Spring is right around the corner – which means (locally grown) fresh fruits and vegetables will be appearing in the grocery store very soon. Many people approach the changing of the seasons from winter to spring as a time of renewal and cleansing (hence the term ‘spring-cleaning’). Juicing is often used as a way to facilitate this cleansing renewal. For many people, however, the prospect of juicing can be a little overwhelming. To make it easier, we’ve compiled the following table to help you prepare various fruits and vegetables for juicing. Recipes and other tips/tricks will be coming in future posts.

Fruits & Vegetables

How To Prepare

Apples Core your apples and remove the seeds before pushing through your juicer.
Apricots Rinse and slice in half to remove the pit.
Asparagus Rinse the stalks carefully and push through juicer, putting the bottom of the stalk through first.
Avocado You can blend your juices in a blender with an avocado to thicken it up, but never put an avocado in a juicer.
Bananas Similar to the avocado, never juice bananas! But feel free to blend your juices in a blender with a banana to thicken it up.
Beets (Beetroot) Peel your beets before juicing them! This will avoid the “earthy” taste that many people complain about after juicing an unpeeled beet. Depending on the size of your beets, slice to fit your juicer shoot. Juice your beet greens, too!
Bell peppers Rinse and remove the stem, but you can save time and forget removing the seeds – it’s fine to juice them. Cut to size and juice.
Blackberries Rinse in a strainer. They don’t keep well after being rinsed, so best to wash them the day you plan to juice them.
Blueberries Rinse in a strainer.
Broccoli After rinsing, juice it all. From the stalk to the head, you can receive many nutritional benefits from juicing broccoli.
Butter lettuce Rinse leaves individually, checking for dirt and sand. No need to remove the stems. Roll the leaves up and run through your juicer. Leafy greens move best through your juicer when followed by a harder fruit or vegetable, like apples, celery, or cucumbers.
Cabbage Green and red cabbage are great for juicing. Be sure to select a cabbage head that is firm with crisp leaves. Cut the cabbage in quarters, or smaller if needed, so it easily fits into the juicer shoot. If you don’t like the taste of beets, you can substitute red cabbage in any juice recipe that calls for beets.
Cactus pears Peel and cut to size if needed.
Cantaloupe (Rockmelon) Remove the rind, flesh and seeds before juicing this orange melon.
Carrots Rinse thoroughly before passing through the juicer and that’s it! You can juice your carrots with the greens and skins still on.
Celeriac (Celery root) Wash carefully, as grit can get stuck in the nooks and crannies of this hearty root vegetable. As with beets, if you don’t prefer an earthy taste, peel the celeriac first. Cut to fit your juicer.
Celery Rinse thoroughly and add entire celery stalk through the juicer (even the leafy tops).
Chard (Silverbeet) Rinse leaves individually, checking for dirt and sand. No need to remove the stems. Roll the leaves up and run through your juicer. Leafy greens move best through your juicer when followed by a harder fruit or vegetable, like apples, celery, or cucumbers.
Cherries Rinse and use a small paring knife to remove the small pits before juicing. Add a handful to your juicer at one time.
Chayotes Wash and chop to fit your juicer, then juice!
Collard greens These are a great leafy green, and can be used if kale (Tuscan cabbage) isn’t available. Wash the large leaves and roll up before juicing.
Cranberries Rinse and run through juicer. Make sure you juice them with something sweet because these are really tart…not like the commercial cranberry juice you buy in the store!
Cucumbers Cut the cucumber in half and use it to help push leafy greens through your juicer. No need to peel.
Dandelion Juice as you would any other leafy green – wash leaves and roll up. Push through with firmer produce. These have some bite to them, so use sparingly, or round off with a sweet and juicy fruit, like pineapple.
Eggplant I’ve never juiced eggplant and I don’t think I ever will! I think eggplant is best for eating.
Fennel bulbs Rinse and cut them to fit through your juicer and you’ll notice a slight flavor that might remind you of black licorice.
Grapefruit Peel and try to keep as much of the white pith on as possible since the pith contains nutrients that help your body absorb the vitamin C and other amazing antioxidants found in citrus fruits. Cut to fit your juicer and juice. You can keep the seeds in as they contain excellent nutrients too.
Grapes Wash your grapes, remove them from their stems, and add them through your juicer. Experiment with all color grapes.
Jicama Wash, slice, but don’t peel jicama before adding it to your vegetable juicer. The jicama juice will contain nutrients that were near the skin even after the skin’s been pulped away.
Kale (Tuscan cabbage) Use any kind – lacinato, red, green, purple, curly, etc. – and add the leafy green through your juicer after rinsing. It’s best to add 3 – 4 leaves at a time.
Kiwi (Kiwifruit) Peel and run through your juicer, seeds and all.
Leeks Keep the root and the green part on the leek, and slice in half the long way. Gently separate and rinse between the layers. Check for dirt or sand hiding between the layers.
Lemons Peel and try to keep as much of the white pith on as possible since the pith contains nutrients that help your body absorb the vitamin C and other amazing antioxidants found in citrus fruits. Cut to fit your juicer and juice. You can keep the seeds in as they contain excellent nutrients too.
