So You Want to Buy A Juicer: Hurom Slow Juicer vs. Breville Ikon **PLUS MY FIRST GIVEAWAY**

Two weeks ago, when I started the cleanse, I decided to buy a Breville Ikon. The hubby and I did some research at about 1am on a Friday night and I told him to just buy it. I was super overwhelmed by all of the choices: centrifugal, masticating, triturating. To this day, I still don't know what any of it means. 

I've been pretty happy with the Breville, being that it's the only juicer I've ever used and I've had nothing to compare it to-until today. I called the guys at Hurom Slower Juicer and asked them if they'd be willing to send me out a model to test and they gladly obliged. And so, I decided to put the two juicers to a duel!

The Hurom Slow Juicer

The Breville Ikon

I think the most important fact is how the juicers compare to one another, so I'm not going to bore you with the technical details. The one thing I will mention is how they make the juice (based on how I see it).

Breville: Has a "shredder/grater" at the bottom of a funnel and then pushes the fruit/veggie/nut through a mesh screen with teeny tiny holes

Hurom: Has a grinder that churns the fruit/veggie (similar to a traditional meat grinder) and then pushes it through a strainer with much bigger holes.

So which one should you buy?

I think there are a few things you need to consider:

1. Will prep time (peeling, cutting, cleaning) keep you from juicing?

2. Are you in a hurry when juicing?

3. Do you like a little pulp in your juice?

Below is a summary of how long it took me to make the same juice in each juicer.

Prep Time:

If you are going to juice with the Breville, the prep time is pretty minimal: all you really need to do is to peel vegetables with bitter skins like carrots or beets. On the other hand, with the Hurom, you need to cut the fruits/veggies down to two inch pieces as well. I did this by hand, but technically if you want to do it faster, you can use a food processor with the slicer add-on. 

1 Granny Smith, 2 carrots, 2 celery stalks, 2 inch piece of ginger, 4 stalks of kale

Juicing:

The Hurom takes longer to juice, because it's a slow juicer. It basically squeezes every last drop of the juice and this is noticeable in the dry pulp it expels. You do have to stand there and put the cut pieces into the funnel. The Breville is much much faster, so if you are in a hurry, it's something to consider. However, one thing to note is the quality of juice you will get. 

On the Left: Hurom, On the Right: Breville

I used 1 Granny Smith, 2 carrots, 2 celery stalks, 2 inches of ginger, and 4 stalks of kale in both juicers. The Hurom was not only significantly more green, but also yielded an additional ounce of juice. The Breville had much more froth and looked "watery" in comparison to the juice from the Slow Juicer. 

I had the hubby taste both juices blindly. Without knowing which juicer the juice came from or seeing the color, he chose the Slower Juicer's product because of its taste and texture. He said it tasted sweeter. Then when I showed him the two glasses, he said he liked the "green one" based on it's bright color.

Clean-Up

I've always found cleaning the Breville a bit cumbersome. The mesh screen collects every microscopic piece of pulp. You have to scrub until your hands hurt to get it clean. The Hurom was much easier to clean, even though it does have smaller pieces. And because you don't have to scrub the mesh so hard, it's also a bit faster.

Re-Assembly

The Hurom has more pieces and so it does take a little longer to put it back together. The Breville parts are larger, so if you have issues with holding smaller pieces then you may find the Hurom assembly a bit tricky.

Overall

By no means did I expect to like the Hurom so much, especially since I chose to buy the Breville. Honestly, I bought it for the name and the reputation. The Hurom Slow Juicer is brand new product on the market, so I was a bit weary to invest in it. It's available at Williams-Sonoma and having worked for the company, I know that they don't sell anything unless its been fully vetted. 

So back to the question: which one should you buy?

I think that if you don't have time to prep and still want to get into juicing, then the Breville is a perfect starter juicer. You will still get plenty of benefits from consuming nutritious fruits and vegetables. The Breville is also about $100 less than the Hurom, so if money is an issue, then this is a great juicer for the price. However, if you are willing to put in a bit more time and you want to truly drink "Green" juices, then the Hurom Slow Juicer is your best bet. The juice is much richer in not only flavor but also texture and color. Which ever you decide to buy, both are available for sale at my Gourmet Boutique!

