Got Omega VRT Problems?

Wheatgrass (?) string in my Omega VRT350HD juice

This morning I made a juice with my Omega VRT 350 HD juicer.  I juiced baby spinach, a handful of second growth wheatgrass which was not more than a few inches in length, skinny carrots, yam, cucumber, and a bit of apple.  In addition to the usual huge amount of pulpy particles there was a 1.5 inch fibrous string that I assume to be a piece of wheatgrass (what else could it be?  baby spinach has short tender stems) in my juice.  It was, as the youth used to say, "Gross."

Then I read an anonymous comment asking whether I cut my veggies into pieces, feed them slowly, and rotate the produce (leafy then non-leafy) as I feed.  Yes, yes, and yes, generally.  As I understand the official Omega version of the cut the veggies into pieces, from my contact at Omega, is that too small is not necessarily better.  Other so called experts vary suggestions regarding the size of the produce to feed into the Omega VRT.  It jams if the carrots are over an inch in diameter so... I like to keep the jams to a minimum.  Feed slowly?  I never use the pusher tool.  Slow enough I presume.  Rotate the produce?  If I don't, all I get is wheatgrass foam and maybe finally a bit of juice.  I need to put in a carrot or something else to get the VRT juicer to put out or push out the green juice.  This makes it difficult to accurately measure the amount of green juice produced.  In other words, the green juice does not come through on its own when I just want an ounce of wheatgrass of a couple of ounces of baby spinach.  There appears to be green juice, perhaps in stages of juicing, that requires another firmer fruit or vegetable to push it out.  The Omega VRT I have seems to need the variety of produce to juice most effectively. 

"Anonymous" commenter, why don't you tell me and the other Southwest Desert Blogger readers how small you cut your veggies?  Do you have a VRT350HD?  How do you get one ounce of pure wheatgrass juice without rotating in other produce?  I don't want my wheatgrass mixed with anything else, and I do not want to produce mass quantities of wheatgrass juice.  Just an ounce or two of fresh, pure wheatgrass juice.  Not wheatgrass foam!  Mono-juice; not V8.  

I wanted to get off the complaining about the Omega VRT350HD, but that 1.5 inch string in my uber-pulpy juice this morning chaffed my emotional chaps. Then the anonymous commenter with the standard cut the produce, feed it slowly, rotate... line peeved me.  Are you from Omega?  Do you sell Omega?  Do the Omega sales give dealers more profit than other brands like the other vertical juicer I was talked out of by the dealer?  I suggest "anonymous" teach the Southwest Desert Blogger readers how to deal with the produce and pulp that gets under the auger regularly, how to clean the tiny pulp port and juice exit port, how to get beet and green stains off the parts and tiny areas the cleaning tool does not reach, how to clean the vegetable matter caught in wiper blade assembly.  Should I take the blades out?  Or maybe anonymous can tell me how strings are getting into my juice?  Don't just feed me that old "slow feed and rotate" line.  We are talking about an expensive juicer, not a buffet and square dance.

Is it possible I have received 2 defective VRT350HDs?  Is it possible all the folks who use search terms like "Omega sucks" (not my words mind you) and "Omega ... too much pulp" who find their way to this blog are just not feeding the produce slowly?  If I fed it any slower, I could write a post between additions.  I'll tell you what.  Why don't you get your own blog and laud the virtues of the Omega VRT350HD?  Based on our experience, some of us just think it is a poorly designed, sloppily manufactured, disappointing product for the purpose which we intend it.

I need to get a wisdom tooth extracted.  I would like to drink healthful, nourishing, fresh juices after the extraction, during the time I must avoid hard food, vigorous swishing, brushing, and flossing the extraction area.  However, the juice my Omega VRT350HD produces is too pulpy and stringy.  I would worry that the "pulp", which is actually composed of tiny pebbles of produce, would irritate the healing gum area during the initial sensitive recovery period.  I will use my other juicer, as I do several times per week, to get a clean, pulp-free and string-free juice.  The only good thing about my Omega VRT 350HD: it is a little quieter than my other, 16 year old juicer.  But for me, a pulp-free, string-free juice quality is more important than the noise factor. 