Limes Peel, and try to keep as much as the white pith on as possible (you can use a peeler for that), since the pith contains nutrients that help your body absorb the vitamin C and amazing antioxidants found in citrus fruits. Cut to fit your juicer, and remove the seeds. If you have a centrifugal juicer, you can keep the seeds in. They contain excellent nutrients too.
Mangos Peel and cut spears of mango from the core. Makes a great tropical juice when mixed with pineapple! Also lends a great creamy texture to your juice.
Melons Cut into wedges and remove outer skin with a knife or peeler. You can juice these with seeds.
Mustard greens Juice these like you would any leafy green but definitely choose a small amount of mustard greens. This potent green will give a very strong taste and adds lots of spice. It will literally warm your insides.
Onions Go easy on these, as they can give your juices a super strong flavor. Some people prefer not to juice these at all. Peel papery skin and slice to fit your juicer, if needed. Onions are another one to start with a small amount, taste your juice, and add more if you like it. If eating raw onions bothers your stomach, you probably want to skip juicing them.
Oranges Peel and try to keep as much of the white pith on as possible since the pith contains nutrients that help your body absorb the vitamin C and other amazing antioxidants found in citrus fruits. Cut to fit your juicer and juice. You can keep the seeds in as they contain excellent nutrients too.
Papayas Cut in half and peel the skin. You can leave the seeds in to juice them.
Parsnips These are super easy, like carrots, especially if you have smaller or skinny ones. Just rinse and run through your juicer! If they’re larger, you may need to slice in half lengthwise. Use these to run leafy greens through your juicer.
Peaches Cut in half to remove the pit and juice.
Pears These can be juiced whole. Just wash and slice to fit your juicer, if needed.
Pineapples The heavier a pineapple is, the riper it is. Grab hold of the top and twist off. Slice into quarters, cut out the woody core, peel the skin, and juice.
Plums Wash and slice in half to remove the pit. These give your juice a gorgeous color with an antioxidant punch.
Pomegranate Here’s a trick for this tricky fruit: Fill a bowl up with water. Slice pomegranate in half without pulling the halves apart, and then submerge in the bowl of water to break it apart. This keeps the juice from squirting everywhere. Then, keeping it in the water, break the pomegranate into chunks and tease the seeds out. The white parts will float and the seeds will sink. Remove all the skin and the white parts from the top of the water and use a slotted spoon to remove the seeds. Then juice the seeds!
Radishes Just rinse and run through your juicer. Leave the root and stem on, but remove the leaves if they have any. Watch out! These can spice up your juice in a flash, so add small amounts at a time. If you’re feeling cold, adding these to your juice will warm you right up.
Raspberries Just rinse and juice. Add a little bit of lemon to a juice made with raspberries, or combine them with fresh peaches for a peach melba juice.
Romaine lettuce (Cos) Rinse leaves individually, checking for dirt and sand. Roll the leaves up and run through your juicer. Leafy greens move best through your juicer when followed by a harder fruit or vegetable, like apples, celery or cucumbers.
Scallions Just rinse and juice! No need to remove the roots or dark green parts because you can juice it all. These have a strong flavor, like onions, so start small.
Spinach Wash well because some bunches can have a lot of grit on them. Roll into a ball and run through your juicer using firm produce, like apples or carrots to help push the leaves through.
Squashes This goes for all squashes, including pumpkin and summer squashes: scrub and remove stem. If the skin is really tough and thick, you might want to peel it. Otherwise, slice and keep the seeds in (you get those extra cancer-fighting chemicals by keeping in the seeds), and juice.
Strawberries Delicious and sweet, they have a powerful flavor when you juice them – so just mix them with other berries, or maybe one or two other fruits. Just rinse and pop right in the juicer.
Sugar snap peas Rinse and run through juicer. These don’t have very high water content, so they’re not going to yield a lot of juice. Juice along with carrots to drink your peas and carrots!
Sweet potatoes Scrub and cut into chunks. Sweet potatoes make a delicious dessert juice.
Tangerines Peel and try to keep as much of the white pith on as possible since the pith contains nutrients that help your body absorb the vitamin C and other amazing antioxidants found in citrus fruits. Cut to fit your juicer and juice. You can keep the seeds in as they contain excellent nutrients too.
Tomatoes Wash and remove stem and any leaves. If they’re large, you may need to slice to fit your juicer. No need to take out the seeds. Fresh tomato juice is worlds away from that canned stuff!
Turnips Scrub and chop in chunks to fit your juicer. Turnips in a juice make a great drink for cooler weather when those tropical fruits aren’t in season!
Watermelon Makes an amazingly refreshing juice, especially in hot weather. Cut into wedges and remove the skin and rind. You can keep the seeds in.
Wheatgrass Some juicers are better at doing wheatgrass then others. If you’re just doing a small amount, any kind of juicer should be able to handle it. Rinse the wheatgrass, twist or roll into a ball, and push through with something juicy and firm, like apples. Gives a nice and strong green flavor to your juice, and provides lots of great green chlorophyll energy.
Zucchinis Scrub and cut off stem, but leave the other end on. These are great for pushing through greens.