Jack LaLanne Juicer.........

[clifp]

The Costco Connections magazine as interview with Jack. The guy is incrediable. Still I wonders if he didn't spend the majority of his 93 years doing things to make sure he lived longer. I guess if you find working out fun, or towing huge objects in the water at age 70 fun than he had a great life. But to me that sounds way way to much like hard work.

[FinanceDude]

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Originally Posted by Rich_in_Tampa So, what do you do - just liquify suff, or do you have to add water and other stuff to make it seem like juice? Oranges I can easily see, but some of the other veggies don't seem like they have enough water content. What's the trick?

It liquifies stuff. What I like is you put in WHOLE melons, apples, pears, stuff like that. As most know, the majority of the vitamins is in the RIND of a melon,not the inside.

All I can say is fresh juice tastes WAY better than concentrate.

I have an old juicer, but you had to core the apples and stuff to use it.

I doubt it will be collecting dust like my breadmaker..............

Cucumber juice is good........

[cute fuzzy bunny]

We've got one. We use it like crazy for about 2 months, then it goes on the shelf for a year or so, then it comes back out again for another 2 months.

Suddenly those giant bags of carrots at Costco start making sense.

Do NOT drink a lot of carrot juice.

[ERD50]

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Originally Posted by FinanceDude It liquifies stuff. What I like is you put in WHOLE melons, apples, pears, stuff like that. Cucumber juice is good........

I still don't get this. Say you put in 3# of cucumbers. How much juice do you get, and how much 'stuff' do you throw away?

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As most know, the majority of the vitamins is in the RIND of a melon,not the inside.

So how do you know how much of those vitamins get into the juice, and how much are left behind? Most cucumbers are waxed - do you throw those in skin and all?

Is there a chance that some *bad* stuff in the rinds is getting into the juice? In general, if humans do not eat something, there is often an evolutionary reason for it. One of the reasons we have such developed taste discrimination (look at wine descriptions) is to help us identify good-bad foods.

I'm just not convinced that these 'processed' foods are better than just eating the stuff.

-ERD50

[FinanceDude]

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Originally Posted by ERD50 I still don't get this. Say you put in 3# of cucumbers. How much juice do you get, and how much 'stuff' do you throw away?

At least to me, there's a LOT of juice, and less pulp left over than my other juicer. I think it's because my juicer spins at a high RPM, and the blades are super sharp.

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So how do you know how much of those vitamins get into the juice, and how much are left behind? Most cucumbers are waxed - do you throw those in skin and all?

Well, my late sister was a renowned food scientist, and she taught me a lot about it........ I wash all produce and fruit with veggie spray and then rinse it off.

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Is there a chance that some *bad* stuff in the rinds is getting into the juice? In general, if humans do not eat something, there is often an evolutionary reason for it. One of the reasons we have such developed taste discrimination (look at wine descriptions) is to help us identify good-bad foods.

There's "bad stuff" in everything you eat. Unless you grow everything in your own garden organically, you can't control pesticide residue. I still think it's better than any processed food out there.

[bright eyed]

hehe, as long as your juicer doesn't inject high fructose corn syrup, this processing sounds least harmful

there must be something to it though - perhaps since eating all those veggies would be challenging - you at least get the vitos from them...i can't eat 3 lb of broccoli in one day!

[ERD50]

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Originally Posted by FinanceDude At least to me, there's a LOT of juice, and less pulp left over than my other juicer.

This is what I'm getting at - if there is so little pulp left - why not just eat the veggie? Again, the pulp might be what is good for us. I don't know, but I do know that juicers were not influencing the evolution of our digestive system over the last few million years.

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Well, my late sister was a renowned food scientist, and she taught me a lot about it........

Is there a respectable web site that covers any of this? Something that would show the nutrition and fiber content of 1# of cucumbers, vs the nutrition and fiber content of the juice from 1# of cucumbers? That might help me to understand this.

It may be better than other 'processed' foods, but is it better than the unprocessed veggies?

One thing that I hear from the juicer people is that 'you could not eat this many vegetables'. But that makes me wonder whether we should consume a portion of that many vegetables - seems 'unnatural' to me. It may be the balance of nutrients, fiber, etc that makes it healthy - eating a concentrated portion of those veggies may actually be bad for us?

As an example, I could drink 16 oz of beer daily, and it is normally considered 'healthy'. I could concentrate (distill) 320 ounces of beer down to 16 oz of 100 proof alcohol, and that would not be healthy. More is not always 'better'.

-ERD50

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

Can you just spoon the pulp back in to the juice and drink it?

[A854321]

This thread reminds me of when I bought a juicer. Very heavy duty solid item. Went to the grocery store and loaded up on all the recommended fruits and vegetables. When I got to the checkout the clerk looked at my stuff and said: "Looks like you bought a juicer."

The juicing phase lasted about 2 weeks, then I got tired of cleaning up the mess.

I'll go back to it when fully retired.

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rich_in_Tampa Can you just spoon the pulp back in to the juice and drink it?

Vegetable pulp can be added to meatballs and meatloaf (and the like) to add fiber, make the cooked product more tender, and add some amount of flavor. When we're juicing, I add tomato, pepper, onion and garlic pulp in. Mine has whats almost a microplane zester/grater sort of screen/cutter in it, so the solid material seems almost atomized.

Fruit pulp, if its not bitter, can be added to fruit soups.

Now that we've reproduced, there are also other uses for the pulp the next time we take out the juicer. Wendy hides pureed beets in the brownies gabe helps to make, and cauliflower pulp in the lemon/vanilla cupcakes. You completely cannot detect the presence (just dont go overboard) and it gives the baked goods a nice moist texture and good springiness.

