The Complete Idiot's Guide to Juicing - Ellen Brown [6]
• A sieve for straining
• Measuring cups and measuring spoons
• Flexible rubber spatulas
Wrong Spin!
Cutting boards, along with sponges, are the petri dishes of a kitchen. Those pretty wooden ones allow bacteria to grow. The best cutting boards are heavy plastic that can go into the dishwasher every time you use them.
Blender Basics
Chances are you already own a blender, and if you do, then you’re all set both for pulping and for incorporating foods as a second step to juicing.
Many recipes in this book specify the use of a blender or food processor as well as a juicer. The primary reason is that foods such as bananas and avocadoes don’t contain enough water to juice correctly. You would end up with virtually no juice or nutrients. The second reason is that certain foods such as seasonings don’t juice well, so you’re instructed to either add them via a blender or stir them into the juices by hand.
Purchase Prowess
If you’re buying a new blender, you don’t have to mortgage the house. When blender shopping, look for a blender that has …
• A heavy base to stabilize it on the counter.
• A strong motor of 60 hertz or more. This makes it strong enough to chop the hardest vegetable, and it will last far longer than machines with less power.
• A glass jar so that it’s dishwasher safe. Some of the most expensive blenders have stainless-steel jars. They are the most durable, yes, but you can’t see what’s going on inside.
• A two-piece lid that fits very snugly on the jar to avoid leaks. The small
Juicy Jive
When you’re blender shopping, consider how easy or inexpensive it would be to replace the jar or purchase a second jar. This could make the difference between two machines at a similar price point.
access hole in the center of the lid allows you to add ingredients when the machine is running.
Operating Instructions
A blender might look innocuous enough, but you definitely need to approach this machine with caution. These usage tips will help you get the most from your blender:
• Always keep one hand on the top of the lid to ensure it won’t fly off.
• Turn off the blender completely and allow the liquid to stop moving before removing the lid.
• Never put your hands in the blender jar, and be sure the blades have stopped moving before you insert a spatula into the jar.
• Use only rubber spatulas, not metal spoons or knives.
• Never fill a blender more than two-thirds full. When the motor moves the liquid around, it will push it above the level of the ingredients at rest. Never fill it too full, or you could have a mess.
The Organic Alternative
Whenever you have the chance, it’s always best to buy produce that is certified organic. Organic agriculture is about growing foods without synthetic fertilizers and chemical biocides. And it’s also about using agricultural practices that benefit the planet, such as recycling.
Each year more than a billion pounds of pesticides and herbicides are used in the United States. About 2 percent actually kill insects, with the remaining 98 percent ending up in the air, water, soil, and food supply. But this is not the case with organic foods.
When this method of healthy farming began about 20 years ago, the only way to ensure that food was organic was to purchase it directly from a reputable farmer. Luckily, that’s no longer the case.
In 2002 the National Organic Program (NOP) became law. The U.S. Department of Agriculture administers this program, which upholds the prohibitions against chemicals first spelled out in the Organic Food Production Act of 1990. The NOP states that it believes in “optimizing the health and productivity of interdependent communities of soil life, plants, animals, and people. Management practices are carefully selected with an intent to restore and then maintain ecological harmony on the farm, its surrounding environment, and ultimately the whole planetary ecosystem.”
Juicy Jive
Make buying organic your shopping goal when you’re looking for shelf-stable food as well as fresh. There