So I have been juicing for about 4 months, pretty consistently now. I try to juice a minimum of 3 times per week, alternating days with a nutritiously-loaded fruit smoothies with lots of extras, like bee pollen, spirulina, liquid minerals and flax seeds.
I also on a monthly, more as-it-feels-necessary basis, have been doing a 3-day juice cleanse. It really makes all the difference for me, refocuses my body and mind, cleaning out the junk that accumulates over a month and I start again fresh.
I was apprehensive at first to purchase a juicer, unsure how much use it would really get. I did a significant amount of research online, pricing options in different price ranges. I knew I wanted a masticating juicer, as it extracts more nutrients than a cylindrical juicer. There is tons of information out there. I would highly recommend doing a Google search, reading all reviews and checking out Amazon.com if you are considering purchasing a juicer. KitchenChatters.com was very helpful in my search.
So there are three general price ranges for juicers: less than $150, $200-$500 and $500 plus. I knew the $500 plus was out of my range. I figured I would start with a cheaper model, since I was unsure at the time how much juicing I was actually going to be doing, figured there was no sense in purchasing an expensive piece of equipment that was just going to take up space on my kitchen counter.
I really was hoping to spend somewhere around $150-$200, but I felt after significant reading online, that it wasn't the best bang for my buck. I really was looking for the best nutrient extraction and a more durable model.
I ended up purchasing an Omega J8006 Nutrition Center Commercial Masticating Juicer. It is a great juicier, holds up well, juices nicely and the pulp is relatively dry. I was willing to bite it and spend the $300 to get this jucier. I am very pleased and feel that it has already paid for itself.
I would highly recommend adding juicing to your life, even on a small scale, the nutrients you get are so beneficial and you couldn't actually consume the number of veggies you need without juicing. If you are anything like me, you have thought to yourself, oh I am eating the "recommended" daily intake of veggies, but you'll be surprised to learn your are not. While I am not measuring my veggie intake, per say, I can feel it, the more I juice, the better I feel, I feel more vibrant, more energetic, my skin is clearer, so clearly I am getting far more veggie-goodness now that I am juicing than when I was just eating veggies.
