My New Juicer

I have been on a health kick recently, trying to incorporate more fruit and vegetables into my diet, food blogging takes it toll on your waistline if you aren't careful, so what better way to consume more goodness than by drinking it.

Behold my new Kenwood AT644 Fruit Press Attachment, to give it it's full title. My reason for buying this attachment and not a stand alone juicer was space, over the years I have bought lots of various appliances (this is not my first juicer!) all of which end up in either the recycling bin or our attic. So with that in mind I decided that this relatively small piece of machinery would be the best for me.

Now when I went looking for some reviews of this product I found very little information out there, even Kenwood itself didn't see fit to promote this as anything more that something to squash a few berries with. So for what it is worth here is my (non sponsored) opinion. This is a very good piece of equipment to have, seeing as you already have the motor in your Kenwood mixer, why not exploit it. The quality of the build is excellent, as you might expect from Kenwood and it is well able to juice much more that a few raspberries!! 

How does it work? Well you attach the juicer to the slow speed outlet (on the front of your machine), then select a low speed and juice. It works by crushing the fruit against the slow moving scroll, perfect they say for wheatgrass and spinach (I've yet to try both of those), this method of slow pressing the fruit and vegetables preserves more vitamins. It is very easy to wash, I usually run each piece under warm soapy water once I'm finished juicing, the filter comes with a special brush to get rid of the stubborn pieces of fruit pulp.

The feed tube is of a acceptable diameter and the whole attachment is very easy to put together or pull asunder as needed. I have been juicing of a while so I thought you'd like to know what it is capable of, although I will sample more recipes on Pinterest as I go.....

Apples
No peeling required, just divided into eight. Push the pieces slowly one at a time through the juicer as they take a little longer to move through the machine.

Carrots
It won't juice fresh carrots, but cooked carrots contain almost as much beta carotene as fresh (just saying!!) and I have juiced those.

Citrus Fruits
Peeled and cut into six to eight pieces. This juicer will really get the very last drop of juice from your citrus fruits, but they tend to cause blockages if juiced in large batches.

Cucumber and Courgette
I prefer to peel the cucumber and I find the skin tastes bitter, cut into chunks and juice. Cut the courgette into chunks and juice.

Celery
Cut into rough chunks and juice.

Melon(s)
Divide into eight wedges, cut off the tough skin, chop into chunks. If the pulp seems a bit wet I sometimes rejuice the pulp to be sure I get the very last drop from it.

Pineapple
Peel and cut out the tough inner core, juice each piece at a time.

Kiwis
Peel and cut in half, they tend to block up the machine in large batches.

Nectarines and Peaches
Quarter and remove the stone, if  the nectarines are very ripe bordering on mushy they will block the filter. But it is worth it, the juice is beautiful and nicer still mixed with some orange juice.

Grapes
Very handy, just wash and juice whole.

One final thought.....
We have been having the most spectacular sunsets this summer, they are tinged with every colour you can imagine, pinks, purples, oranges and menacing grays.  My family laugh at me now when they see me running outside (usually barefooted) with my camera in hand. I have published some of my favourites on Instagram but I thought I should share my top four with you.

Okay one last photo of the sky.....

Dramatic isn't it!
*Not a sponsored post, just my humble opinion.