Happy holidays!
It wouldn’t be a holiday season here at The Hungry Mouse if we didn’t have some kind of crazy kitchen giveaway. It means a lot to us that you keep reading. We like to give away treats to say thank you whenever we can.
This year, the big prize is a Breville Juice Fountain Plus!
Read on for my review of the juicer and for details on how to enter to win one of your very own.
Why are you juicing, Mouse?
I never thought I’d say this, but: I have a juicer and holy hell, I LOVE IT!
You guys know me: I’m excited to make healthy, fresh juices. I’m also just excited to use (at least some) of those juices for luscious cocktails. 😉
In all honesty, I’ve been very curious about juicing for a while.
A handful of my friends are into it, and rave about their healthy morning concoctions. And I have to admit: They’re enthusiasm about their carrot, apple, kale juice is kind of infectious.
So, this is me, investigating.
Here’s the strawberry, beet, apple, ginger juice I made. I’m happy (and a little surprised) to report that it was ridiculously good. The recipe is below.
I also made a killer cocktail with pineapple juice, fresh chili, and tequila. Stay tuned for that recipe in my next post.
About the Breville Juice Fountain Plus
The good folks at Breville were kind enough to send me a Breville Juice Fountain Plus to review on the house. (Thanks, guys!) They’ve also donated another for our holiday giveaway. The juicer is this thing, here:
I have a Breville mixer that I really like a lot, so I had high hopes for this juicer. I’m happy to report that it didn’t disappoint.
Extra wide feed tube for juicing bigger pieces
My research turned up that the extra wide feed tube is actually a pretty big deal for juicing peeps.
It means you can juice a lot of larger/whole pieces of fruits and veggies without chopping them up.
Less prep seems to be a really desirable feature. After trying the juicer out, I agree. I didn’t have to chop my veggies and fruits up into bitty pieces before juicing. If they fit in the tube, they went in whole. The juicer chewed them up like a champ. It was fast, and it was easy.
What’s in the box
My juicer (and the one for our contest) came with a bonus DVD, juicing recipe book, and travel cup to get me started. All were greatly appreciated.
A closer look at the juicer
So here’s what the main body looks like.
The bucket on the right is to catch all the leftover solid stuff.
This juicer has two speeds: Low, for squishy things and leafy greens, and high, for harder stuff like ginger and beets. I like this a lot. It’s not complicated. I also like that the speeds are labeled, just in case you forget as you get the hang of juicing. Again, bonus.
It also comes with a covered measuring cup to neatly catch the juice. I’ve been told by some of my juicing buddies that this is a huge plus because it really cuts down on splatter and mess.
There’s the extra wide feed chute again.
It also has a bar to lock the unit in place for juicing. It makes the whole thing feel more secure. It also acts as a sort of fail safe. The machine won’t turn on if the bar isn’t locked into place.
The chewing blades are in a coffee-filter like contraption. The juicer comes with a stiff brush to help clean the basket.
How well does it work?
This is Breville’s entry-level juicer. You could have fooled me, but then, like I said, I’m a juicing noob.
This thing is a beast. It handled everything I threw into it really well. I tested soft fruits and veggies like pineapple, peppers, and strawberries, as well as harder stuff like beets and ginger root.
My juicing friends recommended that I line the bin with a grocery bag for easy clean up. Really good move.
My first test juice
First test, beets. All the health peeps I know rave about beet juice. It’s packed with vitamins. It’s a great liver cleanser. Etc., etc. And it’s $10 a bottle if you want to buy it fresh around here. So sure, I figured I’d start with beets.
I gave them a quick scrub because they were pretty dirty. Then I nipped off their woody roots. That’s all I did for prep. I had one beet that was too big for the feed tube, so I whacked it in half.
The juicer splashed out the beet juice with no problem. I had two apples and a container of strawberries, so I threw those in, too, along with a big knob of ginger.
It made a full container of juice, as well as a ton of (pretty dry) waste.
And you know what? It was SO good. Seriously. I haven’t always been a fan of beets (I like them roasted, but that’s about it), so I was kind of shocked.
Plus, you can’t beat the color. (Har, har.)
Spicy Strawberry Beet Apple Juice
3 lbs fresh beets
2 Granny Smith apples
1 large knob ginger
1 lb. strawberries
Yields about 2 pints of juice
How was it to clean?
Honestly? Not bad at all.
I washed it right away when I was done juicing. It disassembles really easily, and practically rinsed clean.
I’d say it was on par with cleaning my food processor. A couple of parts to wash, but all in all, no big deal.
From what I hear from my juicing peeps, easy clean up is also a big plus.
Enter to win a Breville Juice Fountain Plus!
To enter to win, simply leave a comment on this post answering the following question:
If you win, what will you make with your new juicer? (If you’re a juicing pro and have any tips, lay ’em on us!)
That’s it. (No really, that’s it.)
Contest Rules
- You must enter a valid e-mail address on the comment form. (That’s how we’ll contact you if you win.)
- Only one entry per person.
- This contest is open to U.S. residents only.
- Deadline for entries is Midnight (EST) on Friday, December 20, 2013.
One winner will be chosen on Saturday, December 21 by random number generator and notified by e-mail. The winner will receive one Breville Juice Fountain Plus (retail value ~$150), shipped directly to them by Breville.
Good luck and happy holidays, guys!
