Juicer verses blender

[Quiver0f10]

We have been making smoothies with our blender and I was wondering what advantage having a juicer would be. I know nothing about them so forgive me if this is a dumb question LOL.

[Nancy in MI]

I went back and forth-juicer? blender? juicer? blender? I read a lot about both and talked to many friends who had both.

I finally decided to get a Vitamix instead of a juicer for several reasons.

One, it can grind flour. Two, it can also make hot soups. Three, it's easier to clean than a lot of juicers. Four, when I make smoothies the pulp is still in there so it's healthier than just the juice. Five, it pulverizes things so well that I can even throw a handful of spinach leaves in the smoothies and if I add blueberries, the boys never even taste the spinach!

They're pricey, but I have literally used mine almost every day since I got it.

HTH!:)
Nancy

[Lisa at Home]

"We have been making smoothies with our blender and I was wondering what advantage having a juicer would be. I know nothing about them so forgive me if this is a dumb question LOL. "

There are no dumb questions!:)

Yes the blender is great for smoothies. It gives you great tasting high nutrient, high fiber treats.

What you can accomplish with a juicer depends on what kind of juicer you have. With a Champion juicer (a masticating juicer), for instance, you can not only make juice, but nut butters and pates (pa-tay'...sorry, I can't do accents), ice cream type desserts, and babyfood. A centrifigal type juicer will only make juice, and the quality is not as good as a Champion. Of course, you can buy machines that make better quality juice than a Champion, too.

The difference between a juicer and a blender is juice versus smoothies. Juicers extract the nutrients from the food and leave the fiber behind so that you get a glass full of easily assimilable nutrients that are not lost to the digestion process. With a smoothie, you get lots of good fiber, but, uh, it can pass through your system more quickly than it takes for the nutrients to be absorbed by your body.

Does that help any?

~Lisa

[Quiver0f10]

Thank you both, that was very helpful. Except, which one do I want? Vitamix or Champion? LOL I just looked both up real quick and it looks like the Champion has a grain mill attachement, so that might be the better buy for us.

[Lisa at Home]

:)

A Vita Mix can make a much better smoothie than any blender, but you can also make date paste, dips, and all sort of things.

The real question is which to buy first! But if all you really want to do is make smoothies, get the Vita Mix!

~Lisa

[Laurie]

I bought a Juiceman juicer when my mom was going through cancer treatments. I used it alot to make fresh juices for her.

I still occasionally make carrot/apple or carrot/pineapple juice for my family , but the juicer that I use more frequently is a citrus juicer because they like to have fresh orange juice sometimes. I will say that it's time-consuming to clean and cut up the fruits and vegetables. It can also get pretty expensive to use a juicer when you see how little juice you end up with! My dc would rather eat fresh fruit salad than drink it, and for my dh with type 2 diabetes it's better for his blood sugar to eat a piece of fruit and get the fiber with it.

Anyway, at our house the blender gets more use than either juicer.

[Lisa at Home]

About the Champion grain attachment.

You might need to talk to some of the ladies here about the grain mills they recommend.

~Lisa

[Lisa at Home]

The better the juicer, the more juice you get out of your fruits and veggies. But I don't know anyhting much about the Juiceman, so I can't really comment as to it's quality.

With my Breville Juice Fountain, I don't have to cut anything up. It can handle whole apples. Because of this, I do tend to get lazy and use it more often than my Champion for quick carrot juice, which we drink a lot of, even though the quality of juice is not quite as high as the Champion.

Just a little FYI! :)

~Lisa

[Quiver0f10]

Oh, I'd love both and a nutrimill and a bosch. Now I need to win the lottery :-)

[Claire]

I just wanted to mention that in the world of juicers there are also differences. Some juicers retain pulp and one camp believes this is better for you because of all the extra fiber. (However, I think this is mostly insoluble fiber which is not nearly as good for you as soluble fiber. That is a whole 'nother topic, though.) Other juicers remove the pulp and this camp believes this is better because fiber slows down assimilation of nutrients into the gut. If you are using a juicer for medical reasons especially, it is thought to be better to remove the pulp so that your body absorbs more of the nutrients throughout the entire digestive tract.

One thing that is often not mentioned about the Vita-Mix is how loud it is. I'm not sure about the newest model, but my older VM actually sounded like a jet plane engine going off in my kitchen. We are very conservative about noise pollution in our house because my dh has suffered irreversible damage to his hearing from exposure to high decibel levels. I absolutely would not use a Vita-Mix with children in the same room because of its decibel level, especially since the auditory systems of children are much more vulnerable to damage than those of adults. I also would not want to expose my own hearing to that decibel level. Damage from high decibel levels is not only irreversible, but also cumulative.

The Vita-Mix is not a good option for making flour because it heats up the flour too much, destroying nutrients. Plus, you have to run it for quite a long time. The longer the auditory system is exposed to high decibel levels, the more damage that occurs.

[Quiver0f10]

Thanks, Claire. That is really good to know!

[momo4]

I have both and hands down the vita-mix gets used way more often. Almost everyday. I say get that first and then a juicer. I have an Omega juicer that can do wheat grass too and really like it and at times it gets used a lot. Juicers can also make nut butter, pasta, and sorbet depending on the kind you get. I would go with a quality mill over an attachment if you are going to do a lot of grinding. I am with you, mill, Bosch,... this is what I collect, kitchen equipment!

Also, I regret not getting the dry attachment with my vita mix. I have heard if you aren't doing lots and lots of grain that it works really well. You won't be sorry if you purchase a vita-mix.