Berries get their deep color from the large amount of phytonutrients packed into them that act as antioxidants.  These antioxidants (as stated before) boost the immune system and fight of dangerous free radicals from the body.  These same nutrients also are commonly linked to fighting many types of cancer.

Berries are great sources for Vitamin C and manganese, both of which aid the bodies’ protective systems that fight free radicals.  Each type has its own unique benefits as well.  Strawberries are great for fighting heart disease and inflammation.  Blueberries have been linked to improving night vision and brain functionality.  Raspberries have antimicrobial properties that fight bacteria growths in the body.

It is always a good idea to go organic when fruit juicing.  Berries usually contain traces of pesticides and chemicals – especially strawberries.  Do yourself a favor and spend the extra money for organic berries to prevent these compounds getting in your juicer recipes.  At the very least, get organic strawberries, as they are the worst offenders when it comes to chemical traces.

A great thing about berries is that if you don’t use them, you can freeze them before they go bad and use them on another day.  They’re small and easy to store in your freezer.  Fortunately, freezing berries does not alter the antioxidant content much, so you still get significant nutritional value.

In the next post, I’ll give a list of some great berry juicer recipes!

Berry Blast Juice Recipe

• blueberries
• raspberries
• strawberries
• blackberries
• soy milk to thicken (optional)

Citrus Berry Juice

• 1 grapefruit
• handful of strawberries (about 7-8)
• 1 orange
• 1/2 lemon

Grapple Berry Juice

• handful grapes
• 1 apple (don’t use a tart apple)
• strawberries (use an amount equal to the amount of grapes used)

Tropical Juicer Recipe

• handful of strawberries
• 2 oranges
• 1 kiwi
• 1 banana
• Note: You must juice the first 3 ingredients, then blend the juice with the banana.  Don’t forget that the banana is unjuicable and should not be juiced for all juicer recipes.

Apple Berry Juice

• 2 apples
• handful of strawberries
• raspberries (add to desired taste)

Berry Cucumber Juice

• handful of strawberries
• raspberries (about 1 cup)
• blueberries (about 1 cup)
• 1 cucumber

Watermelon Berry Juicer Recipe

• 1/4 watermelon
• strawberries (about 1 cup)
• blueberries (about 1 cup)
• 1 lemon

Berry Smoothie (Must use blender)

This is one of my favorite recipes I have used many times, though it is not a juicer recipe.  You will need a blender.

• frozen strawberries
• frozen blueberries
• frozen raspberries
• frozen blackberries (optional)
• cranberry juice
• ice cubes (about 3 or 4)
• Add an equal amount of strawberries and blueberries.  Add fewer raspberries and blackberries.
• Blend all the ingredients.  I hate to admit it, but I am guilty of adding a little bit of chocolate syrup too.  It adds a subtle chocolatey taste.  You probably shouldn’t add any though if health is a concern…

Well, not really.  Sunkist juicers are just citrus juicers.  Actually, they’re “commercial” citrus juicers to handle heavy duty juicing operations.  Regardless, I’m baffled as to how they think they can get away with charging so much for it.  It doesn’t even juice the oranges for you – you still have to cut them in half, and press them to juice them.  You also have to wash it every time after use (but I suppose that’s the case with every juicer.)

So it is limited to juicing citrus fruits only, but at least it looks like it does the job very well.  Sunkist juicers are made of high-grade materials, such as corrosion proof plastic and the casing of the juicer steel.  The metal strainer oscillates as you use it, which extracts more juice from the pulp.  And finally, sunkist juicers weigh a whopping 31 pounds!  This can be both a good thing and a bad thing.  If you have counter space and plan to make juice all the time, then you will never have to worry about mishandling it.  But, if your plan was to use the sunkist juicer for casual use and to store it away, I would think this product is not for you.

I’m still confused over how expensive it is.  The juicer is use is the Black and Decker CitrusMate citrus juicer, which costs around $25.  As I said in my review, it does its job well.  Even if it sucked and broke after a few uses, I could buy and go through about 24 citrus juicers before I would spend as much as I would on a sunkist juicer.

