Juicing + smoothie update!

May 1, 2013 | Life in Progress

We bought a #breville #juicer. And holy smokes it is soooo much easier than our old juiceman. Here is today's result. #juicing
After my last/first juicing post, I thought I’d give you guys an update as we’ve made a couple big juicing routine changes.
First, we totally invested in a Breville juicer, and HOLY SMOKES there is a huge difference between the old Juiceman that we were using and this Breville. It’s like the difference between a Vitamix (best thing ever) and a regular blender. Huge difference. There are lots of Breville juicers out there, but we went with this particular one. Totally worth the investment for something that we’re using a few times each week. No more having to stop mid juicing and unclog the machine. And the motor is so much better that we’re getting a ton more actual juice of our veggies, especially the kale.
Another big change we made is that we’re juicing one mason jar (two tops) at a time and consuming our juice rather quickly (within 15 minutes) vs storing it in the fridge. There are varying opinions out there as to whether you lose the nutrients if you store it, so we figured we be on the cautious side of that conversation. 
As for our juicing recipes, we’re still following Lacy’s exact shopping lists and recipes (scroll down until you see “Green Juices”) and haven’t been disappointed yet. If it doesn’t taste yummy, I can’t consume it so I’m feeling grateful that I have her site as a quick resource. 
Today's green smoothie: mostly spinach , frozen blue berries & strawberries, non dairy yogurt, flax oil. DELISH. #vitamix #greensmoothie
(spinach, frozen blueberries/strawberries, nondairy yogurt, flax oil)
In addition to juicing about 3 times per week, we are still making smoothies with our Vitamix about three times a week. You lose most of the fiber with juicing but with the Vitamix, you keep the fiber so it’s a nice balance. I’d say every other morning we make a smoothie in the Vitamix and every other morning we juice. 
We bought our Vitamix last summer and it’s another investment that has made a HUGE impact on our daily lives. We use it to make smoothies (no pulp from kale/spinach/etc – none!), hot soups (yes, it heats your soups!), sorbets (yes, it freezes too!), EVERYTHING. True loves the smoothies and they take seconds to make now. Love! 
Generally, we throw in mostly spinach. Add a bit of frozen fruit. A little cold water. Chia seeds, flax oil. Sometimes non-dairy yogurt (love the Amande brand) for super smoothness. And sometimes a little bit of almond butter for protein. 
**********
This is a whole new world for me  – this juicing and smoothie-ing, but I have to say I’ve been doing it now for nine months and I can’t believe how easy and tasty it is. Total life changer! Here’s to life long green drinks! 
Curious if you guys have fave recipes or sites that you use for recipes. If so, please share em! I’d love to know! 

Sending much love,

Show/Hide Comments (13 comments)
13 Comments
  1. Brittney T.

    I have been inspired by you to start making green smoothies! So the past few days I have made them and they have been great! Although I don't think my $20 blender from Big Lots is gonna cut it, everything keeps getting stuck or it's just not blending well or it just freezes up once I put the ice in. I think I may have to invest in a VitaMix because I hear they are soooo good! But I may need to save some money first because they are a little pricey. Yikes!

    Reply
  2. Heidi Gilchrist

    Here are some of my standbys for the Vitamix:

    1 c soy milk (I use unsweetened)
    1 pinch sea salt
    dash vanilla extract
    2 whopping handfuls of spinach leaves or 4 large chard leaves (I tear out the largest parts of the stems) or 6-8 skinny kale leaves (ditto on the stems)
    1 ripe banana, frozen is good
    4-8 oz of mango depending on my mood
    1/2 a lime (zest, pith, and all)
    a few ice cubes if the fruit wasn't frozen
    maybe 1/2 cup of extra water if I put in a lot of mango

    or

    1 c soy or almond milk
    pinch of sea salt
    dash of vanilla or almond extract
    1 cup frozen berries
    greens as above
    1 tsp balsamic vinegar
    2 tbsp hulled hemp seeds (or ground flax seeds or sunflower seeds or almonds or whatever)

    or the above with blueberries and lemon juice/zest instead of strawberries and balsamic

    or the above with balsamic and a mushy, bruised pear instead of berries and a slice of fresh ginger

    or

    1 cup soy milk
    pinch of sea salt
    generous sprinkle of cinnamon
    greens as above
    ripe frozen banana
    peeled orange or 2 peeled clementines/satsumas/mandarins
    1-2 tbsp of cocoa powder if you want to wake up

    You can pick out the basic pattern, I'm sure: a non-dairy milk, a tiny bit of salt, a flavoring (extract or a warm spice or a piece of ginger), some acid to take the bitterness from the greens, the greens, a watery fruit (berries, mango, oranges, a mushy pear), and a thickener (banana or nuts or seeds or 1/4 avocado, I actually used a leftover roast sweet potato this morning and it worked great)

    If I'm running out of leafy greens or just needing some extra diuretic effect, I throw in a stalk of celery (leaves and all) or some parsley stems.

