4 Mistakes You Make with Your Juicer

A few little misses could be stopping you from getting the best juice fix.

1. Starting with room temperature produce

Hoping for a cool, refreshing beverage? Believe it or not, extracting juice from fruits and vegetables generally causes the temperature of the juice to rise about 10 degrees. For a refreshing drink, be sure to start with cold produce. 

2. Not compressing ingredients 

To get the most juice from leafy greens, roll the leaves together into a ball prior to juicing. Compressed, you get more juice because you're pressing the veggie -- not just air. Use a quality cold press juicer for best results.

3. Making juice ahead of time 
Don't plan on storing juice for a prolonged period in the fridge: Juices start to separate immediately. Ideally, you should only juice what you plan to drink right away, or at least in the next couple of hours.

4. Not balancing the taste 

When juicing tart or bitter vegetables, like kale, add a sweeter piece of fruit, like an apple, to make the juice more palatable.