Anyway, I must state this isn’t a review.  This is merely my observation of sunkist juicers.  This may seem unfair, but I am not certainly going to drop $600 to try it out.  For those of you that own a sunkist juicer, I would love to hear from all of you to get a more fact-based perspective.

The biggest problem with fruits is their high sugar content.  It may be natural sugar, but at the end of the day, it is still a simple sugar.  Consuming too much will cause the body to store the excess as fat and can result in weight gain.

One consequence that plagues many people today is tooth decay, because bacteria grows faster when there is a lot of sugar present.  This can lead to cavities, gingivitis, periodontitus and more.

Another consequence is fatigue.  The body responds quickly to the rapid change in blood sugar level, then comes crashing back down to earth after it has used up so much energy to restore its level.  The constant ups and downs cause plenty of stress on the body and can result in chronic fatigue.

Then there are the very serious problems, including high blood pressure, diabetes, and hypoglycemia.  To put it simply, overconsumption of sugar is very bad for you!

This should not discourage you from juicing fruits.  It is only meant as a caution.  It is quite easy to get almost a full serving of fruits for the day with just one or two juicer recipes and you can take in a lot of sugar without even realizing it.  To balance it out, also focus on vegetable juicing recipes as well.

If you are in the habit of only making juicer recipes with fruits, then you should compensate for it by reducing the amount of sugar you consume (assuming you eat a lot of sugar) in other areas of your diet.  At the very least, even if you were to replace every sugary product you eat with some form of a fruit, you would be getting lots of nutrients also instead of just sugar.

All in all, let’s just keep the sugary juicer recipes in check!

Blenders can handle some juicer recipes.  One advantage blending has over juicing is that it uses the whole fruit or vegetable, while juicing will discard the pulp.  This way you also get all the fiber in your juicer recipes and there is no chance of discarding wet pulp after you’re done juicing.

Another great thing about blenders is how affordable they are.  Nowadays, you could get a small, single serve blender for as little as $20.  That sure is less than the $100 for a centrifugal juicer, or $250 for an auger juicer.

It is also easy to make smoothie recipes with a blender.  Throw in fruit, ice, yogurt, and whatever else you want, turn it on, and you have your smoothie.  Centrifugal juicers cannot do that.  An auger juicer can, although it is more cumbersome to do so than with a blender.

The problem is that by blending produce without really extracting the juice from the pulp, you are just mashing it up for a thick pulpy drink.  It will be difficult to make the juicer recipes that use tougher produce.  For example, watermelons (including with the rinds) are not really a problem because of their high juice content – though you may need to add some additional liquid.  On the other hand, pineapples can be troublesome, much more so if you want the rinds in your juicer recipes as well.  Greens such as broccoli and spinach are really difficult, and will require you to add a lot of liquid, such as water, to actually blend them.  Worst of all, blending is a more violent action on the produce which traps more air and promotes oxidation, further reducing nutritional content.

I have two blenders – a Back to Basics Blender Express and a Kitchenaid 5-speed blender.  The Back to Basics Blender Express goes for $18 on Amazon.com and is such a great blender.  The container has a handle so it acts as a mug, making it the perfect single serve blender.

The Kitchenaid 5-speed blender is…alright.  It is powerful, but it is a big unit with a big jar that is made for heavy usage.  Its heavy glass jar makes it a pain to clean.  The blade is relatively small compared to the base, and the jar is not optimally shaped for blending.  It was built for very large blending tasks, so it is practically useless for small jobs.  I hate to admit it, but I get a lot more use out of my simple Back to Basics blender.

Chances are you already have a blender.  If you’re open to the possibility of juicing, you can see how blending works for you.  However, no blender can ever substitute a juicer in making your juicer recipes.

Besides vitamin C, grapefruits with a deep pink or red color contain lycopene, the same antioxidant found in tomatoes.  This antioxidant does wonders against harmful free radicals in the body.  Studies have also shown that it can reduce the risk of prostate cancer.