Tried to end on a positive note, really,
Southwest Desert Blogger
C. (c)2012   P.S.  Support this blog and get healthy products using discount code WAL660 for $5 off first purchase at www.iherb.com .  They sell nutritional supplements, raw supplements, raw and organic food such as tahini, coconut oils, energy bars, goji, etc., herbs, teas, organic and natural soap, shampoos, conditioners, skin creams and lotions, cosmetics, dry skin brushes, Madre Labs acai and Cafeceps, soaps such as Dr. Bronner's, raw cacao, organic chia seed, hemp seed, seaweed, nuts, kelp noodles, oils, homeopathics, organic pet food, etc. at discounts.  Orders of $20 or more ship free in US.  They also ship internationally.  Just enter code WAL660 at check out.    Plus, there are helpful product reviews.   And more free:  iherb offers a variety of FREE PRODUCTS to sample, so be sure to select one with your order.
Thanks.

Is Your Drink Green?

Have you ever had a green drink?  No, not a green colored cocktail.  I mean one of those green health smoothies?  I used to do (i.e., drink) wheat grass juice.  It tastes like drinking the front lawn (if you have a front lawn).  I remember waiting on line at a health food store deli counter (do they call it a deli?) and someone ordered a "shot" of wheat grass  juice. The man standing behind me in line was not well versed in the wheat grass culture, so he asked the deli counter worker, "What is a shot of wheat grass?"  The worker explained that he would juice fresh wheat grass and each ounce is a shot (think bar culture).  The man on line said, "Isn't that what my dog eats and barfs up afterwards?"  Yes.  He got the idea.

Often, health foods are an acquired taste.  Sometimes they are downright difficult to stomach.  I asked the organic food co-op produce man why kale is so popular.  It seems like a good way to destroy a salad and why would one add it to a smoothie and risk ruining all the sweet fresh fruit used to disguise the kale?  The coop man said he thinks people just force themselves to eat kale.  He doesn't like it either.

A green drink seems like a good idea 2 days of the year:  St. Patrick's Day and Halloween.  But today I tried a green smoothie.  It is part of the raw food week.  The full recipe calls for 4 bananas.  I just happened to have 4 bananas at the peak of ripeness.  The recipe calls for blueberries.  I just happened to have organic blueberries that actually have some taste to them.  And the recipe calls for spinach.  I have over a pound of spinach and I like it much better than kale.  So all systems were a go.

The recipe I used is a big risk because it makes 4 cups of smoothie. You don't like it and you are stuck with a lot of green goo in a blender.  Bearing that in mind, I judiciously made half the recipe.  I wasn't sure if the amount of spinach in the recipe was loose packed or solid packed cups.  I just added spinach until the nice blue smoothie turned green.  It was a nice shade of green, but a bit ominous.

I poured it into a clear glass cup.  It was green.  It was thick.  I was hungry so I tasted it.  It was good!  I was amazed at how good it was.  It was easy to drink.  I had to slow myself down.  It was downright chugable.  Like Chinese food, about an hour and a half later I wanted more.  So, I made the other half of the recipe, but this time I packed the blender with as much spinach as would fit.

The blender needed help blending the additional quantity of spinach.  I kept turning it off, removing the lid, and mixing the blended fruit with a bit more water or a couple of ice cubes, folding in the spinach, and blending some more.  I did this several times until the blender could mix everything smoothly.  Now, to see whether I overdid the greens.  No.  The smoothie was still so good I finished it all even though I had intended to save a cup for later.

This morning I thought green smoothies were a repulsive concept.  Now I am thinking, "How can I tweak this recipe and make variations on the theme."  Luckily, the bananas in the house will probably not be ripe enough to suit my taste for at least 48 hours.  Otherwise, it would be banana blueberry spinach smoothie again tomorrow.  I think I will add a pinch of cayenne pepper to give it that Southwest zing.  The heat of the cayenne pepper powder will also slow down the consumption of the quart of smoothie.
Cayenne pepper powder is measured in HU (heat units).  I have HU 90.  It is HOT. I add it by the tiny pinch.  I believe there is hotter cayenne pepper powder available.  Be careful with it. This stuff should be R rated.  It is not for everyone.

The half recipe (makes about 2 cups smoothie) for the banana blueberry spinach smoothie is in this FREE smoothie e-Book http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?af=1383344 .  Check the videos at the link to find a video of how to make this and other easy recipes as well as excellent information on health and happiness.  I think you will like it.  I added several ice cubes and less water to my smoothie because it was very nearly 100 degrees here before noon. 

Stay cool.  Stay raw.  Be happy.
(raw now) Southwest Desert Blogger
P.S.  I think the banana blueberry spinach smoothie would look good in a martini glass.  No olives.
C. (c) 2011