A Beginners Guide to Juicing

Want to know more about juicing? Then this is the guide for you. All your questions answered along with ideas on what to juice and juicer recommendations.

A range of vegetable juices in glasses, carrot, cucumber, tomato and beets

Juicing, what's it all about?

There's a lot of information out there about juicing, Some good and some bad, but as a lover of juices and smoothies I wanted to share a beginners guide to juicing. 

I will only talk about my experiences with juicing and the juicers I use.

I use Froothie Optimum juicers (disclosure, I work with them after trying and loving their blenders). 

I've had cheaper machines in the past and they were useless to use and useless to clean. I gave up on them.

Carry on down to find out the answers to your questions and check out my guide to what to juice and what to avoid.

A Beginners Guide to Juicing

An easy guide to juicing, why it's good for you and what to juice as well as an introduction to the Juisir, a new no-clean juicer from Froothie.
A Beginners Guide to Juicing - Green mango smoothie from above with stripey paper straw on wooden board

1. Should I drink juices and smoothies?

Yes definitely. 

They will help you top up your ten a day (yes scientists now say we should be aiming for ten portions of fruit and veg a day and not five) and are great for adding extra nutrients and antioxidants to your diet. 

The green mango and spinach smoothie above makes a great start to the day.

2. I buy a bottle of juice when I buy my lunchtime sandwich. Is it good for me?

Well it's better than fizzy juice, but sometimes not much better. 

Often they can have a lot of sugar, additives and preservatives in them. 

It's much better to make your own juice or if you are out and about stop at a juice bar, where they juice the fruit and vegetables in front of you.

3. Aren't fresh juices full of sugar too?

Fruit certainly is, although it will always be a better option than processed foods full of sugar. 

The secret is to balance your smoothies and juices with a mixture of fruit and vegetables. The more vegetables the better. Check out this melon, spinach and avocado smoothie.

4. Isn't eating whole veg better for you?

Of course eating fresh vegetables is a healthy option for your diet, but juicing supplements your diet and provides you with lots of extra vitamins and minerals. 

See juicing as an added extra to your meals.

5. But will I get any fibre from fresh juice?

Fibre is important to help food move through your digestive system. 

When you blend juice in a blender the fibre is still there in the pulp of the juice, but when you juice you only get soluble fibre. 

Lets face it juice doesn't need to be broken down in your body anyway it's a liquid and easily digested, so that's that covered.

6. What happens to the pulp, is it wasted?

You can throw the pulp away or you could keep the pulp and add it into smoothies, soups, stews, pesto and sauces for extra fibre and nutrients.

7. Is there anyone who shouldn't juice?

Pregnant women and diabetics should check with their doctor or nurse before juicing. 

If pregnant women are juicing it as an extra energy boost and still eating a varied diet they should be fine, but they should never go on a juice diet while pregnant. Do check first.

Diabetics need to be careful as fruits contain a high amount of natural sugar. Do consult a doctor first if you are diabetic.

Better to be safe than sorry!

8. Why does juice turn brown?

If juice has turned brown it has oxidised and lost all the nutrients. Juices are best served fresh.

You can juice in the evening for the morning and pop it in an airtight container in the fridge if you have a cold-press juicer which retains the nutrients for longer.

Or if you have a vacuum blender like the Froothie Vac 2, which removes the air from the juice, removing oxidation and keeping the nutrients for longer, you can juice ahead (well blend ahead) and store in the fridge in an airtight container.

Now we've gotten that out the way I can give you some juicing tips to get you started.

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An easy guide to juicing, why it's good for you and what to juice as well as juicer recommendations and what you can juice and can't juice. #juicing #juicingforhealth #juicingforbeginners #juice #juicingtips

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What can I juice?

    A Beginners Guide to Juicing - fruits that can be juiced


    Apples, blackberries, blackcurrants, blueberries, cherries, cranberries, grapes, grapefruit, kiwi, lemon, lime, melon, oranges, passion fruit, pears, pineapple, raspberries, starfruit, strawberries and watermelon.


