Best Blender for Juicing Vegetables | How to The Best Secrets
Let me ask you a question...
...would you like to know the best blender for juicing vegetables?
How big is your kitchen?
I know, that’s a rather personal question.
Is it?
Allow me to explain...
Listen...
...I have been there.
Prior to moving into my current home, I had a kitchen with extremely limited storage space.
On one hand, I got to practice a kind of minimalism.
Forced minimalism.
On the other, I didn’t have room for as many implements and appliances as I would have liked.
Namely, I would have loved to buy a juicer. Like this one - click here for price.
However, I simply didn’t have anywhere to keep it.
To get around this, I learned how to make juice with my best blender for juicing vegetables.
Today, I’ll show you how to save precious space and avoid spending extra money on more stuff.
From there, I’ll share the best blender for juicing vegetables!
Let’s dive right in.
Juices Versus Smoothies
My love for smoothies is no secret.
Smoothies contain fiber, and we put a more diverse range of ingredients in them.
You’d probably never eat peanut butter on spinach, but putting them together in a smoothie?
Add a little banana and coconut milk, and you’re in business.
Estimates say that blender sales have increased nearly 110% in the last ten years.
This adds up when you consider the smoothie industry (yes, it is officially its own industry) is now worth billions.
Frozen fruit, the base of any nutritious, frosty smoothie, is also on the rise.
We buy bags and bags of the stuff.
As a result, that sector is also experiencing a major growth spurt.
It’s no wonder why.
Ingredients which give us healthy fats, protein, antioxidants, vitamins, fiber, carbs - you can package them all in one smoothie.
Further down the aisle, we have juicing.
Usually, juices just contain fruits and vegetables, maybe with a splash of tea for something extra.
Statistically and financially, they’re not far behind smoothies.
Since it’s just the liquid from the fruits and vegetables, there’s little to no fiber.
Furthermore, most fruits and veggies are low-to-no fat.
Therefore, juices aren’t as nutritionally balanced as smoothies.
Observe your own cravings, and you’ll discover the key differences in what we want from each.
A smoothie is a:
A juice is a:
Both are for better nutrition.
The question is, are you at all hungry?
If not, have the juice instead.
Juicing with a Blender: Step by Step
If you crave both, you might consider buying both a juicer and a blender.
However, it’s more likely that you already have a blender. Indeed, 85% of us already do.
So if you’re new to juice, I recommend trying your blender first.
After all, not all juicers are worth the money.
If you don’t have either, stay tuned.
I’ll share the best blender for juicing vegetables.
And if you’re light on funds, I’ll also tell you what qualities the best budget blenders have.
But for right now, here are five helpful tips that can set your blender up for juicing success.
1. Choose the Right Quantity of Each.
You’ll probably need to add water or tea to thin everything down enough to be strained into juice.
That said, you can reduce how much liquid you dilute your ingredients with by choosing water-rich fruits and vegetables.
Here are the fruits and veggies I use that provide a lot of their own liquid:
- Watermelon (Number one pick!)
- Grapes
- Peaches
- Iceberg lettuce
- Tomatoes
- Pineapple
- Cucumbers
- Celery
- Strawberries
- Citrus fruits
- Zucchini
You can use veggies and fruits with less water, but don’t let them dominate.
If you do, you’ll have to dilute the juice too much.
For instance, a blender juice that is mostly kale will need entire cups of water added to it.
2. Wash and Core.
One nice feature juicers have is that they automatically sort out your peel, cores, seeds, and the like.
Clearly, a blender doesn’t do this, and having too much roughage in the mix can complicate straining.
Therefore, you should process your fruits and veggies prior to blending juice.
Not sure if you want to peel, too?
Check out my post on some of the healthiest peelings you can use.
As you blend some peels, you’ll be infusing the liquid with valuable nutrients found there.
But before you do anything else, wash thoroughly.
You’ll be straining out the parts that are most susceptible to dirt, bacteria, and pesticides.
But this doesn’t mean the residues won’t find their way into the juice.
I recommend a good water bath with a sturdy scrub brush - click here for price.
3. Blend It Up.
One area we don’t want to skimp on is power.
You want to puree everything uniformly and leave no chunk behind.
I recommend blending on high for several seconds, giving things a gentle shake or stir, and then repeating.
Allowing your ingredients to blend thoroughly and release their liquid will limit the amount of water you have to add.
So take your time with this step, ensuring that it’s not just smoothie-smooth, but as liquid as it can get.
4. Strain It.
Now for the big reveal!
What you have after blending is basically a smoothie, albeit one that’s not as tasty as usual.
The consistency might be kind of grainy. That all changes when we separate the juice from the fiber.
To strain out your juice, I recommend one of the following:
I find that the nut milk bag works best.
I put the jar I want to fill with juice in the sink, and slip the nut milk bag inside. Then, I secure the edges of the bag over the rim of the jar with a big rubber band.
From here, I slowly pour the “smoothie” into the bag inside of the jar.
As it fills up, I pop the rubber band off, and lift the bag out. Give it as many good squeezes as it takes to get every drop of juice into your container.
I probably should mention that gloves are quite handy here.
5. Add Lemon.
If I’m feeling sick or haven’t been eating quite right, I go into Juice Mode.