Giveaway

I have a pair of Fabrikators Skrub'a Gloves to giveaway to one lucky reader.

These gloves are great for cleaning vegetables instead of peeling them and will help save you time while prepping to juice with your Hurom.

Rules:

To be entered in the contest, you must 

1. Go to my Facebook Page and Like Me: ACraftyGourmet

2. Leave me a comment on this post letting me know what you think of my review (be nice :))

3. I will pick a winner using Random.org and the winner will be announced on Tuesday August 14th.

4. You have until Monday, August 13th to enter. 

5. Good Luck!

21-Day Detox Day 11: Vegetarian Southern Style Collard Greens, Grilled Coho, and Mixed Greens Salad with Feta & Apples

This morning, I woke up in pain again. It's a huge disappointment, considering how well I've been feeling the last couple of weeks. I blame the avocado and steak and am committing to being more mindful about eating a lot of very high fat foods in one day. I'm not seeing my chiropractor or acupuncturist until Tuesday, so I'm going to have to suck it up. But honestly, it sucks! The whole point of doing this cleanse is to feel physically better and control the pain and I'm so disappointed that the pain is back. The positive is that now when the pain comes again, I can do an inventory of what I ate or did to bring it on. I also know that I've been stressing more at work than usual and that could be another factor. Louise Hay believes that lower back pain can be associated with insecurity. So if you’re feeling insecure—or unable to meet other people’s expectations—that pressure can manifest in the lower back.


I had an hour to spare before my haircut/highlight appointment this morning, so I went to the local farmer's market. I was really shocked to find that only one booth sold organic produce. When I went over to the booth, the first thing that caught my eye were some cucumbers, but half of them were already rotten. I was really disappointed, but at least now I know to steer clear of the Daly City Farmer's Market on Saturdays. I was hoping to grab something to eat at the market, but the lack of quality produce left me hungry. Instead, I picked up a bottle of Organic V to have with my shake at Whole Foods. I also brought some leftovers from dinner (Chard and Spaghetti) to eat for lunch while I was getting my hair done at Pirate Salon.


After getting my hair done, I went to pick up some snacks for the hubby to repay him for putting our daughter down for her nap. It's stressful for him, so I'm always extremely grateful when he does. One of his favorite places to snack on the weekends is Anda's Piroshki in Bernal Heights. Anda's is located inside a collective space that houses several other businesses. Each business has a small counter. There, owner Anna Tvelova delivers some amazing piroshkis according to my husband (I don't eat then since unfortunately they are not wheat free). I picked up a Chicken & Veggie and a Bunny's Surprise (mixed veggie). I completely forgot to take pictures of them, but from what I hear from him-they were delish! Feeling left out of the fun, I decided to grab a cup of the vegetarian borscht, which she makes with beets, carrots, potatoes, peppers, tomato puree, onions, garlic, dill and parsley. I make a mean borscht, but Anna's has me "beet." It was a really nice treat!

For dinner, I decided to make something lighter in comparison to the night before, so I made up some Wild Coho Salmon from Whole Foods. I paired the salmon with a Mixed Greens Salad with Feta and Apples for the hubby, while I ate it with a side of green salad and some Vegetarian Southern Style Collard Greens.

Grilled Coho

Ingredients:
2-3 4oz pieces of Wild Coho
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp Sunny Paris Salt Free Seasoning
2 tsp Celtic Salt

Process:
1. Heat oil in grill pan
2. Season fish
3. Once pan is hot, place fish on pan with skin facing up
4. Cook for 5 minutes, and flip
5. Cook for 5 minutes and remove

Mixed Greens Salad with Feta & Apples 

Ingredients:
2 cups of mixed greens (mine has edible flowers)
1/4 cup of Feta (with marinate about 1.5-2 tbsp)
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1.5 tbsp of oil
1/2 granny smith apple(thinly sliced)