    Asparagus, beetroot (not pickled, ugh), broccoli, carrots, celery, courgette, cucumber, fennel, fresh ginger, kale, lettuce, onion, parsnip, peas, peppers, spinach, squash, sweet potato, tomatoes and watercress.

    I may have missed some fruit and vegetables out of that list, but it's a good place to start and I hope it helps. 

     What should I not juice?

    You can juice pretty much any fruit or vegetable, but can I start by telling you what YOU CAN'T OR SHOULDN'T JUICE

    1. You can't juice bananas, avocado, figs. You just won't get any juice out of them. Stick to blending these.
    2. You might want to skip juicing leeks, turnip and aubergine. They don't taste good, seriously!
    3. You probably won't get much juice out of these fruits unless you catch them at the right moment. Peaches, nectarines and mangoes. Also rhubarb will be tough on your juicer and yield little juice.
    A Beginners Guide to Juicing - Froothie 700 Juicer


    What kind of juicer should I buy?

    Spend less?

    You don't always need to spend the most money in life for the best results. 

    For instance when you are grocery shopping avoiding big brands is a good ideas as you can buy a good quality product at a lower price from the supermarket's budget brand.

    Can you spend less on a juicer?

    NO. Unfortunately this is not true with juicers. 

    A juicer is an investment and a good quality one will last a long time, have more power (and usually extract more juice too) and be easier to take apart and clean.

    You really get what you pay for and I know from personal experience lower prices juicers are not worth the money. 

    They are hard to use, don't extract a lot of juice, are awful when it comes to taking them apart and don't mention trying to clean them. They will quickly end up at the back of our cupboard unused.

    Spend as much as you can on a powerful and high quality juicer

    Spend as much as you can afford and save if you have to. It's really worth the extra money to buy a powerful beat of a juicer. 

    It will last longer, juice better and become a daily part of your routine. Helping to improve your overall health.

    I'm going to introduce you to 2 powerful juicers (and a powerful travel blender) in three different price ranges.

    One is a no-clean juicers with re-usable bags, then there is is a wide mouth cold press juicer where you can add whole fruit and veg to save a lot of chopping.

    I have also included a lower cost powerful travel blender, if your budget won't stretch to one of the big boys of juicing.


    A revolution in juicing. A no-clean juicer.

    A Beginners Guide to Juicing - JuLaVie juicer - a no-clean juicer

    How the Julavie X No-Clean Juicer Works

    The JUlaVIE X is a new concept in juicing. 

    1. You put the fruit and vegetables in a bag (reusable or eco-friendly, you can choose which).
    2. Pop the bag in the Julavie and hit the button.
    3. The Julavie will now crush the fruit and vegetables with eight tonnes of force, the force of two adult elephants (yes that's why the bags have cute elephants on them).
    4. 90 seconds later you have freshly pressed juice and not need to take the juicer apart and clean it with a scrubbing brush. No cleaning! 

    For £599 (use the code amb20/1405 for £20 off) you will receive your JUlaVIE X and 1 reusable bag with 30 cotton refills or 60 disposable bags (you can buy more from the Froothie website) and a standard 2 year warranty.

    Too pricey? Try a mid-priced juicer

    I admit it's a pricey machine, but if it's one you will use everyday, you'd be looking at paying between £300 and £500 for a good quality cold pressing juicer that will work and last well. 

    It depends if you want to spend time cleaning or just juice and go.

    For a good quality juicer, check out this wide mouthed juicer, which saves on chopping.

    Optimum 700 Whole Fruit Juicer

    If you juice at night or if you have time in the mornings, don't mind a quick bit of cleaning and just don't have the budget for a Julavie X, then I would recommend the Optimum 700 whole fruit cold press juicer

    It costs £399 (use my code amb20/1405 for £20 off).

    I have this one and it's great and easy to take apart and wash, if you do it straight away.

    You can just add whole fruit and veg (well within reason, obviously a melon would need to be cut into chunks)

    This one is a cold-press juicer which squeezes the fruit and veg slower for maximum nutrients and juice.

