) too (this must be a new line as they only sold their bags before) and am loving the 'Make Love Not Landfill' design!

Anyway down to price comparison - Jason's branded 0.6l is priced at £14 and then £2 P&P at the moment. Whereas Onya are selling the same size bottle for £11.50 with £1.62 P&P (both P&P's based on standard Royal Mail so equal) so cheaper by £1.88 and more designs to choose from on the Onya site. Onya also do their own version (http://www.onyabags.co.uk/shop.php?crn=231) and slightly cheaper than the Sigg designs.

If you absolutely want a Jason Vale one AND want to save money, then Juice Master do a pricing promise that you could try out;
"We always try and keep our prices as low as possible - after all, good health is not meant to be limited to those with the most money. In light of this, we make this promise to you - if you can find any of the products we sell cheaper elsewhere, we will do our level best to match the price for you. In the event we cannot match this, we will offer as best a deal as we can, including making up the difference with other products!"

[Kirsteen]

Ah cool, I've been pondering about it but not sure if my juicer would do it justice and wondered if it was difficult to grow, how have you got on with it, is it easy??

Sorry for not replying sooner, I've had internet problems. I have a Matstone juicer and it handles it easily. It's also really easy to grow (for that read - even I can do it :victory:) In the starter kit, you get 3 seedtrays, 3 lots of seeds, 3 lots of compost and a very clear instruction leaflet.

You just soak 1 lot of the seeds, or berries I think they're more properly called, then mix with compost, put into tray, keep moist and in the dark for 3 days, then bring them into the light and watch them grow. If you're going to be juicing them every day, he even tells you when to start growing your next lot. I found they seemed to grow a bit quicker than he suggested, not sure why. I've got them on the windowsill (inside) but that room's not often heated and we don't exactly get a lot of sun here in Scotland.

I ordered the refill kit at the same time which gives 5 bags of seed and 5 compost so I should be able to keep going for a few months. I absolutely love the really fresh smell of it as it's juicing

[Jax]

Now that does sound easy! I'll try and do a bit more research into my machine to see if it could do it okay.