Owning an extractor allows you to create healthy juices at home, offering a wealth of nutrients, including potassium, iron, calcium, vitamins A and C and antioxidants. Several types of extractors are available, so finding one that meets your needs is simple. Many types of fruits and vegetables are good options for an extractor, allowing you to mix and match ingredients and thereby increasing your intake of vitamins and minerals.
Types of Extractors
There are three basic kinds of juice extractors: centrifugal, masticating and triturating. The one you choose should be based on how often you use it and your preferences as to which one is the easiest to operate. A centrifugal extractor works with a high-speed motor and removes the juice from fruits and vegetables quickly and is often the least expensive version on the market. A masticating extractor is slower but doesn't use as much heat, which may preserve some of the nutrients in the produce you are using. A triturating extractor is similar to a masticating one but contains more gears for the fruits and vegetables to pass through, which results in the highest juice yield possible. Operating an extractor involves placing the fruits or vegetables into a chute that feeds them into the blades or gears that remove the juice. Read the directions for your extractor carefully as operation varies among brands.
Fruit Juice
Juicing fruit is a healthy way to incorporate more of it into your diet if you find yourself falling short of the recommended daily servings. Try juicing single fruits, such as apples, oranges or pineapples, to get started and then experiment with combinations to increase your nutrient intake and try different flavors. Fruits that pair well together include bananas and berries, limes and mangoes, watermelon and blueberries and kiwis and strawberries. Pineapple-orange juice, apple-grape juice and peach-mango juice are additional combinations.
Vegetable Juice
Vegetables contain many of the same nutrients as fruit with the addition to calcium, which is found in many leafy green vegetables. Carrots, beets, tomatoes, celery, spinach, kale, cucumbers, fennel and lettuce are good options for making healthy fresh vegetable juice with an extractor. Try sweet potato-carrot-celery juice, a combination of spinach, cucumber and carrots, or mix tomatoes with carrots, beets and spinach. You may find that mixing vegetables in a tomato juice base creates a less bitter and more appealing flavor.
Fruit and Vegetable Juice Combinations
Many people find that the taste of plain vegetable juice isn't very appealing but enjoy it when combined with fruit. Apples, oranges, berries, kiwis and grapes pair well with the flavor of carrots, beets, tomatoes, spinach and celery. Try apples with cucumber, spinach and carrots or tomatoes with lettuce and carrots. Mix and match your favorites for new and interesting juice recipes. Drinking homemade juice that includes both fruits and vegetables increases your nutrient intake and maximizes your produce consumption.
References
- Juicer Recipes Now: How to Choose the Best Juice Extractor/Juicer Machine for You
- The Telegraph; Homemade Juices Packed with Vitamins and Antioxidants; Xanthe Clay; January 2010
- MayoClinic.com; Is Juicing Healthier Than Eating Whole Fruits and Vegetables?; Jennifer K. Nelson. RD, LD; October 2010
- Zesty Cook; Top Juicer Recipes - The Power of Juice; June 2011
- Juice Fasting: Delicious Homemade Drinks Recipes
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