7 Essential Things to Consider when Buying a Juicer ...

1. What’s in Your Wallet

First, as we all know, price is one of the most essential things to consider when buying a juicer. How much are you willing to spend? Juicers can cost anywhere from $100 and up to $1000 or more for some fancy models. If you’re going to juice each day, you may be willing to spend more than if you’re just looking to play around with juicing or you’re new to it. Decide what you can afford, and consider some of the options below to decide what your needs are. The most expensive juicers aren’t always the best or most efficient for everyone, but setting a base budget can help you get started on your search.

2. Consider the Type

There are two types of juicers out there. Masticating juicers, which are also known as slow juicers, and centrifugal juicers, which process juice much faster. Some people frown on centrifugal juicers because they claim that the fast juicing process destroys nutrients, and slow juicers are the way to go to preserve more enzymes. Personally, I don’t care for slow juicers because of two reasons. One, I’m impatient, and number two, they are harder to clean. I also find that centrifugal juicers lend wonderful juice that is rich in color, nutrients and I can feel the effects of this juice, just as much as juice from masticating juicers. Masticating, or slow juicers, do yield a thicker juice, but in my opinion, they also yield less juice, making them more costly if you want to make bigger batches. Masticating juicers are also pricier, since they are thought to be better. Even top health celebrity juicers like Kris Carr, Natalia Rose and Kimberly Snyder use centrifugal juicers, so don’t get caught up in thinking you have to have a slow juicer to get the benefits. However, if you’re willing to devote more money and time, go with a masticating if you prefer.

3. Consider Cleanup

As I said, centrifugal juicers, like most of the Breville brand juicers, are some of the easiest to clean, because their parts detach easier than masticating juicers. Some masticating juicers like the Hurom or Green Star juicers are popular and quite easy to clean, but again, I don’t like this type since they yield less juice per ingredient used. I had a Breville juicer and it was so easy to clean and the parts all detached quite simply. It also held up for three years with me juicing two to three times a day.

4. Ingredients

I’m sure you’ve all seen a citrus juicer at your local supermarket, but that is primarily all it will make: citrus juice! Don’t buy a citrus juicer and expect to get good green juice out of it, or throw an apple under the juicer and expect good results. Deciding what type of juicer to buy requires deciding what ingredients you want to use. For example, many juicers are great at juicing thick, harder fruits like apples and pears. These are usually the large centrifugal juicers, which have a high wattage, bigger tube shoot, and are more powerful than masticating juicers. If you’re looking to juice delicate greens that will extract the most of the pulp, such as wheat grass, then you’ll need to go with a slow juicer like a Hurom or Green Star, also known as a masticating juicer. I personally prefer my Breville juicer, which can juice apples, carrots, beets, etc. in whole form, without peeling slicing or cutting them at all.

5. Time

If you’re not willing to spend time shopping for ingredients, taking the time to wash ingredients before juicing, and time to clean up after juicing, you may want to invest in a basic, less expensive model to get started with. I find that it doesn’t take more than 10 minutes per juicing session for myself, and it is well worth it for the benefits I get. Masticating juicers will require much more juicing time and cleanup as well, but do yield a thicker juicer and drier pulp, which is the fiber extracted after juicing. Some people prefer this as they feel they get more out of their ingredients.

6. Ingredient Budget

Now that you’ve figured out how much you want to spend on a juicer, it is time to consider the budget for your ingredients. Many people believe that you should only juice with organic ingredients, and I believe that is important, but I try to stick with the Clean 15 rule when it comes to my juices, just like I do my veggies. I stick to buying organic produce from the Dirty Dozen list, that are higher in pesticide content, and buy conventional forms of the Clean 15 pieces of produce. I try to buy mostly ingredients off of the Clean 15, so that I can afford to buy more to juice, and I don’t have to buy organic. I do, however, buy all my greens organic, since they are always a juice ingredient in my recipes.

7. Switch Mode

One of the last options to consider when buying a juicer is to consider switch control. By this, I mean, do you want a standard on and off switch, or something fancier? Many juicers have digital control modes that allow you to alter the power mode between juicing harder fruits and vegetables, or easier-to-juice recipes like greens and herbs. Others have a standard on and off switch. I have used both types, and like each of them the same, however you need to consider this option, since all juicers come with different switch modes.

Do you juice? If so, what kind of juicer do you like and prefer? Or, if you don’t juice, what kinds of juicing questions do you have? I love talking juice and smoothies so feel free to ask away!

Sources: kriscarr.com, detoxtheworld.com, kimberlysnyder.net