In addition, grapefruit juice can aid digestion and constipation.  It also helps to reduce appetite, making it a popular choice in weight loss programs.  Many have probably heard of the “Grapefruit Diet“, which revolves around small meals and eating (or juicing ) a grapefruit for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  I’m not quite sure how well it works, but seeing as how you consume so few calories on the diet, it’s hard to believe that you wouldn’t lose weight.  I would rather encourage a healthy diet that incorporates grapefruit juicer recipes as opposed to a full fledged diet based solely on one fruit.  It does not seem healthy to limit yourself to such a little caloric intake.

CAUTION: If you are taking medication, consult a doctor before you add grapefruits to your juicer recipes, as grapefruit juice can mix dangerously with certain meds.  Grapefruit juice will release enzymes that increase the absorption rate of medications and can effectively cause an overdose.  Learn more about grapefruits and medication here.

Try out some of these grapefruit juicer recipes:

Blueberry Grapefruit Juice

• 1 cup of blueberries (a handful will do)
• 1/2 cup of grapes (small handful will do)
• 1 grapefruit

Citrus Juice Recipe

• 1 grapefruit
• 2 oranges
• 1 lemon
• 1/2 inch ginger root

Berry Grapefruit Juice

• 1/2 cup of raspberries (small handful)
• 1 cup of strawberries (about 7-8 strawberries)
• 1 grapefruit

Grapefruit Tang

• 1 large grapefruit
• 1/3 pineapple
• 1 watermelon slice

My very first juicer was the Black & Decker CitrusMate citrus juicer.  The first thing is that it only costs about $25.  It is an electric model and is very easy to handle.  The juice container sits on top of the base, and a rod rotates in the middle when pressure is applied down.  When the lid is placed on top, the rod is connected to the reamer that is used to juice the citrus fruit.  As you push down on the reamer, it rotates and will juice the fruit.  It even alternates between clockwise and counter-clockwise to really get all the juice out of your fruit.  The lid conveniently has a strainer that doesn’t allow the pulp to fall through into the juice container.  It has 3 settings that let you control how much pulp goes through – no pulp, a little pulp, most of the pulp.  Finally, there are two different sized reamers, allowing you to juice big and small citrus fruits.

The CitrusMate is actually a great product if you are only interested in citrus juice.  If all you want is to be able to make orange juice in the morning, or fresh lemon juice to make lemonade, this is the juicer for you.  It will juice oranges, grapefruits, tangerines, lemons, limes, and so on.  It is quick and easy to use, and does a great job of getting most of the juice.  Compared to what you would pay for a good citrus press (about $150), you are definitely getting plenty of bang for your buck with the CitrusMate.

The first downside is obvious – it only juices citrus fruits.  You will HAVE to upgrade to juice any kind of vegetable.  Another disadvantage is cleaning.  For such simple tasks, washing the lid and container each time is a pain.  Finally, this citrus juicer will not be able to juice the rinds, which contain a lot of nutrients that you don’t want to miss out on.

Overall, the CitrusMate citrus juicer does its job, and it does it well.  As a first juicer, you cannot go wrong.

Pears have small amounts of vitamin C and copper, which boost the immune system to help fight free radicals in the body.  What makes the pear unique is that it contains the fewest allergens out of all fruits, meaning its one of the best fruits to stick with in your juicer recipes if there are concerns about fruit allergies.  Overall, pears have a decent variety of phytonutrients, though there are other fruits out there that pack in more nutritional content.   When buying pears, it is recommended that you buy organic, as they usually contain chemicals from being exposed frequently to pesticides.

Pears are a great source of fiber which studies have linked to a reduced risk of colon cancer.  Unfortunately, by juicing pears you will miss out on this fiber (unless you eat the pulp afterwards.)  Because of this, pears are a fruit better eaten whole than to be added to your easy juicer recipes, though this isn’t meant to detract you from juicing pears at all.

