Recharge Your Batteries with a Juice Retreat

Looking for a break with a difference? Jiva Healing is a company that offers detox and yoga retreats where you can get away from it all, and join a small group in fully rejuvenating yourself. Choose a detox retreat and you will be fasting, save for healthy fruit and vegetable juices, specially selected to include detoxifying herbs. A detox break gives those taking part the chance to cleanse their body and mind over a week, and take a break from processed foods and poor dietary habits.

Whilst at the retreat, you get the chance to learn from nutritionalists about sustainable living and the environment, nutrition, food combining and vegetarian and raw food cooking. Juice fasting retreats are taking place in Goa, India, next February and March and there is one taking place in the south of France in June 2009.

Find out more at www.jivahealing.com

Zumex Juicers

Zumex are the industry renowned, visually stunning citrus juicers which consistently deliver top quality juice again and again, as well as giving the customers something magical to watch whilst they wait. It’s no wonder that Zumex is the number once choice for countless cafes and juice bars.

If you’re considering a zumex juicer for your business, you will have noticed they are not cheap. In these tough economic times, getting a bargain is important so have you considered a used juicer? Because of the build quality, don’t be afraid to buy a used Zumex juicer - these things are made to last.

Here’s a link to eBay which will display all current Zumex juicers. They regularly come up and you get grab a great bargain.

Getting More Juice From Your Juicer

I was surfing YouTube and found this cool video where Shannon Leone demonstrates how she gets more juice from her Breville juicer by putting the pulp in a nylon bag and squeezing more juice out of it. It’s not a great advert for Breville since the model clearly leaves plenty of juice in the pulp, but it’s a great tip for making sure you get as much of the goodness out of the fruit as possible.

Last week I asked what people did with leftover pulp from a juicer, and Shannon’s second cool tip is that she uses it to create some tasty look crackers.

Too Busy To Peel An Orange?

I missed out on this when it was published, there was an interesting article on the Daily Mail website back in July which highlighted a decline in the popularity of oranges. The reason? Because we’re too lazy to peel them.

Apparently tangerines and clementines are becoming more popular because they are easier to peel. I have to say, I empathise completely. Oranges can be a real pain to peel, especially if you’re doing it for an orange juice and have had them in the fridge to guarantee a cold drink. That’s why, if you mainly want the juice of citrus fruits - oranges, lemons, limes, grapefruits - a citrus press juicer is a better way to go than a centrifugal juicer.

Just slice the fruit in half and press it down on the reamer to get lovely juice, and with none of the hassle of peeling.

Are you put off oranges by the nuisance of peeling them? Use the comments box to let us know…

See also:

• Citrus Juicers
• Santos Classic Commercial Citrus Juicer

Kitchen Gardener: Grow Your Own Fruit and Veg

Alan Titchmarsh has broadened his horizons in recent years; a novelist, a chat show host and even his own range of Alan Titchmarsh water features. But all that aside, gardening is still what Alan Titchmarsh knows best and this excellent book will give you the advice and information you need to grown your own produce whatever size garden you have.

The book is perfect for newcomers to gardening with some clearly explained how tos which give a novice all the information they need to get on and start growing fruit and veg. The information is concise and clear without overwhelming the readers.

Growing your fruit and veg is a great way to ensure you get fresh, natural produce and can of course provide some fantastic juice drinks. We definitely recommend The Kitchen Gardener: Grow Your Own Fruit and Veg

Grape Juice Offers Same Benefits as Red Wine

Many people like to relax in the evening with a glass of red wine, content in the knowledge that it’s quite good for them too, in moderation at least. But what if you don’t like wine, but still want the health benefits? A new study claims to have demonstrated that dark red grape juice contains many of the same benefits, such as resveratrol and flavonoids, which can lessen the risk of blood clots and help you cut down on “bad cholestrol”.

Find out more in the New York Times

Orange and Banana Reduces Leukemia Risk, Study Claims

A new study has claimed that children regularly fed oranges and bananas can halve their risk of suffering from Leukemia. The study by the University of California claims to show that children with a regular intake of the two fruits up to the age of two significantly reduce their chances of suffering from the disease.

