Keeping healthy with a Breville juicer from Big W

by Caz Makepeace on July 26, 2012

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I don’t know why it took me so long to buy a juicer.

It was on my bucket years for many years. Craig and I would talk about it as we sat at the breakfast table on the sand in Koh Lanta, Thailand. The sun danced and sparkled off the Andaman Sea stretching out in front of us.

Beautiful spot for a long leisurely breakfast

Our breakfast conversation would linger for hours over pineapple juices, papaya shakes, watermelon juices and tropical fruit juice.

All of them delicious and sweetened naturally.

That’s all we wanted for our own home, the ability to make our own healthy morning drinks. We’d talk about it even as we bought another orange juice popper from the shop for Kalyra.

“Full of sugar, these things. We really must buy our own juicer.”

Except we never did. I don’t know why. Maybe we thought they were just way too expensive and we wouldn’t use them.

Then we stayed at the Crowne Plaza and they had a juicer at their breakfast buffet. I walked up, chose a few of the vegetables and fruit before me and in seconds I had a delicious juice.

Combinations of carrot, cucumber, orange and pineapple, all the ingredients I had in my fridge at home, often times getting thrown out because I didn’t use them. My creations were so refreshing and gave me such a natural high pick up.

Carrot, pineapple, orange and cucumber

Then I started the Tracey Anderson diet and I had to begin my days drinking beetroot, apple and kale juice. Yes, it was as hideous as it sounds.

I was umming and ahhing about it, again worried about the price or something.

Then it came down to “Was I serious or not? “ Did I want to take the extra steps forward to look after my health or not?

So I walked past Big W one day, strode right into the kitchen department and bought a Breville juicer. And the price wasn’t even too bad. When you add up the cost of juices you buy pre-made and the health side to it, it really is worth it.

Now the beetroot juice did make me throw up the first time I drank it, but I did get used to it after a while (and sticking to that diet and exercise plan meant I lost six kilos).

I fell in love with my Breville juicer. It was quick and easy to use and easy to clean.

It was only a few days after using it that I realized I didn’t even have to peel and chop up the fruit and veg into smaller pieces. I could save heaps of time by just chucking them in and then pushing down on the cover. In a couple of seconds my juice poured out and I even got that lovely frothy bit on top that the pineapple juices in Thailand always had.

Pineapple juice from Thailand

My only sage advice is to ensure the juice jar is actually in place under the spout before you turn it on. Lucky for me I noticed before the beetroot hit the juicing blade and I only got pineapple all over the floor.

Kalyra and I love using the Breville juicer now together. The oranges sit idly waiting in our fruit bowl for their date with the pineapple. Kalyra refuses to let cucumber in, but I’m working on it and will start by sneaking it in if she ever takes her eyes off the magical juicer.

I’m excited to try all different combinations and was happy to see that the juicer also came with a booklet filled with juice recipes.

And something else special for the Mummies, a section on making cocktails with the juicer. I never knew they could do that. Now I do regret not buying one years ago when I used to host cocktail parties!!

Hiring out that penthouse is looking good now.

This post is brought to you in part by Big W. I purchased and loved the juicer months before writing this post.