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…

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.

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

If you want to take juicing seriously, then an auger juicer is the way to go, as they are extremely versatile.  They can juice vegetables, fruits, and even wheatgrass to make limitless juicer recipes. They also have other functions, including the capability to make nut butters, grind coffee beans, homogenize foods, and some can even make homemade pasta!

An auger juicer works with a rotating auger that will literally crush and press the juice out of your produce, which extracts an incredible amount of juice.  It rotates at a very low RPM, which generates little heat.  Because there is less heat, there is less oxidation, which means that less nutrients and enzymes are killed off in the juicing process.  Another benefit of a low RPM is how little noise it makes.  Compared to other juicers, such as a centrifugal juicer, an auger juicer creates much heartier and more nutritious juicer recipes.

An auger juicer is the best juicer for “green” foods, such as wheatgrass and leafy greens, whose juice is hard to extract.  Wheatgrass is a popular juicing food known for its high chlorophyll content.  Leafy greens include lettuce, broccoli and spinach.  Foods that cannot be juiced are soft produce, such as bananas and avocados, which will cause it to clog and leave an annoying mess to clean, since they contain relatively little juice.  However, these types of produce are generally not used in juicer recipes.

If you choose to purchase an auger juicer, then expect to spend some money.  Then can range anywhere from $200 and up.  However, it is easy to justify the price with the many uses and the many juicer recipes you can create, though the biggest advantage it has over a centrifugal juicer is the health benefits.  It can press a lot of juice out of fruits and vegetables, while preserving more of the enzymes and nutrients.  The auger juicer that I use is the Omega 8005.  It is an excellent machine and I have never been unhappy with it since the day I got it.

If you want something primarily for juicing vegetables, wheatgrass, or just about anything in the kitchen, and if you don’t mind spending more for a juicer that will really get the most out of your juicer recipes, you should definitely invest in an auger juicer.

Omega 8003 Juicer Review – Part 1 – Watch today’s top amazing videos here

The way an electric citrus juicer works nowadays is with a cone that is attached to a reamer that spins when pressure is applied down. It will spin continuously in one direction until you stop pushing down. When you apply pressure again, it will spin in the opposite direction. This ensures that you will get as much juice out of the fruit as possible. Also, your arms won’t get tired trying to squeeze every last drop of juice since it’s electrically powered.

Unfortunately, it is limited to only citrus fruits, so you would have to get a different juicer if you want to use juicer recipes that require apples or carrots. Also, you won’t be able to juice the rind, which is packed with plenty of nutrients.

The citrus juicer I use is a Black and Decker CitrusMate. It is very easy to use and makes very little mess. It also has a feature that allows you to adjust the strainer to allow more (or less) pulp in your juice. An electric model will cost more (about $25), but it does a very efficient job and if you enjoy citrus juice or use it a lot for other juicer recipes such as lemonade, or for alcoholic beverages, it is worth it. If you decide against it, you should invest in a small hand operated citrus juicer at the very least for simple jobs.

Of course, there are extremely high end citrus juicers as well.  Some can cost as much as $600, like sunkist juicers!  In my opinion, this is WAY too much money (I’m guessing you feel the same way too.)  For most casual uses, you can get good citrus juicers for much much cheaper.

If you are interested in juicing a larger variety of fruits and vegetables (and you definitely should be), you will need to upgrade to either a centrifugal juicer or auger juicer.

First of all, juicing makes it a lot easier to consume your vegetables and fruits.  To get the most nutrients out of your fruit and vegetables, you must eat them raw.  Cooking them in any way (and the time you cook it) will affect the nutritional value.  However, it can be tiresome and boring to just eat these foods raw all the time.  The great thing about extracting the juice is that it contains much of the vitamins and nutrients you would get eating the fruits and vegetables raw.  And it sure is easier to drink down a delicious cup of juice using your favorite juicer recipes.  This is especially important in making sure kids get a healthy serving of fruits and veggies.

Another advantage to juicing is versatility.  You can mix and match all sorts of combinations of fruits and vegetables to come up with many different delicious juicing recipes.  Want the health benefits of carrots, but you hate the taste?  Mix it with apples and you got a delightful juicer recipe that not only yields the nutrients of carrots, but also of apples!  All in one glass!

A big problem with beverages these days, even fruit and vegetable juices you can buy off the shelf, is that it may contain a slew of other added ingredients.  One of the most notable culprits is high fructose corn syrup.  By using your own juicer recipes, you ensure that the juice you drink is all natural, additive-free, and suits your taste buds. Also, by avoiding all those processed juices you buy from the store, you can save a lot of money.

There are so many benefits to juicing that a juicer should be a permanent fixture in your kitchen.  Not only will you find it simpler to eat your servings of fruits and vegetable, but you do so quicker with tastier drinks (you’ll find a bunch of free juicer recipes on this website!)  You’ll avoid a lot of unwanted additives and even save money in the process.  Now get out there and start juicing with Easy Juicer Recipes!