.: juicing addict :.

if you follow me on any type of social media (Twitter: @sweetdeesnuts or Instagram @lifeonthedeelist), you've seen me blasting pictures of my new juicer and all the fun i have been having with it! i am SO excited to finally have a juicer - i literally have been doing research for the past year and a half on juicers. i originally boughta  $100 JuiceMan from Target a couple years ago, but immediately returned it because i was overwhelmed by how much produce it required to just get a cup of juice! i couldn't afford the time or the money at the time for a juicer. well, i'm now another year further out of college and further into my career and decided that i wanted to give it another shot. plus, being a wellness coordinator, i should probably continue to work on my wellness, right?

after talking with a few of my 'juicing expert' friends and a few nutrition professionals, i knew that i wanted to get a Breville, but there are SO many makes and models, it was overwhelming. i researched the capabilites and reviews of every Breville model that i heard of. i wanted to give you guys an overview of what i found, in case you are looking for a juicer!

Breville JE98XL - this is going to be the most basic juicer. if you have ever seen 'fat, sick and nearly dead' this is the juicer he uses. if you haven't seen it, you should. this is a great start for people who are tip-toeing around the possibility of starting to juice. it's fairly inexpensive and easy to find - Best Buy happens to sell this one for $149. this will juice your most basic produce - this apples, carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers. it is dual speed for both hard and soft produce.

Breville JE510XL - this is a step up from the basic juicer - it has 5 speeds to adjust depending on which produce you are trying to juice. this also has a Nutri disc which easily separates the pulp and the juice. some people may find this desirable while others prefer to have some pulp - completely personal preferences. this juicer runs about $199 at Macy's.

Breville 800JEXL - this is going to be another step up, yet. it runs about $299 from Macy's or Williams Sonoma. this one is also a dual speed, but will juice more efficiently than the JE98XL - it will give you about 30% more juice! the opening to this juicer is extra wide which cuts down on all the chopping and preparing of the produce - i have found that this is a huge plus for obvious reasons!

now i get to talk about the juicer that i bought - my plan was to get the JE510XL or 800JEXL, but i was also hoping for a store associate to shed some light on which one would best fit my lifestyle. the guy at Williams Sonoma, not only loved his job, but was very educated when it came to juicers right down to the sound differences of them....

anyway, he broke down all the juicers from the most basic to the mack daddy of juicers including a Hurom slow juicer (which is also another great choice, but he mentioned that his fellow co-workers returned the Hurom for a Breville). after talking with him and hearing his lovely and accurate sound effects, i decided on the Breville BJS600XL. it only has 1 speed, but it is a slow juicer, so it really gets the most of out of the produce. with that being said, it is extremely efficient - i can juice AND hand wash all of the pieces in about 25 minutes and that's been the first couple times i used it. i fell in love when i realized how much juice it sucked out of everything! it also leaves some pulp which is great not only for nutrients, but for the volume of your juice! apparently, my past experience with the JuiceMan traumatized me enough that i literally washed 2 cucumbers, a mango, 2 kiwis, 3 apples and a handful of carrots for my first round of juicing (see picture below). i think i was halfway through the batch when i realized that the jug was already full! to give you a better picture, when the jug is full it fills about 2 1/2 mason jars (the standard size, not the jumbo). most of the parts are dishwasher safe, but since i use my juicer almost everyday and don't run the dishwasher everyday, i have been handwashing the parts. super easy to do!

a couple other things worth noting, this juicer is fairly small - we don't have a lot of counter with all the kitchen appliances we have, but this juicer fits really nice next to our espresso machine and even underneath our cupboards! i love being able to leave it out on the counter all the time! this juicer also has the capabilties to turn flax seeds into oil or peanuts into peanut butter. i doubt i will rely on that often (i haven't gotten into flax seeds, yet and i'm allergic peanuts), but it's nice to know that it is an option.

anyway, i just gave you the VERY basics of all SOME Breville juicers - there are a ton more reviews and information on good ol' Google or even Amazon. check them out!

i am clearly already a huge fan of juicing - i am excited to start playing with recipes and see what it can do for my health. this week is really busy for me with hosting biometric screenings, but i feel comforted in knowing that i can bring some juice to get my nutrients and hold me over until i get the chance to eat.

always striving for more,

dee b.