Pears have a gritty, even buttery texture which can make it problematic for juicing.  If overripe and soft, they will be a real pain for your juicer and essentially unjuicable.  You want to juice them when they are ever so soft, indicating that they are just ripe.

Try out these easy pear juicer recipes:

Pear Watermelon Juice

• 2 pears
• 1/4 watermelon

Apple Pear & Celery Juice

• 2 apples
• 2 pears
• 2 celery stalks

Pear Orange Soda

This is one of the juicer recipes I have been experimenting with, so feel free to change it up.  When making it your first time, I suggest leaving out the ginger and seeing if you like the base.

• 2 pears
• 1 orange
• 1/4 inch ginger
• Seltzer

Pear Blend Juicer Recipe

• 2 pears
• 1 grapefruit
• 1 cucumber

When it comes to going organic, here is a list of healthy foods to eat.  The top 12 foods on the list, also known as the dirty dozen, are as follows:

Dirty Dozen:

1. Peach
2. Apple
3. Sweet Bell Pepper
4. Celery
5. Nectarine
6. Strawberries
7. Cherries
8. Kale
9. Lettuce
10. Grapes – Imported
11. Carrot
12. Pear

The bottom 12 fruits and vegetables that contain the fewest amount of chemicals are as follows:

1. Watermelon
2. Papaya
3. Eggplant
4. Cabbage
5. Kiwi
6. Sweet Peas – Frozen
7. Asparagus
8. Mango
9. Pineapple
10. Sweet Corn – Frozen
11. Avocado
12. Onion

Besides this list, there are plenty of reasons to go organic.  Farmers that grow organic products help the environment.  By not using herbicides and pesticides, they don’t contaminate and poison the air, soil, water, or animals.  Buying organic products helps out the small local farmers to keep producing organic crops, and not have to settle with factory farm GMO crops.

Even if you do not convert to an organic diet, you should at least use this list as a guide as to what produce to buy organic for your easy juicer recipes.

Pineapples are a tropical fruit and are used often to make “tropical” juicer recipes.  They are sweet, and have a tangy taste that goes well with fruity drinks.  Recognized by their prickly rind, pineapples are very popular and can be found at any local grocery store.

Pineapples are rich with bromelain, a mixture of sulfur-containing, protein digesting enzymes.  It helps the body by reducing inflammation, making it good to fight swelling from physical injuries.  Research has shown that bromelain can help reduce coagulation and blood clots in arteries.  Pineapples also contain manganese, which is important for bone metabolism.  There is also a small amount of vitamin C in pineapples to boost the immune system.

The rind of the pineapple can be juiced, despite its unappetizing look.  Like most produce, the rind contains plenty of nutrients.  It is not necessary to buy organic pineapples, as the rind usually carries very little pesticide residue.  Therefore, you are safe when juicing non-organic pineapples for your easy juicer recipes.

Another option if you do not want to buy a whole pineapple is to buy canned pineapples or frozen pineapple concentrate.  These two options will never be as nutritious as using a fresh pineapple though.  They do have the advantage of being easier to handle and easier to store for longer periods of time.  If all you are interested in is the taste of the pineapple juice for your juicer recipes, then these two options will suffice.  The best method by far would be to buy fresh pineapple, use what your juicer recipes call for, and then freeze the rest.

To juice a pineapple, cut off the leafy crown.  Cut off the rind, and then slice up both the center of the pineapple and the rind.  Throw the pieces of rind and pineapple into the juicer.

Try out these easy juicer recipes:

Pineapple Watermelon Juice

• 1/2 pineapple
• 1/4 watermelon
• 1 celery stalk

Pine-Apple Ginger Juice

• 1/2 pineapple
• 2 apples
• 1/2 inch ginger root

Pineapple Carrot Juice

• 1/2 pineapple
• 2 carrots
• 1 apple (optional)

Tropical Blend Juicer recipes

• 1/2 pineapple
• 5 strawberries
• 1 kiwi
• 1 orange