Juicing 101 – The Ultimate Guide to Juicing for Beginners

If you’re just starting out juicing, it can be a little overwhelming. With all of the different juicers and ingredients available, where do you even begin? In this guide, we will walk you through everything you need to know to get started juicing like a pro!

We’ll cover everything from choosing the right juicer to creating delicious and healthy juice recipes. So whether you’re a complete beginner or just looking for some new juicing tips, read on for our ultimate guide to juicing for beginners!

In short: Juicing is a simple and straightforward way of consuming a variety of fruits and vegetables in an efficient, enjoyable way. As easy as it is to do, a few tips and tricks never hurt anyone.

Compiled below is a list of frequently asked questions as well as some juicing tips, tricks, and guides to help you get the most out of your juicing experience.

Ready to get started?

Juicing 101: Why should you start juicing?

You’ve heard the rave reviews about juicing and you want to know what all the hullabaloo is about. Is it fact or fiction?

Well, there’s a little bit of both. We love juicing. But we know that it is not a panacea and if you want to get all the awesome health benefits of juicing, there are a few things you should know.

You see – in the same way that water can replenish as well as drown or fire can warm as well as burn – juicing can also be a double-edged sword.

If you’re looking to juice for health, the benefits you get from juicing will depend on how you wield that sword.

Obviously, we want you to get the absolute best stuff out of your juicing journey – find out how to use juicing for health, not harm.

For those of you wondering why juice your fresh fruits and vegetables – I mean, why don’t we just eat them?

Great question – why don’t we just eat them?

Who knows, but the fact is – most of us just… don’t. If you’re one of the rare people who’re consuming 6 to 8 servings of fruits and veggies (mostly veggies!) – you don’t need juicing. Get out of here 🙂

But for the rest of us, juicing provides us with a stupidly simple way to give our bodies a plenitude of raw, live nutrients we need. Plus, when it comes to veggies…juicing them just makes sense.

Juicing 101: How to start juicing?

The first step to healthy juicing starts with making sure your raw ingredients – your fruits, vegetables and herbs – are fresh, clean, and pesticide-free.

To that end, here are a few useful posts:

• A Simple Guide to Washing Fruits & Veggies for Pesticide-Free Juice
• How to Store Your Fruits and Vegetables So They Stay Fresh and Crisp

As you start juicing, you might also have a few questions about what benefits all these fruits, veggies, and herbs offer. You can find the answers here:

• The Health Benefits of Fruits, Veggies, and Herbs

Juicing 101: What can I juice?

Juicing really opens you up to a variety of fruits and vegetables since it removes the whole how-do-I-prepare-it?! dilemma. I mean, you can even juice wheatgrass – not something any of us know how to whip up into a meal (if you do know, call me).

So which fruits and veggies can you juice?

Well, the short answer is: “Pretty much all of them! The more, the merrier!”

The more nuanced, more accurate answer is: “You can juice most produce, but some fruits and vegetables are simply unjuiceable.” It’s a short list but sadly, some things were just not meant to be juiced.

Even among the fruits and vegetables that can be juiced, it’s helpful to know which parts of a fruit or vegetable are totally juice-able.

You’ll be surprised to find that you can juice a lot of parts that you typically can’t eat – another huge benefit of juicing! Oh, and you’ll definitely want to be tossing out the parts that are toxic 🙂

Last but not least, you’ll also want to know which fruits and veggies have edible, juiceable peels and which don’t!

Juicing 101: What fruits and veggies are the best to juice?

It’s hard to say which fruits and vegetables are the absolute BEST – they all have their individual benefits.

We can, however, repeat 3 good rules of thumb to follow when juicing:

1. ORGANIC > NON-ORGANIC. Organic fruits and vegetables are better. Duh, you say – but they’re expensive. We know, and you don’t have to buy all organic BUT here is a list of the most pesticide-infested fruits and vegetables – try to at least get these organic.
2. VEGETABLES > FRUITS. Fruits juices are yummy, but vegetable juices are healthier than fruit juices. We recommend juicing mostly veggies and adding a little fruit for taste.
3. DIVERSITY > ROUTINE. One of the biggest benefits of juicing is that it allows you to consume a variety of fresh produce. Take advantage of it to supply your body with nutrients from foods you normally wouldn’t eat instead of sticking to the usual suspects all the time! Here’s an easy cheat sheet to help you rotate your produce 🙂

That being said, there are some foods that are a MUST in juicing, simply because they’re so much better raw.

Juicing 101: What is the best juicer?

The best juicer to buy is simply the best juicer for your needs. Do you really need a super fancy juicer that makes soy yogurt frappuccino latte ice cream or mugwort mochi balls? Or do you want a simple, no-frills juicer that is excellent at juicing?

Are you planning on making tons of green juices? Or are you more into soft fruits?

