October 9, 2020 – NutriBullet Juicer Pro, about $150, is a good way to get into the world of juicing. Why? The answer will require explanation and what I share here is unlikely to be included in other reviews.

First, it’s . . .

NOT a blender –

The difference is this: Blenders mix and may include the whole fruit and vegetable with all the ingredients placed in the blender jar. Blenders can create smoothies, soups, dips, nut butters, purees, and more from a variety of ingredient types.

A juicer does ONE thing – A juicer extracts juice ONLY, from only certain fruits and vegetables, leaving the pulp and any fibrous material aside through a separator mechanism. The pulp, that is, the non-juice, may be separately consumed and used in recipes, composted or simply discarded.

A juicer delivers the whole juice and nothing but the juice!

Then why juice? –

You are reading this because you are curious, right? There is a wide and diverse community of individuals who believe that juicing is the healthiest, best way to drink your vegetables. Think DIY V8® Vegetable and Fruit Juice.

I will leave to you your own online research to decide the efficacy of juicing. Regardless, if you want to juice, you need a juicer!

Types of Juicers –

There are four types, four technologies in the juicing world. Turn to Wikipedia for basic answers.

Actually, there are six methods of extracting juice, the simplest of which you probably already know about and may have used – a reamer or simple press. If you’ve ever juiced an orange or lemon with a simple hand-held gadget or a small electric model to end up with a large quantity of OJ, congratulations. Enough said on this type.

Centrifugal Juicers –

Next up, from simple and lowest cost, are centrifugal juicers. This is the technology in NutriBullet Juicer Pro. Extraction results from spinning and squeezing by grinding and pressing fruit and vegetables through a filter, usually a mesh-type sieve. Juice is delivered through a spout, while solids remain inside.

This technology is simple, as noisy as a blender, delivers almost instant gratification and does not occupy as much counter space as fancier and, as expected, more expensive juicing technologies.

Masticating Juicers –

Higher up the fancy scale are the range of masticating juicers. That’s masticating, as in chewing. Often referred to as a cold press or slow juicer, these are slow and relatively quiet, using a wide-gapped screw mechanism called an auger that draws the material into and through the crusher, directing liquid out to a waiting vessel and the solids, now even dryer than typical output of centrifugal juicers, are expressed out a different route. Masticating juicers take a while to produce their juice, occupy more counter space and can cost a bunch more than centrifugal models.

Think about how it is you chew fruit and vegetables, in fact, all food. In your mouth, teeth grind the food and extract juices. Saliva is introduced from glands in the mouth to aid in mastication and the breakup of the solids, all of which begins the digestive process even before swallowing a drop.

Triturating Juicers –

These high-tech, advanced (read EXPENSIVE) juicers press the veggies and fruit and are said to prevent oxidation from occurring. Some so-called experts say this is the ultimate juicing technology, which I will leave to you to further investigate, if the mood strikes.

Juice Your Way to Health –

Some dedicated juicing aficionados believe the higher-end products that produce juice with little to no heat are the best products because they maintain the juice in a raw, unheated state. “They” believe that heat, the heat produced using the lesser, cheaper juicers, including all centrifugal juicers, negatively effects nutrients present in raw, i.e. uncooked, unheated juice extraction.

If convenient, visit a juice bar to try freshly made juices and to get ideas as to what satisfies your palate before committing to buy.

Juice everything from broccoli and kale (yuck!), in addition to peppers, tomatoes, celery, ginger, turmeric, and so many other veggies and fruit. Refer to the ingredients listed on that famous brand of vegetable juice cocktail.I enjoy juicing beets, for example, along with peppers, tomatoes (or not) celery, broccoli and carrots, with a little bit of ginger and a hint of turmeric. Leave out the ginger and turmeric, if you wish, and add some apple for sweetness. And fresh pineapple. And fresh watermelon.

Rt Click-see my NutriBullet Juicer Pro in action in a new tab

Use that pulp! –

In dip recipes, pureed in soup for added texture and as a thickener, added to enhance rice and noodles in a casserole. There is no wrong here. There is a trove of useful info in the provided “Recipe guide.”

The point here is to be creative. No extra charge.

