we tried Juicero
aka the conversation starter in our kitchen.
When Juicero reached out to me and asked if we wanted to try one of their new juicers, I hesitated. I have a juicer, it has collected dust for who knows how long, and I’ve been just buying juices for convenience sake. And then, I watched the video.
No produce washing and chopping,
and NO CLEANUP.
I was sold instantly, and needless to say, I did a dance of celebration when the box arrived.
We set it up to WiFi (it’s a very smart juicer that needs internet connection to do its thang), and pressed our first juice. It’s been love ever since. I’ve found myself really looking forward to having a fresh juice, and challenged myself to replacing the afternoon caffeine jolt or chocolate with juice. It feels great to be back in the habit. While I’m still drinking coffee -I need to live- I found that I feel more energized from having more cold-pressed juices in my life.
Since we’ve had it for a few weeks now, I thought I’d break down the pros and cons of this beautiful juicer. (Side note: we started referring to it as the iJuicer because it’s so sleek.)
Pros:
-The produce is certified organic and has been washed, chopped, and packaged into a convenient bag. This is a huge gamechanger. I love fresh juices, but I kind of hate having to wash and chop everything, and then clean everything up. I used to bribe myself with juice: one I made the juice, I couldn’t drink it until I had cleaned the juicer. Cleaning the juicer wasn’t that bad, but it was enough of a chore to keep me from making juices regularly.
-You have the opportunity to try new juice flavors!! All of the combos we’ve tried have been new, and completely delicious. The Beta Glow is my personal favorite: carrot, lemon, apple and ginger. It’s sweet with the littlest hint of spice. The Green Zing, however, will smack you in the face. It’s SO spicy.. and I love it.
The juices are so delicious, and I especially love that they don’t separate after sitting for a while. The texture is super smooth.
-It encourages you to get more nutrients from produce in your diet. I have to admit that there was a while there when I was eating mostly brown and white food. I was so busy chasing the girls around and trying to plan for the move and catch up on life, that an egg burrito was the only thing happening over here. I’ve gotten back in the swing of things, but found that a juice makes it easier to hit my 5 servings of produce each day.
-It’s wicked smart. The machine has a QR scanner, which scans the back of the pouch when you juice it. It removes it from your virtual shelf in your app, and also will tell you about nutrients in the juice from the app. If you have a pouch in the fridge that’s about to expire, the app will alert you to use it before it goes bad. If you put an expired juice pouch into the machine, the QR reader will note that it’s expired, and will not press the juice.
Cons:
-It needs WiFi. One night our Wifi was being a little spotty, so we got an error. I tried tethering it to my phone, but it didn’t work.
-You can’t customize your flavors. One of the things I like about making my own juices is that ability to choose what’s going in. For example, I LOVE mint in my green juice and it’s rarely offered at juice bars. While I love the flavors they provide in the packs, I think it would be cool to make your own flavors from the website.
-It’s expensive, but so are many cold-press juice extractors. Back in the day, I got a traditional juicer (which really just pulverizes the fruit) because the cold press variety were so expensive. (The benefit of cold pressing juices is that the nutrients remain intact for a longer period of time.) Cold press juicers were around $800, and you still had all of the prep work and cleanup to do. This juicer is expensive (around $400 ) but over time, I think the convenience adds up. The packs are about $5 per pack, and to get a juice from a juice bar is around $9 here in Tucson.
A fun video compilation of juices (including my brother Kyle, the master taster):
Juicer offered a 10% discount to Fitnessista readers using this link and the code GH10.
So tell me, friends: do you love fresh juice? Do you juice at home? What’s your favorite juice or smoothie combo?
xoxo
Gina
This post was not sponsored, but we did receive a complimentary Juicero and juice packs. I loved them so much, I wanted to share the word with you!! This post does contain affiliate links, and I genuinely appreciate your support.
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Hi Gina – sorry that this is unrelated, but I’m wondering if you’ve got the kinks worked out with Bloglovin’ yet? I’m still not getting your posts until a day or so later. Just curious!
Super jealous of the juicer – I’m more of a smoothie gal as I need that fiber, but they look wonderfully refreshing. 🙂
hey girl! unfortunately not… i’m glad it’s working, but it is delayed which is a pain.