    Reply
  3. Hannah Nunn

    Today was apple spinach carrot and beetroot with a squeeze of lemon. Beetroot was the star of the show. What a colour!

    Reply
  4. Rachel B

    I've been "smoothie-ing" for several months now using my Nutribullet. My current go-to is 1/2 a banana or avocado, a cup of strawberries/frozen peaches/frozen mangoes, handfuls of spinach, 2 tables of silvered almonds (easier to blend than whole almonds) and almond coconut milk. It feels good to knock out several servings of fruit and veg before I even brush my teeth in the morning!

    Reply
  5. Woman on Wild Mountain

    Joy of Joys, Kelly Rae; I was in a local shop and there was your stuff! I was so happy and grateful and moved to see it there. Grateful because you helped me SO much with your flying lessons 2012. My heart is so full with what you have helped me achieve.

    xoxo Kerry

    Reply
  6. Angela

    I forgot about Kris Carr. One of her juiced helped my stomach. I first read her book two years ago, and wish I'd paid attention to the juice section then – I used to juice, years ago.

    Reply
  7. Joy Hall

    Love my Breville and must try some of Lacy's recipes.

    Reply
  8. Emily

    Hello Kelly Rae,
    I have had my Vita Mix for 14 years. It will last you forever and it is an excellent investment! Monica above asked why you have it and a juicer. Kelly Rae, you said it best. It is good to get fiber from the Vita Mix and then switch it up and get straight juice. Gives your body a nice balance. I love anything Kris Carr has written (Crazy Sexy Diet) and her website is full of juice and smoothie recipes. She is an inspiration!

    Reply
  9. Monica Lee

    Hi Kelly Rae! So glad I popped over here…hoping to get glimpse of your new blonde do. (Hint: your lipsticks will most likely have to change) I have been every color in the book and when you hair color changes well you face changes too. I love being a blonde and am sure you will be super adorable!
    Ok so..my question is there a reason you have 2 juicers and don't just use your Vitamix? I am going to bite the bullet and jump on the band wagon. I love my kale chips but need another way to get greens.

    Reply
  10. Sophie

    I have a green smoothie most mornings for breakfast.

    For yummy recipes, this is my go-to website

    http://www.healthfulpursuit.com/

    As an added bonus for me, she offers non gluten, non dairy recipes, which is a blessing. I have tried most of her smoothies and just love her recipes. My favourite, the pumpkin chai smoothie.

    Reply
  11. Ruth

    Hi Kelly Rae, I read your recent juice post and it prompted me to invest in myself…and in a juicer! I've been making veg juice for 3 weeks now, using whatever we can find and I feel so different! I notice feeling clearer of mind and generally more 'myself'…no recipes to share as we just throw in whatever we can find (organic isn't as easy to find in the UK) as long as there are carrots to give a little sweetness it tastes lovely. Thank you Kelly Rae, for giving me a nudge, I appreciate you sharing 🙂

    Reply
  12. Angela

    Kimberly Snyder has her signature smoothie that contains, spinach, romaine lettuce, apple, pear, banana, celery, and parsley and cilantro if you want the extra detox benefits. She also has two books – Beauty Detox Diet and Beauty Detox Foods (her new book) that focuses on a number of vegan and gluten-free recipes that have this hesitant vegan-in-the-making, actually loving her food.

    Green Smoothie Girl, and Green For Life – two more books hat come to mind, and then there's the Juiceman's own book.

    I wish we had the money for both the juicer and a vitamix. I just received a Nutribullet for my birthday, but it's so small, I need to figure out how to cur the recipes down.

    I've made my first avocado + fruit and greens smoothie today. I don't like avocado by itself, but it turns out I'm fine if it's blended with frozen fruit and a little water. 🙂 I was making smoothies four/five years ago, but my stomach really messed up for other reasons, and I'm only just getting back into it properly.

    Reply
  13. Mary Kaye W.

    We are 5 days into our Nutribullet – totally emulsifies EVERYTHING – spinach, kale, carrots, apples, nuts, frozen fruit, greens, etc. Tastes excellent and the recipe books are wonderful and have sections on various physical conditions that are helped by certain foods. We get the fiber, the vitamins, in KRR's words, "The Whole Shebang!"

    Reply

Leave a Reply to Emily Cancel reply

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Don’t want to miss a post?

Get my posts sent to your inbox as soon as they’re published!

Hello + welcome!

I’m Kelly Rae Roberts

Before I picked up my first paintbrush at the age of 30, I was a medical social worker. I followed my creative whispers, and today I’m an artist & Possibilitarian. I’m passionate about creating meaningful art and experiences that awaken and inspire our spirits.

Get the FREE

Possibilitarian Manifesto

+ a 20% off coupon!

 

Name(Required)
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Blog Categories

Recent Posts

Featured Freebies

VIEW ALL