More Fun with Juice –

In addition to the obvious opportunity to drink the juice from all those ingredients, consider juicing as a part of cocktail creation, with or without the addition of alcoholic ingredients. Juice instead of soda in your cocktail! Search “mixology with juicers” for some adventurous and interesting ideas.

What’s in The Box? –

• A 1000-Watt high-torque, three-speed motorized base
• A spout with open/close control prevents drips from the generous lift-off 2-liter pulp basin that has an efficient 3-inch wide chute
• A 27-ounce sealing juice pitcher for fresh juice storage for up to 48 hours
• A dual-size food pusher allows both small and larger veggies to take the juicing journey
• A pair of freezer trays with snap on/off lids, each with either 2-ounce or 4-ounce compartment sizes lets you freeze juice for any purpose
• A pair of glass to-go bottles
• Cleaning brush
• User Guide and Recipe book
• The sieve, pulp basin, sieve, juice pitcher, to-go bottles and freezer trays are safe for cleaning in the dishwasher

Rt Click-see the User Guide in a new tab

My Two Cents –

My experience with slow juicers and centrifugal juicers over many years is inconclusive. That is, I am not convinced that one is better than the other for your health. It is NOT within my lifestyle consideration that juicing is of greater importance than are other factors mentioned here.

Juicing provides liquid only that is typically higher in sugar and without fiber, whereas blending delivers juice as well as fiber, which many nutritionists suggest is more healthful. Fiber is a component that helps us to feel full, to feel sated. Juice alone does little towards providing a feeling of being full, a feeling of having had a hunger-satisfying meal.

I believe in managing health needs and technology interest in combination with cost and counter space, plus storage space, and not taking as gospel the recommendation of one product technology over another. Everyone’s needs and living arrangements are different.

Cleanup Time –

Blender cleanup is easy as compared with juicer cleanup. I clean my blender with a single drop of Dawn dish soap in less than half a container of warm water, blended at high speed for about 40 seconds. A quick rinse afterwards is all I do.

Cleanup of this juicer is, in my experience, a labor-intensive chore. During the juicing process, it is difficult to impossible to prevent splash and splatter around the NutriBullet Juicer Pro. Disassembly is a must, even though a quick rinse is all that is usually needed because the fruits and vegetables do not contain oils that would be deposited requiring more than rinsing in the sink. Still, it takes time, perhaps 15 to 30 minutes for disassembly, removal of the pulp with a strong stream of water OR to carefully remove and retain the somewhat dry pulp inside the pulp basin and cover.

As indicted above, parts of NutriBullet Juicer Pro are dishwasher safe. However, there are a lot of large pieces, not unlike the bulkiness of a large food processor’s dishwasher-safe components. Still, it all takes more time, effort and resources to clean, even to simply rinse, dry, reassemble and store than will any blender, including the NutriBullet brand’s finest blenders.

Conclusions –

Bearing cleanup in mind, circle back to my earlier suggestion that THIS is a good product, suitable for the juicing curious as well as for experienced juicers not interested in spending more. The cost is just right to allow users to see if the product usage connects within personal lifestyle and interests, making this a worthwhile investment, perhaps the gateway to higher end juicer technology at some point.

It cannot be overemphasized to carefully investigate and understand the differences between a blender and a dedicated juicer. I dare say that some readers will opt out here and resort to a blender, while fewer will jump to the opportunity of having a dedicated juicing product.

With this product and the smaller, less expensive NutriBullet Juicer variant, the reliability of the NutriBullet brand is well represented here, providing yet another choice for consumers interested in trying juicing as a singular product category.

Either way, you can’t go wrong. The fact is, dumping the same ingredients into a powerful blender may yield the desired results. The absence of pulp might not be as important as is the benefits of multi-purpose, multi-usage capabilities of a blender, and here the NutriBullet brand has considerable experience and a positive reputation.

Readers are urged to research online and ask within your circle in order to arrive as what is best for YOU. Consider cost, counter space, cleanup and storage, and the greatest unknown – which product type will see the most use and provide the greatest perceived benefit.

Oh, how I wish it was easier than this. Or, maybe it is as easy as this!

Trust your instinct. Trust your gut. And if you decide that juicing is worth a try, this is a good one to see how and if you like juicing.

And Finally –

NutriBullet Juicer Pro includes the manufacturer’s 1-year limited warranty from date of purchase. An additional 3 months of warranty coverage is available through online product registration.