Process:
1. Mix all ingredients in a bowl until feta is evenly distributed and leaves are well dressed

Vegetarian Southern Style Collard Greens

Ingredients:
1 bunch collard greens
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tbsp ghee
2 tsp Spice House Hickory Salt


Process: 

1. Heat water to boil in a pot

2. Once water has boiled, add sliced greens
3. Cook for 8 minutes, remove and drain 

21-Day Detox Day 10: Guacamole Dip & Steak & Greens

Today, I made the mistake of eating a whole avocado. I do that every once in a while and since avocados in my mind are vegetables, even though they are technically fruits, I thought it would be a good mid-day snack. A whole avocado has about 30 grams of heart-healthy unsaturated fat and lots of Vitamin C, K, folate, and B6. Unfortunately, if you have any gall bladder issues, which I do, eating 30 grams of fat in one sitting, even if it's healthy fat, is not a good idea.


When the gall bladder is not happy, a variety of symptoms arise. You can experience a feeling of fullness, have a stomach ache, have painful gas, and be nauseous. Also, when the gall bladder is not happy, the result is often lower back and leg pain: the exact issues I've been trying to deal with in this cleanse. I'm not sure how long it's going to take my body to fully process all of the fat I have consumed today, but I hope it will be soon so I can get back to feeling better. So moral of the story: cut an avocado in quarters and don't eat them all at one time.

For breakfast, I made my shake with a juice I call, Morning Essentials.

Around 11am, I had my infamous snack.

Guacamole Dip Ingredients:


1 avocado

2 tbsp chopped cilantro
2 tsp Celtic Salt
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tbsp Bragg's Apple Cider Vinegar

Process:
1. Mash avocado in a bowl

2. Add all other ingredients

3. Mix & Enjoy with Super Veggie Crackers (IN MODERATION)

I was feeling pretty rotten, so I couldn't really eat anything until dinner. For dinner, I had another wise idea. Since I was already feeling bad after the avocado, I decided to pamper (yes I'm being sarcastic), my gall bladder some pasture-raised beef. Hind-sight is 20/20 and I didn't connect the fact that I was feeling so rotten to the large amount of fat I consumed until much later. And even though, I did not feel good after, the steak was delicious!

Steak & Greens
Ingredients:
2 Steaks (ours were about 5oz each)
1 tbsp oil
1 bunch of Swiss Chard
1 cup juicer pulp with parsley & lemon
1/3 cup water




1.5 tbsp ghee
salt to taste

Process:
1. Heat grill pan and add oil
2. Season steaks with salt and pepper and place on pan
3. While steaks are cooking, heat oil in frying pan
4. Once oil is hot, saute juicer pulp

5. Add Swiss Chard and water, cover

6. After about 8 minutes, flip steaks
7. Cook on the other side for 5 minutes (makes for medium steaks)
8. Stir chard to make sure it steams well

9. Remove everything from heat
10. Serve with Vegan Veggie Spaghetti
11. Enjoy!

I was a reminded of a good lesson today: everything is good, but in moderation. It's a good lesson to be reminded of every once in a while.

21-Day Detox Day 9: Mashed Cauliflower

Last December, I was having a bit of a hard time. I was dealing with a lot of anxiety, specifically around my daughter's health. She was diagnosed with sleep apnea and at 2.5 years old, the ENT strongly recommended surgery. With every cold and tummy ache, I couldn't stop from feeling like the prognosis was dire. The stress of it made it really difficult to eat right and even take care of myself at times. Usually when I feel so undone, I contact Rachel Yellin for additional support. Rachel is a hypnotherapist who helped me while I was preparing my for my daughter's birth. During my session, Rachel suggested that much of my anxiety could be related to a chemical imbalance due to my diet and suggested that I look into the GAPS diet.

