Breville Juicer

2009 was the year of race reports. There are going to be lots of races (and therefore reports) this year, but I also thought I’d add something new: reviews. Not sure what exactly this will encompass (as always, suggestions welcome! I love when my readers comment!) but I’m thinking books, movies and products- primarily health-related, of course. So now, on to the first review. Drumrolll please…

The Breville 700 Watt Compact Juice Fountain

Yes, a juicer. In a rare moment of impulse shopping I bought a juicer from Amazon. When I was in Rome we had fresh juices at breakfast and I loved that they was tasty and nutritious. I was skeptical of my purchase, I mean, who actually uses a juicer? I also ordered a juice book so I could maximize my potential for success by knowing what to do with the thing once it came.

I genearlly eat pretty well. I use natural nut butters, eat whole wheat versions of foods, know a thousand different recipes for quinoa and make some mean fresh fish. However, while I’m down with whole grains, fresh fruits, good fats and omega-3s, I’m seriously lacking in one domain: vegetables. The only ones I eat are potatoes, sweet potatoes and spinach. Maybe a squash here or there. The main idea behind the juicer was to incorporate some more veggies into my diet. But veggie juices? There was a very high ick potential.

I checked out the juicing book- did you know you can juice kale? And sweet potatoes? Broccoli? Seriously? This juicing book rocks! Tons of info and recipes organized in a really accessible way. If was really going to give this juicing thing a shot I wasn’t going to just make orange juice. So I challenged myself to make something yummy with kale (I can pretend to be an Iron Chef in battle juice, okay??). And I did! I was totally shocked that kale, apples and celery are AMAZING together in juice form.

Before

After

I continued to experiment- every combination I tried from the juice book was amazing. I’ve only had the juicer a week or so but I find myself wanting juice at least once a day. Last night I was pleasantly surprised that when I wanted a midnight snack that instead of eating the awesome gingerbread house I made New Years day that I made myself some orange/cucumber/celery/carrot juice. Quick, easy, healthy and the juicer is so easy to clean.

My gingerbread house! See the logs stacked by the door? And the presents under the tree?

Quantifiable rating: 8

Non-quantifiable rating:  I’m not only eating more fruits and veggies than I usually would, but that there’s greater diversity in what I eat.

I’m not saying juicing is for everyone, but I wanted to share my yummy experiences with you in case you wanted to try. Cheers!