Preparing Your Fruits and Vegetables

*I've found that when juicing leafy greens, mint, ginger or other produce that yields a small amount, it's best to juice them first, then juice your produce that yields more liquid. This helps make sure you get the most yield from your produce.*

The Dirty Dozen
These fruits and vegetables are usually the most contaminated with pesticides. Whenever possible, try to always buy organic with these fruits and vegetables.

Peaches
Apples
Sweet bell peppers
Celery
Nectarines
Strawberries
Cherries
Pears
Grapes
Lettuce
Spinach
Potatoes

12 Least Contaminated Fruits and Veggies
Organic is always best but if finances won't allow you to go full organic, these are generally the least contaminated produce.

Onions
Avocado
Sweet Corn (Frozen)
Pineapples
Mango
Asparagus
Sweet Peas (Frozen)
Kiwi Fruit
Bananas
Cabbage
Broccoli
Papaya
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Apples-
I wash them, cut them in quarters and throw them in the juicer. I personally do not bother taking the seeds out but some people insist on it because the seeds contain trace amounts of arsenic? Do whatever you are comfortable with.

Beets-
Personally, I peel the beet before juicing it. Beets are sweet and surprisingly tasty to add to juices but they can have an earthy taste and it can make your juice smell like dirt. I think peeling the beet helps with the earthy taste but many people just juice the whole thing. You can also juice the greens that come with the beet root.

Start off with small slices of beet when you are first starting out.

Citrus-
I personally peel all of my citrus except for lemons and limes. Leave the pith on your citrus. Pith is the white stuff between the peel and the fruit.

I do not bother with removing seeds.

Carrots-
If you buy organic carrots, there is no need to peel them first. Many people say you should peel them if you buy non-organic, but I don't. I wash them well and always cut off the top ends of the carrots.

Celery-
I wash them thoroughly and juice the entire stick of celery, leaves and all.

Cucumbers-
I always peel the waxy layer off.

Kale and Spinach-
When I started off juicing, I only juiced the leaves and I would throw the stems in the trash. The stem part of kale and spinach can be bitter when starting out but with massive amount of kale I was juicing in a week, I quickly decided I wanted and needed the juice from ALL of the kale, stems and all. As with all produce, wash well.

Pineapple-
Peel the pineapple by slicing the rind off. I recommend cutting out the core of the pineapple because it can be really hard on your juicer. Cut the pineapple into chunks that will fit in your juicer.

Ginger root- I started off peeling the ginger (easily done by scraping the ginger with a spoon) and still usually do unless I'm in a hurry. If you are not going to peel the ginger, wash it thoroughly.

Peaches, plums, avocado and other pitted fruits-
Wash and remove the pit from the fruit. The pit can break your juicer.

Bananas-
Don't bother juicing. Bananas yield such a small amount of juice that it's a waste. If you really want banana, make your juice and put it in a blender with your banana. And of course, peel the banana first. *some people say that blending a banana is cheating because its not all juice. Again, this journey is personal. There are no rules. If you want to blend a banana, by all means, blend one*

Mint-
I only juice the leaves. Wash before juicing.

Sweet potatoes-
I personally peel the potato before juicing it but many people do not. You get a lot of nutrients from the skin of the potato. Wash thoroughly before juicing. Also, juicing sweet potatoes will give the juice a slightly grainy texture and don't be alarmed if you see a white milky substance in your juice. This is just from the starch. The juice is still good.

Cherries-
I've not yet juiced cherries but you will need to remove the seeds first. The seeds can break your juicer.



I am still working on adding more produce to the list. Please let me know if there are more fruits or vegetables you have questions about.