I know that during Juice Mode, I’ll want a few juices over the course of a day or two. So it’s helpful to make a big enough batch to last.
The trouble is, juice oxygenates and goes brown pretty quickly.
It can also separate.
To fix this, I pour my juice into airtight individual jars. Before I screw the lid tight, I put a healthy squeeze of fresh lemon into each.
After sealing, I give it a good shake.
The lemon is a great natural preservative.
Even so, I wouldn’t recommend making fresh juice that you don’t intend to drink within 48 hours.
Reading carefully over all of these steps, you might have a few questions.
Is all of this for a glass of juice really worth it?
In reality, the entire process for two to three servings of juice takes about 10 minutes.
When you consider the high cost of fancy juices, yes, it’s totally worth it.
And you can guarantee there’s no added sugar or preservatives!
Best Blender for Juicing Fruits and Vegetables
What exactly the best blender for juicing vegetables is, depends completely on who you ask.
Personally, I find that the Vitamix Blender - click for price makes blending fruits and vegetables into juice the easiest.
Wait, did I really pay more than four hundred dollars for a blender?
Of course not; I bought a refurbished one at a great discount.
This blender is a great buy because it’s very multipurpose and has key features for better blending.
It has:
I use my Vitamix every day, so the cost is worth it.
It performs better than other three-figure blenders I’ve used (and frankly, hated).
Still not convinced?
I don’t blame you.
I also have experience with various cheaper models, and wouldn’t rule most of them out - even for juicing.
Recently, I shared my selection of the best budget blenders.
For an occasional juice, I’d recommend getting a simple Nutribullet - click for price.
For smoothies and juices whenever you please, go for the Oster - click for price.
No matter what you choose, make sure your blender ticks all of your boxes:
- Frequency of use. If you’re going to use a blender every single day, spend a little more on quality and durability.
- Size. If you’re short on space, a huge blender will be in your way. But if you’re making juice for multiple people, you want to go bigger.
- Wattage. You need a minimum of 600 watts to make a great smoothie. But if you go higher, this may result in a better juice.
- Weight. I don’t know about you, but I love a heavy blender, even if it looks small. This is a sign that the motor is durable and substantial.
Juice Recipes for Your Blender
The only question left to ask is, “What kind of juice do I make?”
Well, never fear, because I have some recipes to get you on the path to great blender juices.
1. Green Juice
When you feel yucky and tired, the green juice has a particular allure.
Vegetable-heavy, it’s like a wellness shot without a doctor’s appointment.
To make a green juice, you’ll need:
- 1 ½ cups kale
- 2 apples, no core
- 1 cup parsley
- 2 stalks of celery
- 1 cucumber
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 to 1 1/2 cups water
Here, we temper the toughness of kale with the water content of parsley, cucumber, and celery.
The apples serve to cover up the taste of a lot of the green, although the parsley still features heavily.
With any kale juice, put the kale in the blender first with the water, and let it have a head start on breaking down.
Then you can add the rest, and blend at as high a speed as possible.
2. Better Than Orange Juice
A lot of commercial orange juice is full of extra sugar.
Well, what if it says “no added sugar” on it, and there’s no high fructose corn syrup on the label?
The truth is, any juice which contains juices from concentrate has added sugar.
Instead, make this juice. It combines the natural sweetness of oranges with a veggie boost.
To make orange juice that’s better than the rest, you’ll need:
- 1 large orange, no peel
- 1 apple, no core
- 2 carrots
- 1 tomato (red, yellow, or orange)
- ½ cup water
To start, chop your carrots up well and blend them with the water.
Then add the rest and blend thoroughly before straining.
If ripe, the orange and tomato should release enough liquid to help create the right consistency.
3. High Antioxidant Red Juice
Are you getting enough red fruits and vegetables?
I certainly hope so; they provide a highly concentrated amount of antioxidants.
Have this juice a few times a week to help prevent disease and preserve key functions like eyesight.
Red is the color of health, so get together:
- 1 beet
- 4 or 5 ripe strawberries
- 1 juicy red apple, no core
- 2 carrots
- Knob of fresh ginger
- Coconut water for consistency
The first time I made this, I only needed ½ a cup of coconut water to blend the carrots and beet up first.
Dice everything reasonably small, and you should be good.
Also, whether or not you peel the beet and apple is up to you.
That’s about all the time I have for...
Best Blender for Juicing Vegetables
For many, a juicer is an impulse purchase.
You start a health kick, buy a big, fancy machine, and promptly get frustrated with how large and difficult to clean it is.
Fortunately, your blender is here to help.
When you strain your blended fruits and vegetables, you’ve got juice.
Making your own juice is a great idea because:
- It’s more economical than pre-made, high-end cold-pressed juice “cleanses”
- It delivers a high amount of vitamins and nutrients without weighing you down
- There is no added sugar
- You have total control over your fruits and vegetable you use the most of
And despite whatever else you may read, you don’t have to invest in a costly blender if it isn’t practical for you.
The best budget blenders do a great job of breaking down fruits and vegetables.
Now it’s time for your input?
Have you ever made juice with a blender, and what was the hardest part?
Do you have any recipes you think are worth trying?
Share below, and come back soon.