    Want juices but don't have the budget?

    Froothie Nutri Force - a mini power blender

    Powerful but little power blender

    Froothie also have a mean little travel blender called the Nutri Force Blender, which is a powerful little beast for it's size. 

    It's only £179 and is a good option if you want a lower priced way of making smoothies and need to save for one of the big boy juicers or blenders.

    It's also more versatile as you can blender so many other things in it as well as making juices and shakes. 

    It's a good place to start if you want the health benefits of juicing, but not sure if it's right for you.

     Froothie Nutri Force Mini Travel Blender

    Nutri Force Travel Blender

    I use this one a lot in my kitchen for thicker smoothies like my ultimate chocolate green smoothie, sauces (try my whizz bang pizza sauce) pesto (try my spinach and lemon pesto),  hummus (try my easy hummus recipe) and sin-free chocolate mousse (which I made last night). 

    It's a handy bit of kit and nice and small so it doesn't take up a lot of room. 

    The photo above is one of the pasta sauces I whizz up in this blender. 

    It's a red pepper and olive pasta sauce you can whizz up while the pasta is cooking. Just gorgeous!

    As with the others, if you use my code amb20/1405 at checkout you will receive £20 off. this Nutri Force Travel Blender.

    I hope this guide has answered some of your questions and inspired you to try out juicing. 

    Disclosure: I love Froothie products and approached them to be an ambassador for them. I wouldn't recommend the machines if I didn't love them. Froothie do not require me to write a positive review and any opinions expressed are my own. 


    1. The Juisir certainly looks amazing and NO Cleaning is fantastic as it's the one thing that puts me off using my current juicer.

      1. I know I think that's what puts so many people off.

    2. I love the sound of the Jusir! Like most people, cleaning my juicer puts me off using it more often - so this new type with bags sounds great.

      1. I can't wait to try it. I tend to use my blender as it is quicker to clean.

    3. I need to buy a juicer so I can say money on buying expensive juices so much!

      1. It's definitely best to make your own, they are healthier and much fresher.

    4. I'm yearning for the Juisir because I adore carrot juice but simply can't be bothered with the massive clean up of traditional juicers afterwards!

      1. Yes, I know what you mean and carrot juice is rather good.

    5. I have a Vitamix and it does a great job of turing things into juice. Not near as good as an actual juicer. This is a great way to get in your daily quota....and delicious too.

      1. Yes, it is a great way to get your five or ten as they are now saying we should eat a day.

    6. Great introductory guide to juicing, lovely!

    7. I love juicing and have never heard of the Juisir brand! Looks fun and easy! The 'no cleaning' aspect is intriguing and great!!

      1. Oh yes that is definitely the best bit, although I love the cute elephant bags.

    8. I can't wait to get my hands on this juicer... the amount of hours I've spent cleaning my current juicer has left it relegated to the top of the kitchen cabinets so we just blend everything now! There's nothing quite as refreshing as a proper juice though, so I'm excited about this...

      1. Yes it puts me off too although modern juicers are easier to clean than their predecessors.

    9. Great info on juicing and would love to get my hands on that juicer - sounds perfect!

    10. O gosh, I've had a juicer for YEARS (my dad brought it home one day) but we've never used it...or even opened the box :O

      1. Yes, you have to use a gadget a lotvgor itvto gain worktop space.

    11. I always think juices and smoothies are as well as rather than instead ofs and this keeps me right. I am very much looking forward to trying out the Juisir! It sounds absolutely revolutionary!

      1. Yes me too Kellie. Ivuse them to top up our fruit and veg consumption.

    12. Great intro to juicing, and WOW - a juicer with no cleanup?! Sign me up!

      1. Thanks and it will be out soon Sarah. Use the link above.

    13. I don't have a juicer, and it's largely because I don't want yet another thing to have to clean! (that, and the bench space...). Thanks for the great introduction to juicing.

      1. That's what's so good about the Juisir. Saves so much time and effort.



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