Everything you Need to Know to Start Juicing

Photo Credit: Breville USA via Compfight cc

The juicing diet is the healthy fad that won't go away - and for good reason! Not only does the combination of flavours taste delicious, juicing helps you get your 5-a-day (or 7-a-day!) and it's faster as it bypasses all that laborious chewing (because, really, who has time for chewing in our busy, office lives?!)

At Fruit For the Office we believe in a world where people enjoy their fruit however they like, whether it's whole, pureed, dried, in a cake, in a smoothie or juiced. So read on and we'll give you all the information you need to know about the easy and fast ways to start juicing.

Pros of Juicing

• If you're not a fan of your fruits and veggies (no matter how many times you try to do the aeroplane spoon to yourself with them) juicing is a delicious way to incorporate natural, healthy foods into your diet
• The last bits of office fruit going to go to waste over the weekend? No problem! Juicing is a great way to reduce food waste by using fruit that is just about to spoil - especially if you're one of those who are prejudiced against less-than-perfect fruit (Poor bruised apples, no-one will ever love you!)
• Studies show that eating more fruit and veg has a significant effect on your lifespan and all around health and wellbeing. So if you're finding it hard to get enough fruit and vegetables into your diet then juicing three, four or even five types into one juice will make getting your 5-a-day, easier and quicker
• Juicing your fruit and vegetables provides you with all the same vitamins, minerals and nutrients as if you ate them whole
• The high water content of fruit and vegetables keeps you hydrated
• As part of a balanced diet, fresh fruit and vegetables juice are an easy and delicious way to incorporate natural sugars, vitamins, minerals and general goodness into your diet

Cons of Juicing

• Turning fruits from a solid into a liquid concentrates the sugar content meaning that whilst a whole pomegranate, for example, only contains 12g of sugar, a glass of pomegranate juice has a whopping 37g of sugar. So if you're a calorie counter, add more vegetables to your juice mix. Also, make sure you keep looking after your teeth if you become a die-hard juicer!
• The sensation of chewing alone can make you feel more full so slurping your meals down through a straw may lead to you feeling less satisfied and will have you turning to bigger meals out of hunger in the long run
• Although people will pray to the altar of 'The Juice Cleanse' there really is no reputable evidence that consuming nothing but juice will detox your internal organs - they do that themselves. Fruit and veg will make you healthier and give you more energy but it really needs to be consumed as part of a balanced diet!
• We all need fibre and pulverising your fruits and veggies in a blender then removing the pulp means that you lose all the goodness of fibre in your glass of otherwise healthy juice. Fibre helps lower cholesterol, keeps you fuller for longer, maintains gastrointestinal health and regulates your blood sugar levels (which will spike sky high after consuming fruit, meaning juice without pulp will make that sugar rush - and inevitable sugar crash - kick in) 

Should I Buy a Blender or a Juicer?

The main thing that puts your regular office worker off of juicing is the cost of equipment. Both blenders and juicers can be equally as expensive as you will be paying for quality (and fancy settings) but whilst most people believe a blender and a juicer are interchangeable they are as different as an apple and an orange. They look similar but both have completely different insides, textures and tastes. I've broken it down as simply as possible to let you make an informed decision about whether you should be making juice in a juicer or a blender.

Blender

1.  Fibre

Whilst a high quality blender is generally cheaper than an equivalent high quality juicer, using a blender will give you a consistency much closer to a smoothie even if you add plenty of water - this is because as it blends the final product will retain all the wonderful fibre I've been harping on about. The inclusion of fibre is a bonus for some who are looking to add more nutrients to their daily diet but it can be a curse for those wishing to actually embark on a juice cleanse as it will activate your digestive tract and for those with sensitive stomachs who are not used to a high-fibre diet it may cause quite a few trips to the toilet for the first few tries. However, obviously, the fibre will keep you fuller and stop your blood sugar from spiking so it really depends on your body - and you know it better than anyone else!

2.  Prep

A blender may find it hard or even impossible to mash through whole fruits if you have a less powerful model whereas good juicers can suck in a whole apple and leave you with a glass of fresh juice. If you're low on time, having to peel, de-core and chop up each individual fruit and vegetable may not be right for your lifestyle.

3.  Easy to Clean

As blenders are easy to assemble, they're also easy to clean. Just a quick separation and run under the tap or if your blender has a clean function you can just add some soap and water and let it do its thing.

4. Supplements

Using a blender you can actually add supplements such as spirulina and maca root powder to your concoctions, ramping up the health factor even more.

5. Multi-functional

Not only can you make juices, you can make smoothies, soups, sauces, dips... anything that can be blended will be blended. If you sprung for a top notch model you can even start dropping iPhones in it*


*We are definitely not responsible for you blending your gadgets, so don't blame us for your curiosity!

Juicer

1. Stomach Shortcut

Due to the lack of fibre, fresh juice gives you all the nutrients without activating your digestion. This is ideal for people who have sensitive digestion and those who need to give their body a break to allow it to heal itself.

2. Energy Boost

Another positive for the lack of fibre contained in juice made in a juicer is the energy boost it brings about. The high sugar contain in fruits will get you wired - just make sure you've got an equal amount of veg in there to stop that comedown hitting too hard.

3. Unfufilling 

Juice can make you feel less full, in part due to the lack of fibre and also the lack of chewing involved. This could be a problem if you have a big appetite as you might start reaching for the snacks to get you through the day if you're embarking on a full-on juice cleanse.

4. Hard to Clean

With a lot of unseen innards and, of course, that pulp had to go somewhere, juicers can be a pain in the peach to clean. So both blenders and juicers have their time-consuming bits wherever it's chopping or cleaning.

5. Green without the Gag

Blending your fruits and vegetables, and thus leaving all the pulp in, makes the flavours much more pronounced. This means that if you try and make that Green Machine juice you saw on Pinterest that had a healthy dose of rocket in a blender you may be only taking one gulp of that before it hits the bin. However, juicing somehow makes it easier to disguise bad tasting veggies with good tasting ones as well as sweet tasting fruits than it does when blending. A good thing to know if your tastebuds are particularly sensitive!

Tweet us @office_fruit or Facebook us if you want to know more about juicing and whether this has helped you on your way to becoming a Green Goddess, or if you're still not convinced, a Peach eating Purist.

And as always, comment below! We love getting feedback and we may even write a blog based on any questions you've raised!