We bought a juice about seven months ago – we LOVE being able to customize the blends, but to be honest I am scared of all the moving parts and hate the clean up. Hence, my husband is the only one who makes juice and as the weeks go by we are making fewer and fewer juices. The Juicero looks incredibly convenient, so I’m definitely putting it on my Christmas list. Thanks for sharing!
juicer*
you will LOVE it
wow! juicers are getting a techy upgrade now huh. I love the Idea of it.
Thanks for sharing!
xoxo,
Courtney Bentley || http://www.courtneyvioletbentley.com
xoxox
Wow! This is so advanced!! lol I’m not a huge juice person because I enjoy smoothies more. I like getting all of the benefits of the “whole food” in a smoothie. That’s just my preference, though! If I were to try a juicer, it seems like this one would be pretty amazing. I could definitely see this making juicing easier.
totally! it made me fall in love with juice again
A great option for those who maybe don’t know how to juice or are just getting started and feel intimidated coming up with their own combos. I find a lot of my clients just want to be told what to eat and drink and not want to think about it.
yeah that’s a great point!
Livi is so cute. 🙂
thank you!
I seriously love cold pressed juices! I’ve been drinking a green juice almost everyday for a few weeks and my skin is 100 times better than it was (damn postpartum hormones!). My wallet – not so much. This concept sounds interesting, they definitely needed to work on the prep/clean up of regular juicers. Ain’t nobody got time for that!
amen to that!
Your teeth look great! 🙂
thank you!
I first heard about the Juicero on the Rich Roll Podcast. At that time you could only get the produce if you lived in California. Has this changed?
i think it’s california, az and nevada
Hey Gina- Once you press the pack, how long does the juice stay fresh for? I work in an office setting and would love an afternoon juice, but would have to press it before I leave in the AM… Thanks!
it would totally last through the day in the fridge. it doesn’t separate!
What is the material of the juice packs?
I’m wondering since K-Cups are bad for the environment due the amount of waste they create every time someone makes a single cup of coffee. I’m wondering if similar amounts of waste are associated with the juice packs or if they are biodegradable.
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/03/the-abominable-k-cup-coffee-pod-environment-problem/386501/
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/17/business/energy-environment/keurigs-new-k-cup-coffee-is-recyclable-but-hardly-green.html?_r=0
i actually had it on my list of questions for my contact. i read online that they’re working on making a biodegradable version but am not sure of the current material.
Bummer that it’s only available in California, Arizona and Nevada right now 🙁
ahhhh! hopefully they’ll expand
Omg this looks amazing! I love fresh juices but never make them at home.
i had really gotten out of the habit, so this has been awesome!
Almost sounds too good to be true. I’ve thought of juicing, but not sure I would stick with it. I would love to hear what you think in about 6 months – maybe a follow up article?
oh that’s a great idea!
Ok 😀 😀 😀 looks fantastic. But it’s not better, like, making the juice by yourself?
no because then you have to clean the juicer haha
Gina,
Thanks for reviewing this! I was actually just thinking the other day that I was curious to hear what you thought about it (having seen you mention it a few times earlier).
I have to say, I’m kind of bummed to hear you’re not a fan of traditional juicers (although I get why!). I literally JUST bought one, and while I definitely did consider getting a cold press/slow masticating “real” juicer, I just couldn’t justify the cost at this point. I’ve used it twice now and definitely have a little more trouble with leafy greens than I would like, but I feel like it’s a good start.
Based off when you did have one, do you have any tips on how to make the most of a cheaper juicer if that’s all you can budget for at the moment? I’ve found that balling greens up into a compact bundle, and chasing it with a wetter fruit like apple tends to help, but I’m trying to make the best out of it until I can afford a higher-end model.
hey girl!
don’t get me wrong, i love all juicers! i just hate cleaning them hahahah. anything you can do to get more fresh produce is a good thing!
i would “sandwich” the leafy greens in between something firmer. like put half a cucumber in there, then a handful of greens, then the other cucumber half, then press it all through.
hope that helps a little!!