GAPS is a diet that was developed by Natasha-Campbell McBride, Russian-born neurologist and nutritionist who researched the link between nutrition and neurological illness, specifically her son's autism but also a slew of auto-immune conditions. Essentially, GAPS (Gut and Psychology Syndrome) centers around giving your gut a break and eating only easily digestible, non-allergenic foods that heal the digestive system. The diet is grain-free, sugar-free and involves taking large doses of potent probiotics to help kill off bad gut bacteria. At the time, the idea of cutting out sugar and grain from my diet seemed ridiculous, even if it was going to reduce my anxiety. And now on Day 9, I can't believe that I haven't had grains in 6 weeks and sugar for more than two. While, I'm not committing myself to any more than 21 days, I am feeling this is much more doable than I had imagined last December.

For breakfast, I had leftover juice from yesterday that I named Scary Green Monster.

For lunch, I made mashed potatoes (minus the potatoes, plus cauliflower). Cauliflower is a great alternative to potatoes, which are part of the nightshade family of vegetables together with tomatoes, eggplant and peppers. Nightshades have been shown to aggravate inflammatory conditions, especially arthritis and psoriasis. Cauliflower, on the other hand, has cancer fighting properties.

Mashed Cauliflower
Ingredients:
1/2 Head of Cauliflower
1 tbsp Ghee
2 tsp Spice House Ukrainian Village Spice

Process:
1. Put cauliflower into a pot, bring water to boil and cook until cauliflower is cooked
2. Using a potato masher or fork, mash cauliflower
3. Add Ghee and seasoning
4. Enjoy!

 For dinner, I made an awesome juice and used the pulp to saute with kale.

Juice for Thursdays
3 carrots
1 beet
1 lemon
3 cups spinach
2 springs parsley
2 springs mint
2 inch ginger

Kale, Pulp, and BBQ Chicken
Ingredients:
1 bunch Kale
1 cup juicer pulp from Juice for Thursdays
2 tbsp olive oil
BBQ Chicken from Detox Day 8
Salt to taste

Process:
1. Heat oil and saute pulp

2. Add Kale and saute for about 8 minutes or until Kale has darkened. Add salt.

3. Serve with BBQ Chicken & Sauerkraut
4. Enjoy!

21-Day Detox Day 8: Vegan Veggie Spaghetti & Pesto

It's day 8 and I'm fantasizing about the yummy chicken I'm going to cook for dinner. As part of the detox, I can have one 4 oz serving of protein a day. I can either have it all in one sitting or split it up. Today I'm saving it for dinner. The protein has to be organic or pastured-raised (chicken), grass-fed (beef, veal), wild (fish), cage-free/pastured-raised (eggs). The point is to continue detoxing without adding any additional toxins. Every vegetable that I've been eating in the last week has been organic to ensure that I am not taking in any pesticides or other harmful chemicals.

For breakfast, I made a yummy juice.

Red Bunny Lemon

3 carrots
5 celery stalks
1 small beet
1 lemon
6 beet green stalks
5 mint springs
1/2 apple
2in ginger knob
cup of spinach

For lunch, I made spaghetti! Spaghetti squash that is! Spaghetti squash is a really fun winter squash that yields stringy, noodle-like threads when cooked. Squashes reduce inflammation, improve qi circulation and help alleviate pain. This squash is super easy to cook and is delicious.

Vegan Veggie Spaghetti & Pesto

Ingredients:
1/2 cooked Spaghetti Squash
2 tbsp Gina's Pesto Sauce (clean sauce made with olive oil and lemon juice) [Available at Rainbow]
2 tbsp olive oil
Celtic salt to taste

Process:
1. Set oven Bake at 350
2. Cut squash in half and place on an oiled parchment sheet. Bake for 30 mins and turn off the oven. Leave squash in oven for 20 mins
3. Remove and let cool.

4. Using a fork, scrape the insides and you'll get noodle-like strands

5. Put in bowl and mix with pesto

6. Add salt and enjoy!

As a snack, I made homemade veggie crackers made from juicer pulp.