Can you spare the extra time (and money) for the highest quality juice or do simply want an easy-to-clean, quiet juicer that produces great quality juice?

Although there are juicers that are widely considered to be top-of-the-line, EVERY juicer has its perks and limitations so know what’s most important for you before you make the big decision. 

Here’s a case in point…

OMEGA

Great for greens, produces high-quality juice and is multi-functional (makes pasta, baby food, nut milks).

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HUROM

Both a slow juicer & a smoothie maker so perfect for soft fruits, also the easiest to clean.

​BREVILLE

Very affordable & super fast juicing (no need to chop produce) but not good for greens and lower juice quality.

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As you can see, it’s all about choosing the juicer that best suits your juicing needs. Find out the 5 questions that will help you choose the best juicer!

And before you rush off to buy a juicer, take a moment and read through the different types of juicers and how they measure up. It’ll give you a better idea of how juicers work and the pros and cons of each one so you can make the best decision.

Oh, and if you’re on the fence about juicing, you’ll be happy to know that you can try it out without investing in a juicer. Yet.

You will eventually want a proper juicer to be able to juice the widest range of fruits and veggies, but in the meantime, you can test out juice recipes and find out what all the hullabaloo is about for yourself!

Here’s some ways to get started without a juicer…

• Check out the guide: How to Make Juice Without a Juicer
• You can also try incorporating fruits and vegetables that you don’t need a juicer for – like aloe vera, for example. You can whip up some fresh aloe vera gel with just a blender or food processor.
• Another awesome way to incorporate the benefits of herbs without a juicer is to make tea. Ginger tea is crazy delicious and even stinging nettles, which aren’t very skin-friendly, are wonderfully nutritious when boiled as a tea.

And once you’re ready to take the next step, you can start off small – check out the best juicers under $200.

Juicing 101: How long does fresh juice stay fresh? Can you store juice?

Short on time? Yea, us too.

In a perfect world, we’d all have the leisure to juice whenever we wanted and drink that fresher-than-fresh juice on the spot. But life often gets in the way, especially between Monday through Friday.

Fresh juice is best-est when consumed fresh – and that means within 20 minutes of juicing. Busy schedules, however, often demand juice storage. This means you – like many of us – will likely want to juice ‘in bulk’ and then store your juice. Read more about how to properly store fresh juice!

The good news is that if you do it right, you can keep a lot of the nutritional benefits of your juices intact for up to 2-3 days and carry that juice to go using the two juicing-on-the-go supplies below:

On a related note, if you’re wondering when’s the best time to drink your juice – the short answer is: any time. But that’s not entirely true, you’ll find a much more nuanced answer to the best time to drink fresh juice here.

Juicing 101: What’s the difference between juicing and blending?

You know how we talked about how some fruits and veggies are simply un-juiceable? Well, that’s why it makes sense to have a blender, too (or a juicer that’s also a blender).

The truth is, there is no “juicing vs blending” – it’s more of a juicing and blending. The two methods complement, rather than compete with one another – blending lets you fill in the (nutritional) gaps that juicing leaves out and vice versa.

In general, juicing is awesome for veggies – especially if you have digestive issues that make the insoluble fiber in vegetables hard to digest.

And blending is perfect for soft fruits since it leaves the fruits’ fiber intact, making sure you’re not consuming large amounts of the sugar naturally found in fruits.

Using both also allows you to juice what you wouldn’t blend and blend what you can’t juice. For example, I juice amazingly healthy things like garlic, ginseng, and onion – stuff I wouldn’t want in my smoothies. And of course, un-juiceables like avocado, banana, and extras like coconut oil end up in my smoothies.

Taking advantage of both simply gives you the best of both worlds!

Learn more about the difference between juicing and blending here and how they complement each other!

Juicing 101: Does juicing have side ffects?

There are some awesome side effects, like increased energy, reduced appetite, glowing skin and lost pounds but juicing can also bring about some unwanted side effects.

Find out some weird side effects of juicing as well as how you can avoid them.

In short, much of juicing’s unwanted side effects – like turning orange, for example – can be avoided by simply rotating your fruits and veggies. This is especially important if you’re worried about oxalates or simply getting too much of a good thing.

Find out why rotating your fruits and veggies is super important! And for those who’d like a convenient way of rotation – here’s a handy Rotation Color Guide of Fruits and Veggies as well as a Cheat Sheet to Rotating Your Leafy Greens (and Other Veggies).

Juicing 101: Are there juicing essentials?

While blogs – like this one! – are an invaluable source of juicing information, there’s nothing quite like having a beautiful book of juicing info and juicing recipes for your perusal whenever you want to whip up a quick recipe. For this reason, I’d say that an informative, well-written juicing book is a must-have juicing essential.

And as every juicer knows, kitchen prep tends to take up a bit more time than most of us would like. To that end, there are several kitchen tools that are awesome to have around when you’re juicing regularly!

