Juicing Away...

I was recently on a mission to find the perfect juicer to replace my old one: that cheap, 10 year-old, plastic dinosaur for citrus fruits.

Now, for those of you who don't know, I am quite the perfectionist when it comes to buying something new. I am always looking for nice aesthetics and quality in electronics-ergo why I'm an Apple fan ;)

I wanted a juicer that could handle a big load, operate quietly (not wake up my entire street) and have that feel of 'quality'.

Sure, everyone's definition of quality is different, but these are the three things that come to mind when I'm in the market for new appliances: glass, die-cast and stainless steel.

There is just something wonderful about a shiny kitchen stocked with glimmering appliances made from stainless steel. It must be the way the light bounces off the curvature of...

Okay, enough of that. Back to reality.

I spent a week-end perusing through some specialty stores only to turn back home empty-handed and disappointed. You know those markers you had as a kid that each smelled like a fruit, well my mood stank like the black licorice marker. Gross.

After doing a bit of research, I came across a blog raving about Breville, an Australian-operated company. I liked their attention to detail and decided to check out the website. Apparently, Breville is quite big in Canada and Europe. I seemed to be the only one in the dark.

To put it simply, I fell in love with EVERY SINGLE PRODUCT. This company was the Audi of small appliances. I'll tell you right now, I was dreaming about my personal 'Breville' kitchen. Everything from the Barista Express for morning espresso to the Milk Frother for my evening organic Matcha Lattés.

I will admit that I became quite obsessed with watching every video out there and reading every review on their appliances. My mother taught me well.

After much research, I decided to go with the Breville ikon 5-Speed Juicer. During my selection, I was also looking for something that had a few speeds so I could juice different fruits and vegetables.

This juicer has speeds running from 1 (soft fruits and leafy greens) to 5 (hard fruits, vegetables, beets, apples, etc.) which are elegantly displayed on a small LCD screen.

Now, to get on with my impressions during juicing...

I was amazed at how quiet it was when I first operated it. It has a nice electronic hum, like when you start up a German car.

With a 900-watt motor, the apples and beets were quickly pulverized! I was able to fill an 8 oz. glass in about 10 seconds.

Clean up is done in a jiffy! I just spray the components down in my sink after every use and dishwash them once every week.

You can even use the skin and pulp from the fruit and vegetables to make fabulous organic quiches or soups. Killing two birds with one stone. Plus, you'll no longer have an excuse to opt out of eating those beets or kale.

It never gets boring, so try to surprise yourself and your family with new combinations. Pretty soon you'll have kids running down the stairs when they hear the sound of you turning on that power switch.