Super Veggie Crackers
Ingredients:
As much juicer pulp as you want

Process:
1. Lay out juicer pulp on parchment paper and press down to get as thin of a layer as you can

2. Either:

(a) Set oven to it's lowest setting, place baking sheet into the over, pry oven oven door with rolled up kitchen towels. Bake for 3.5 hours and turn over and bake for another 2 hours

or

(b) Dehydrate for 6 hours, turning over once (my oven dehydrates at 140 degrees)

3. Crackers will look like this, once ready

For dinner, I made hubby and me some more of the tasty squash. I paired it with my signature BBQ buffalo chicken and some sauerkraut I picked up at the farmers market.

BBQ Buffalo Chicken
Ingredients:
3 chicken thighs or 2 chicken breasts
2 tbsp Bragg's Raw Apple Cider Vinegar
1 tbsp Spice House Smoked Spanish Paprika
1 tbsp Spice House Half-Sharp Hungarian Paprika
1/2 tbsp Celtic Salt
2 tbsp olive oil

Process:

 1. Mix all ingredients in a bowl using tongs

2. Heat oil on a grill pan or frying pan
3. Place chicken in pan and cook until golden brown (8-10 mins)

4. Flip over and cook for another 6-8 minutes (until fully cooked)

 5. Enjoy!

After dinner, I had a juice shake as a snack around 9:30. I had gone to the farmer's market and picked up a bunch of organic veggies. For $20, I was able to buy:

2 bunch of carrots (4 huge carrots each) with all tops intact
1 bunch of beets (4 long beets) with all tops intact
2 Lacinato Kale
2 Swiss Chard
1 Curly Chard
1 Fennel Bulb

Who said eating healthy is expensive!

Scary Green Monster
10 cups of carrot tops
2 large carrots
1 fennel
1 granny smith
2 inch ginger


I have to say that eating the chicken was a bit uneventful, although extremely satisfying. I thought the heavens would open up or something, but really it was just another Wednesday. I guess it's good knowing that I can survive without protein. Ever since FA, I felt like I needed to eat protein with every meal to survive. For a while, I was eating red meat at almost every meal. Sometimes a healthy intervention really opens up your eyes about your beliefs about yourself. It feels really great to be learning so much about myself.

21-Day Detox Day 7: Gingery, Lemony Bok Choy

It's my last day without protein! Hooray! I can't complain about eating all the green leafy veggies this week because I really like leafy greens, and knowing how good they are for me made me feel like I spent the week pampering myself. It's not the type of pampering I'm used to, i.e. massages, manicures, and martini's, but it's a new kind of pampering!

So, how do I feel? I feel awesome! My coworker told me my skin looks much clearer; the hubby gave the same compliment later in the day too. I do have to say that I haven't had any breakouts and my pores look cleaner and smaller. I haven't done anything differently in terms of my skincare regime either. I'm doing this cleanse to feel physically better, I didn't expect my skin to look better. What a bonus!

For breakfast, I had another one of my juice creations with my Estrium Whey.

Broco-carro-celeraus
1 head of broccoli (it takes much better juiced)
3 large carrots
2 stalks of celery
3 mint springs
1/4 lemon

For lunch I made a delicious Bok Choy dish.

Gingery, Lemony Bok Choy

Ingredients:
2 Baby Bok Choy
1.5 tbsp ginger
1.5 tbsp coconut oil
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 tsp cayenne
Celtic salt to taste

 Process:
1. Heat oil

 2. Chop ginger and saute

3. Cut off bottom of bok choy, separate leave and wash thoroughly


















4. Once ginger is golden brown, toss bok choy into pan



5. Add cayenne and salt, and cover to steam
























6. Add lemon juice, mix and enjoy!



I stopped by Whole Foods to pick up an Evolution Fresh Organic V Juice on my way to see Dr. Melissa for our one week check-in. She muscle tested me and adjusted some of my supplements. One of the supplements I am taking is Chlorella Vulgaris. Chlorella binds to heavy metals, pesticides, and other toxins and carries them out of the body. It's an algee that is very high in protein and omega-3's and its extremely helpful with a variety of diseases, including chronic fatigue and diabetes. She doubled my dosage. She also added Metagenics' UltraClear Renew as a medical food. Ultraclear is supposed to help the detoxification process and has been designed for people who have muscle pain. Starting tomorrow, I will have one scoop of Estrium Whey and one scoop of the Ultra Clear with my juices. Also, as part of the cleanse program, I got to spend 30 minutes in Dr. Melissa's infrared sauna. I felt super relaxed afterwards and was ready to get home for dinner.