Find out more at Fresh Info

Health Benefits of Rasperries

Raspberries add gorgeous flavour and colour to your natural juice drinks, but what are the health benefits of the raspberry? Here’s what Wikipedia has to say:

Raspberries contain significant amounts of polyphenol antioxidants such as anthocyanin pigments linked to potential health protection against several human diseases[6]. The aggregate fruit structure contributes to its nutritional value, as it increases the proportion of dietary fiber, placing it among plant foods with the highest fiber contents known, up to 20% fiber per total weight. Raspberries are a rich source of vitamin C, with 30 mg per serving of 1 cup (about 50% daily value), manganese (about 60% daily value) and dietary fiber (30% daily value). Contents of B vitamins 1-3, folic acid, magnesium, copper and iron are considerable in raspberries[7].

Raspberries rank near the top of all fruits for antioxidant strength, particularly due to their dense contents of ellagic acid (from ellagotannins), quercetin, gallic acid, anthocyanins, cyanidins, pelargonidins, catechins, kaempferol and salicylic acid. All these are polyphenolic antioxidants with promising health benefits under current research[8]. Yellow raspberries and others with pale-colored fruits are lower in anthocyanins.

Due to their rich contents of antioxidant vitamin C and the polyphenols mentioned above, raspberries have an ORAC value (oxygen radical absorbance capacity) of about 4900 per 100 grams, including them among the top-ranked ORAC fruits. Cranberries and wild blueberries have around 9000 ORAC units and apples average 2800[9].

The following anti-disease properties have been isolated in experimental models. Although there are no clinical studies to date proving these effects in humans, preliminary medical research shows likely benefit of regularly consuming raspberries against:[10][11][12][13]

* inflammation
* pain
* cancer
* cardiovascular disease
* diabetes
* allergies
* age-related cognitive decline
* degeneration of eyesight with aging

What Do You Do With Leftover Pulp?

After drinking your gorgeous, flavoursome fruit juice, you mind will turn to the cleanup and the pulp that’s left in your juicer. This stuff doesn’t always look and smell appealing, so many people will empty it straight into the bin. But there’s loads of goodness left there in that pulp, so what else can you do with it apart from throw it away.

I’ve been scouring the net to look for ideas on what to do with pulp from the juicer and there’s a few recurring ideas. A nice easy one is to tip it on your compost heap and use it to help your plants, fruit and veg to grow.

Another idea is to add it to some biscuits and serve it up to the dog as a healthy treat. I’ve seen someoen suggest freezing it in moulds and having it as a nutritious ice lolly. And a few other people say it helps make great muffins.

All of them are interesting ideas, but I’d love to know what YOU do with the pulp leftover from your juicer, so add a comment below with your best ideas.

Black Juicers

It’s all very well having a juicer which help you feel good, but you want to it look good too, and for many people it will be important that their juicer matches the overall look of the kitchen. If you’ve gone and designed a stylish kitchen, the last thing you want is an out of place juicer in the corner.

If you had said to someone a few years ago you were going to have a black kitchen they might have thought you were mad or a bit morbid, but black kitchens are increasingly the de rigeur for fashionistas and manufacturers are having to create their products in black to meet the demand.

So you have a black kitchen, and want a black juicer? Here’s our run down on black juicers…

Philips HR1858 Black Gloss Juicer

This stylish black juicer from Philips has a powerful 650W motor and lets you juice up whole fruits thanks to its wide feeding tube. Philips are one of the top names in juicers and this machine will help you create excellent juicers.
Philips Juicer HR1858/91 - Gloss Black

Marco Pierre White Citrus Juicer

It might be branded by the one and only Mr White, but this sexy citrus juicer is most definitely all black. if you just want a juicer for doing citrus fruits like oranges, lemons, limes and grapefuits, this will be a welcome addition to your kitchen. Made by Russell Hobbs.
Marco Pierre White by Russell Hobbs 14336 Citrus Juicer in black with 2 size interchangeable cones

Ainsley Harriot Black Juicer

Comet are, at the time of writing, offering this classy black juice extractor half price, at only £49.99 (online only). it’s whisper quiet and allows you to juice all types of fruit and vegatables.
AINSLEY HARRIOTT AH111

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