Oh, and as great as juicing is – there are a several superfoods and supplements that will take your juices and smoothies up several notches 🙂

Juicing 101: FREE juicing guides

Have more specific questions about juicing? Check out my specific (free!) juicing guides for more detailed information to juicing, well, pretty much anything.

A Guide to Juicing Vegetables: Everything you need to know about juicing veggies!

The Green Juicing Guide: Green juicing is probably our favorite-est thing to do – here you’ll find everything from green juicing tips for beginners to a list of greens for more advanced green juicers to peruse.

Also, sign up below for our free juice recipe book

Even more questions answered / FAQ:

How do you start juicing for beginners?

The best way to start juicing for beginners is by gradually adding juicing into your daily routine. Start by replacing one or two meals a day with juice, and then work your way up to drinking juice as a snack or even a full meal.

If you’re not used to eating many fruits and vegetables, you may want to start with juicing recipes that include softer fruits and vegetables, like apples, oranges, and carrots. As you get more comfortable juicing, you can gradually add in tougher fruits and vegetables like beets or kale.

What should you not do while juicing?

There are a few things you should avoid doing when juicing. First, don’t try to juice fruits and vegetables that are incompatible. For example, don’t mix citrus fruits with melons, as the two will not blend well together.

Also, avoid juicing foods that contain a lot of fiber. Fiber is important for good health, but it can also make juicing more difficult and may reduce the amount of juice you extract.

Finally, avoid juicing foods that are high in sugar. While juicing is a great way to get your daily dose of fruits and vegetables, it’s important to not overdo it on the sugar.

What should I know before juicing?

Before juicing, it’s important to know that juicing is a very personal experience. There are many different types of juicers and juicing recipes available for you to try, so don’t be afraid to experiment!

Also, remember that juicing should be fun! If you’re not enjoying the process or the juice itself, then there’s no point in doing it. So relax and have some fun with your juicer – who knows what delicious concoctions you’ll come up with?

Can you lose weight juicing?

While juicing can definitely help you lose weight, it’s not a magic bullet. In order to lose weight with juicing, you’ll need to make sure that you’re also eating healthy and exercising regularly.

That said, juicing is a great way to get your daily dose of fruits and vegetables, which can help you lose weight in the long run. Juicing is also a great way to detoxify your body and rid it of harmful toxins.

So if you’re looking for a way to jumpstart your weight loss journey, juicing may be just what you need!

What vegetables should not be juiced?

There are a few vegetables that you should avoid juicing. These include:

• Potatoes
• Artichokes
• Asparagus

What happens when you juice every day?

When juicing every day, one thing you’ll notice is that your digestive system will become more efficient. You’ll start to feel less bloated and have fewer issues with constipation or diarrhea.

Another benefit of juicing every day is that you’re going to get a lot of nutrients from all of the fruits and vegetables you’re consuming, which can help improve your overall health and well-being!

So if you’ve been looking for an easy way to add more fruits and veggies into your diet – juicing may be just what the doctor ordered!

What are the side effects of juicing?

While juicing is generally a very healthy activity, there are some possible side effects that you should be aware of.

For example, juicing too many fruits or vegetables can lead to an upset stomach or even diarrhea. You may also experience headaches and fatigue if your body isn’t used to getting all of its nutrients from juice alone!

Another common side effect of juicing is bloating – this happens when there’s too much fiber in the juices you’re drinking (or not enough water). If this happens, try diluting with water and drinking more slowly over time until it passes on its own accord!

How often should I juice?

There’s no right or wrong answer to this question – it all depends on your personal juicing goals and how you feel after juicing.

If you’re new to juicing, start by juicing every other day and gradually work your way up to juicing every day. If you find that juicing every day is too much for your body, then try juicing every other day instead.

As with anything else, listen to your body and adjust as needed!

Is juicing better than eating?

This is a difficult question to answer because juicing and eating are both very healthy activities. However, juicing has some benefits over eating that make it worth considering!

For example, juicing allows you to get all of the nutrients from fruits and vegetables without having them fill up your stomach first (which can lead to overeating).

Also, juicing makes it easier for your body to absorb those vitamins – so if you’re looking for an easy way to add more fruit into your diet then maybe consider purchasing a juicer or investing in fresh produce instead of canned goods!

Does juicing make you poop?

Yes, juicing can make you poop. This happens because juicing introduces a lot of fiber into your system all at once, which your body then needs to process.

If you’re not used to juicing or eating a lot of fiber, this could lead to some digestive issues like constipation or diarrhea. However, with time your body will adjust and these problems should go away!

Can I put sugar in my juice?

No – while you may be tempted to add sugar to sweeten up your juices, it’s best to avoid doing so. Not only is sugar bad for your health in general, but it also negates many of the benefits that juicing has to offer.