For dinner I made the bok choy dish again because I enjoyed it so much at lunch. I paired the bok choy with a juice.

Minty Green Fennelade
1 fennel
1 apple
2 celery
2 sprints mint
cup of arugula

My first week is over and I've survived and actually even thrived! 2 more weeks to go!

21-Day Detox Day 6: Lemony Tuscan Kale

It's Day 6 and I'm back at work and having zero problems concentrating on the tasks at hand. I spent much of Sunday night cooking my meals for today, so I was completely prepared. Working for a tech company has its perks. We have subsidized vending machines, free cereals and milks, free juices, and free sodas and a bi-weekly fruit delivery service, but the fruit isn't organic and I can taste the difference. Unfortunately, none of the foods available are worth eating even when I'm not on a cleanse. Therefore, I needed to make sure I packed plenty of food so I don't get hungry.

I made a large carafe of juice for the day, some of which I had with my Estrium Whey for breakfast.

Purple Haze (makes about 24-30oz)
1/2 red cabbage
5 carrots
1 cucumber
1/2 lemon
1 granny smith apple
10 stems of kale (leaves removed for Kale Chips, recipe below)
1/2 cup purslane
2 inch knob of ginger
2 cups of spinach

After breakfast, I felt satiated for a couple of hours. Once I felt hungry, I snacked on homemade kale chips. I've gotten Kale chips at the store before and they are super expensive, so I figured out how to make them at home at a fraction of the price. They key is to have your pantry stocked with a variety of spices. My favorite place to buy spices is the Spice House. It's about 20 mins from my in-laws house in Evanston and I always make a trip when we are visiting them.

Baked Kale Chips
Ingredients:
Torn leaves of a Kale (Red Russian, Curly)

Process:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Place torn Kale on a baking sheet covered with parchment (I am using a non-chlorinated one)

3. Sprinkle any desired spices and salt
4. Bake for 12-15 (keep an eye on it because if you overcook them, they'll taste bitter)
5. Enjoy!

For lunch, I made an iteration of my Kale, Leeks and Ginger but with Lacinato Kale and Swiss Chard. Here are a few pictures:

Dinner was one of my favorite meals so far. I got tired of using Bragg's Raw Apple Cider Vinegar in all my dishes and opted to use good old-fashioned lemon juice! The result was a delicious Lacinato Kale dish that reminded me of dish I recently had at Chris Consentino's Incanto in San Francisco.

Lemony Tuscan Kale
Ingredients:
1 bunch of Lacinato (Tuscan) Kale
1.5 tbsp oil olive oil
juice of 1/3 lemon
salt & pepper to taste

Process:
1. Heat oil, add cut up kale
2. Once Kale is cooked give it a squeeze of lemon juice and add salt and pepper to taste
3. Enjoy!

Day 6 is in the books! That means only one more day and I get to have some meat! Can you tell that I'm really looking forward to that???

Bonus Recipe:
In trying to figure out what to do with all the juicer pulp, I came up with this Grain Free, Vegan Recipe.

Juicer Pulp Cupcakes (makes 12)
Ingredients:
3 cups juicer pulp (carrots, plums, peaches, beets, spinach, celery)

3/4 cups coconut flour

1 tbsp flaxseed meal or chai seed (flax has lots of phytoestrogens so chai is much better for men) mixed with 6 tbsp of water

2 tablespoons honey

12 drops stevia

2 tsp cake spice

1 tbsp vanilla powder

3 tbsp ghee

Process:

1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix on medium until it looks like this:

2. You can use an ice cream scoop to measure enough batter to fill a cupcake tin.

3. Bake 350 for 20-22 mins.
4. Cupcakes will like this once baked

5. Enjoy!