And yes, i'm very suspicious when she cooks dinner for me...

[Khan]

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Originally Posted by cute fuzzy bunny Vegetable pulp can be added to meatballs and meatloaf (and the like) to add fiber, make the cooked product more tender, and add some amount of flavor. When we're juicing, I add tomato, pepper, onion and garlic pulp in. Mine has whats almost a microplane zester/grater sort of screen/cutter in it, so the solid material seems almost atomized. Fruit pulp, if its not bitter, can be added to fruit soups. Now that we've reproduced, there are also other uses for the pulp the next time we take out the juicer. Wendy hides pureed beets in the brownies gabe helps to make, and cauliflower pulp in the lemon/vanilla cupcakes. You completely cannot detect the presence (just dont go overboard) and it gives the baked goods a nice moist texture and good springiness. And yes, i'm very suspicious when she cooks dinner for me...

There was an old woman of Filey,
Who valued old candle ends highly.
When no - one was looking
She used them for cooking:
"It's wicked to waste," she said, dryly.

[FinanceDude]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rich_in_Tampa Can you just spoon the pulp back in to the juice and drink it?

Yes...........

[FinanceDude]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ERD50 This is what I'm getting at - if there is so little pulp left - why not just eat the veggie? Again, the pulp might be what is good for us. I don't know, but I do know that juicers were not influencing the evolution of our digestive system over the last few million years.

I actually get WAY less pulp from the new juicer than my other juicer. When I juice 4 oranges in my "old juicer", I get a LOT of pulp. When I juice those same oranges in my new juicer, I get about 40% more juice, but less pulp.

According to the Jack LaLanne manual, his juicer extracts 30% more juice than other brands. I am guessing more of the pulp is pulverized and turned into juice? It seems logical.......

They recommend keeping the pulp and putting it in muffins, etc.............

I think it's easier to "drink" a cumcumber than eat one, and I love cucumbers.

The big pain is taking apart the juicer and cleaning it after each use...............

Quote:

Is there a respectable web site that covers any of this? Something that would show the nutrition and fiber content of 1# of cucumbers, vs the nutrition and fiber content of the juice from 1# of cucumbers? That might help me to understand this. It may be better than other 'processed' foods, but is it better than the unprocessed veggies?

If you find one let me know, and I will do likewise.......

BTW, I was a BIG V-8 guy back in the day, until I saw how much SALT they put in it. No wonder it tasted so good. After that, I just used it to make Bloody Marys...........

[FinanceDude]

I found this:

MJ HEALTH & FITNESS: Juice vs. Whole Fruit

[ERD50]

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Originally Posted by FinanceDude I found this: MJ HEALTH & FITNESS: Juice vs. Whole Fruit

Thanks, but not really much info there. In essence, the 'traditional' nutritionists gave numbers; the 'juicers' just 'contend' and 'infer' the nutrition:

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Still, many in the medical establishment maintain that even the purest juice is no substitute for fresh fruit or vegetables. Compare an apple and a glass of apple juice. A medium-size apple contains 80 calories, 21 grams of carbohydrates, and 3.7 grams of fiber; an eight-ounce glass of apple juice contains nearly 50 percent more calories and carbs, and virtually no fiber. "My main concern about juice is that I know we're not getting enough fiber in this country," says Cindy Moore, director of nutrition therapy at the Cleveland Clinic. Juice proponents like Paul Sale, a top New York City chef, concede that fresh fruit contains more fiber than juice does, but he argues that proper juicing preserves more fiber than one would think, and, more important, that it breaks down a plant's cell walls to allow antioxidants to be more easily digested. Juice advocates also contend that juicing concentrates nutrients. It takes a bag of carrots to make eight ounces of juice, after all, so it follows that a glass of juice contains more vitamins than a single serving of whole carrots.

Can't the pro-juicers at least measure the vitamins/nutrients?

Even if the 8 ounces of juice contains a significant % of the nutrients that are in the entire bag of carrots, that does not tell us that the 'health' is in the juice - it might be in the combo of those nutrients, the fiber, and whatever else is left behind. It would take a pretty involved study to determine that - a long term study of juicers vs veggie eaters.

They have found that it is not beta-carotene supplements that improve health, but eating foods that are high in beta-carotene. I'm just suspicious that juicing is going to turn out the same way.

-ERD50

[starter82]

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Originally Posted by dlhanson We don't just drink juice. We eat brown rice (DW grew up on lots and lots of rice and veggies), beans, and other veggies (squash, spinach, romain lettuce, cucumbers). DS (25 - living at home and working on his second graduate degree) eats mostly bread instead of rice. We eat low calorie low fat whole foods with high nutrition density, nothing processed and no animal derived foods except DS uses honey.

I worry about satiety.

[ESRBob]

We're still in the first 2 months stage after I got DW her dream present for Christmas. She makes me things that taste like vitamin water and stands over me until I finish them. They taste so weird they must be good for me. Carrot, tomato, beet, cucumber and ginger was today's hurdle. I did juice a pineapple yesterday, added a little vanilla in and it was awesome.

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Throw in a little sweetened coconut milk and a healthy dose of rum and you've got somethin...

[FinanceDude]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ESRBob We're still in the first 2 months stage after I got DW her dream present for Christmas. She makes me things that taste like vitamin water and stands over me until I finish them. They taste so weird they must be good for me. Carrot, tomato, beet, cucumber and ginger was today's hurdle. I did juice a pineapple yesterday, added a little vanilla in and it was awesome.

Vanilla extract can make anything taste good, so can a little pure honey..........

[HFWR]

Be healthy: eat your honey...