About the only thing left in my garden is the Kale, and I have plenty of it. I didn't do the garden this year, My sweetheart did it. I wanted a 4 ft row of Kale because I like it in my green drinks and juices. He planted all the seeds and it is about 40 feet. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I have been glad for it. Kale is a cool weather plant and I thought it would bolt when the weather got hot. It didn't . I learned that it is also a biannual plant. That means it will grow this year and wait till next year to go to seed. This past spring we had a few plants that wintered over and first thing this spring we had fresh kale before the rest of the garden got mature enough to harvest.
It is so nice to have fresh greens in the spring. After the long winter our bodies are ready for some good pick me up food. Kale in my juice did that for me. I also had some spinach that came up volunteer in the fall and was ready to harvest about the time the ground thawed in the spring. Even though I am never ready for winter to come, I know I can still harvest the kale for a while and it will be there in the spring until the rest of the new little seeds grow big enough to give us the fresh food our bodies crave. The Swiss chard that has already frozen will also come back and give us greens until the new plants are ready. Then it too, will go to seed and the cycle begins again.
How do I juice my greens? I actually have 3 machines I use and they all work well to do the job. The three I have and use regularly are a power blender, a centrifugal juicer, and a wheat grass juicer. What I choose to use will depend on what I may be putting with my greens to make my drink.
The Vitamix blender is my appliance of choice if I am wanting the fiber in my diet. I always use it if I am using the soft fruits and the fruits I have frozen. This blender breaks up the seeds and skins so small you don't recognize them in the smoothie. My daughter prefers the Blendtec blender. Both of them do a fantastic job of making what you put in the blender smooth. They are both power blenders, but the difference that is most noticeable is in the size and shape of the jars. Vitamix has 2 jars. One is designed to mill grains, the other is designed to make smoothies or chop food like a food processor. The jars are the same size and shape. The Blendtec also has 2 jars. One is square and 64 oz, the other is 5 sided and 96 oz. They are both shorter and broader so that when not in use they will fit on the counter top under the upper cabinets. One or more of the Blendtec models has the motor part that will mount right into the counter top.
If I want to have juice without the pulp, I will definitely use the centrifugal juicer I have. Mine is the Breville, but there are many on the market above and below the Breville in performance and price. I use the Breville to juice hard vegetables like carrots and beets, and also apples. The feed chute is large and takes less preparation time than the smaller chute models do. This juicer also has the pulp collection bin off to the side which makes it so I can juice more without having to empty the pulp out of the juicer. This juicer will juice the kale quite dry and I also have put the tougher Swiss chard and spinach through it as well. It does great with celery and other medium hard vegetables. My juicer is 2 speed and will handle fruits if I don't want the pulp. Sometimes I have put the cores from the pineapple and the pineapple rind through this juicer. The rind gives it a slightly different flavor which doesn't bother me if I am putting other flavors with the pineapple. I also throw a part of lemon or lime into the mix when doing vegetables, and sometimes ginger root.
If I am juicing grasses as part of the mix, I always use my wheat grass juicer. Mine is an electric model, Tribest solo star. My daughter has one of the Omega wheat grass models, and hers works very well. They are masticating juicers with a single auger. The auger type juicers, and there are many to choose from, are the very best for juicing the grasses and getting the most juice from them. The grasses aren't highly juicy, so you want a juicer that will give you as much as you can get. My brother has a steel hand wheat grass juicer. He tells me he earns every bit of juice that he gets. It definitely takes more time to juice with the hand model. I have juiced my kale in the wheat grass juicer and it does a good job. It is slower and if I am going for volume and no grasses I don't choose it. I need to learn patience, because the centrifugal juicer heats the juice as it spins so fast, and the auger doesn't do that. Heating destroys nutrients and enzymes. I have juiced carrots with the auger and although it will do the job, it is harder to get the pulp as dry. With this machine, you can make sorbets and that leaves the pulp in after it is pureed, similar to the blender machines, but definitely dryer.
The wonderful thing about getting a juicer machine is that you can choose one that is right for you and your family from the many available on the market. For pulpy products you can choose the blender types or the masticating juicer. For straight juice you can choose the masticating or the centrifugal type machines. All of them are wonderful as you learn how to use them right. The most important thing is to do it, take the time to learn to use them and then make it a daily habit. This is a very healthy habit. Now the snow has stopped and the kale is waiting for me to make my next juice or smoothie meal.
