The cost of a quality juicer discourages some people from starting juicing. When considering buying a juicer you should really look at it as an investment in your health. But if you really can’t afford to buy a juicer there may still be a way for you to juice without purchasing a juicer.
Lots of us have blenders in our kitchens. Blenders are useful kitchen appliances and can be used to make smoothies. If you made juice and then added the pulp back you would get a smoothie. So our goal here is to use a blender to make juice by removing the pulp after we blend.
Fresh juice can be made with a blender and a sieve or nut milk bag to extract all the juice from the blended ingredients. You can buy a sieve anywhere they sell kitchen utensils. Buying nut milk bags may be harder but they are sold at many health food store and online.
Juicing with a blender and sieve may seem like a lot of work, but it really does not require much more effort than using and washing a juicer. Since juicers often are more difficult to clean than blenders, using a blender to make a smoothie may be even easier than using a juicer.
Smoothies vs. Juice
For juice, the pulp from the fruits and vegetables has been removed. Smoothies contain at least some of the pulp. Some people have a strong preference for one or the other. There are those who do not like the texture of pulp in a smoothie. Others like to include both in their diets for variety.
What’s the difference in the health benefits between smoothies and juice? If you are looking for the best way to get the nutrients from fruits and vegetables, nothing beats fresh juice. The body is able to absorb the nutrients very easily from juice. However, juice from fruit may cause blood sugar spikes which can be a concern for people with diabetes. Smoothies contain more fiber which slows the absorption of the sugar and reduces the effect of sugar on the level of sugar in the blood.
For more information read my article: Juicing Vs Smoothies.
Making Juice with a Blender
When making juice with a blender, the ingredients for the juice recipe are prepared as they would be for a juicer. The fruit and vegetables should be washed, peeled, and cut into pieces that are small enough to be blended. In order to encourage the blending of the juice, a liquid must be added to cover the blender blades. Some blender juice recipes use about 1/4 cup of water, juice, coconut water, or even some herbal tea.
After the ingredients are well blended, the mixture should be poured into a nut milk bag or fine sieve. If using a nut milk bag, place the bag into a large bowl and pour the juice into it to make the transfer into the bag easy. Strain the blended ingredients with the nut milk bag or sieve to make fresh juice. The straining process can be skipped to make a smoothie rather than juice.
Using a blender to make juice at home is a great way to start juicing until a juicer can be purchased. Juicing with a blender allows people to add nutrient-rich juice to their diets and start to experiment with juice recipes. When a juicer can be obtained, the person will have some ideas about the kinds of fruit and vegetables are preferred in fresh juice. With the juicer, the person can continue to try new recipes and likely will find some favorites to enjoy often.
Of course a good quality juicer is always worth buying but if your budget is tight and you already have a blender in your kitchen this may be a useful option to consider.
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