Problems with the Omega VRT350HD Continue

This morning I tried straining the juice from the Omega VRT350HD vertical juicer.  The 2 ounces of kale juice produced so much foam it nearly covered most of the 5 inch strainer.  I chose to just juice 24 ounces of vegetable juice and strain the juice afterward.  The juice contained kale, carrots, celery, and a small amount of apple and cucumber.  Here are some photos of the results.
Notice the celery strings on the rim of the strainer.
These strings, and more, were in the juice!
There are many more strings in the pulp.

Close-up of pulp after I pushed out much of the juice with the back of a spoon.  Look closely and notice more celery strings throughout the pulp.  This pulp also contains carrot and apple.  The green kale material, which Omega says the 350HD does the best job of juicing, predominates this pulp although it was less than 10 percent of the total juice.

Select Celery Strings in the Omega 350HD juice:  Up to 2 inches long!

 Notice some celery strings from the juice in the photo on the right.  And yes Omega, I did cut the celery into quarters prior to juicing.  This celery was not the most stringy variety I have ever purchased.  It's strings were average.  This would have juiced very well in my 16 year old centrifugal juicer.  The old juicer produced a sweeter, pulp-free juice in less time, with no strings and fewer parts to wash.  Omega's answer to the problem of the large quantity (more than photographed) of strings in the juice:  it might be a defective auger.  This is the second auger!  I will try the third auger when it arrives and let you know whether things improve.  I am developing a new string theory.

So far, my experience with the Omega VRT350HD vertical juicer has been a strain.  And no, this is not pulp fiction.

With apologies for the puns,
Southwest Desert Blogger   P.S.  To support this blog, use discount code WAL660 for $5 off first purchase at www.iherb.com .  They sell nutritional supplements, raw supplements (Garden of Life), raw and organic food such as tahini, coconut oils, energy bars, goji, etc., herbs, teas, organic and natural shampoos, conditioners, skin creams and lotions, cosmetics, dry skin brushes, Madre Labs acai and Cafeceps, organic soaps, raw organic cacao, organic raw chia seed, hemp seed, seaweed, nuts, kelp noodles, oils, homeopathics, organic pet food, etc. at discounts.  Currently, they ship free for US orders of $20 or more.  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. www.iherb.com .  Thanks.

If you want to learn more about the 10 day juice fast (also see my September 2011 posts), the 7 day raw food challenge (see my July 2011 posts), or just want a free eBook with vegan juice and smoothie recipes and informative blog /videos link to:http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?af=1383344
Be happy!
C. (c)2011

Omega VRT350HD Vertical Juicer Update #4 - The Replacement Arrived

The replacement Omega VRT350HD vertical juicer finally arrived.  It has been over 2 weeks since I shipped the original juicer back to the company.  The replacement unit is better than the one I returned; however, it has a couple of features that trouble me.

First, the bowl that attaches to the base of the juicer is very difficult to remove for cleaning.  It is a major effort to rotate it and thus unhinge it from the base.  This is physically difficult to do as the base is smooth and has no grips.  The bowl fits too tightly.  The amount of effort needed to disassemble is unacceptable.

Second, the pulp produced after extracting the juice is, on average, one ounce heavier per 16 ounces of juice produced than my old juicer.  The old juicer, as you recall from previous posts, is 16 years old.  One of the reasons I purchased a new juicer with supposedly "dry" pulp was to get greater efficiency in juicing, i.e., extract more juice from the produce.  I am concerned about the consistently higher weight of the waste pulp as compared to my old juicer.  On average, the weight of the Omega VRT350HD pulp is over 6% more than that of my old juicer, and that does not include any pulp in the actual juice produced by the Omega.  My old juicer produced a juice that was virtually pulp-free.
Six percent may not seem like a lot, but over time, it adds up.  I had hoped the new juicer would be more efficient, not less efficient.  If you try this sort of comparison at home, be sure to include the pulp that remains around the auger and in the pulp ejection port, a very narrow rectangular space 2 inches x 1.25 inches x 1/2 inch.  The pulp tends to get stuck in this narrow space and is a challenge to clean.  The cleaning tool included with the juicer is like a toothbrush with a narrower part on the handle end.  However, the bristle head is too wide to fit into the pulp ejection port so it can only be rinsed with water, not brushed out.  The narrow handle end is not the right size for effective cleaning.  I may have to use a chop stick.

Additionally, there are several parts that are difficult or impossible to clean due to their trapping bits of pulp or becoming stained with juice pigment after each juicing.  The main exit port for the juice, the juice spout, is like a cylindrical pipe.  Normally, one could clean a cylinder large enough for a finger, sponge, or wash cloth.  But, this cylinder has a hard plastic wall dividing the cylinder like a radius dropping down from the top of the cylinder.  This little radius-like wall within the cylinder makes thorough cleaning difficult and cleaning the little "wall" is almost impossible as it is acts as a pigment and particle magnet over time and the diameter of the pipe is not large enough to use the cleaning tool bristles.  It is impossible to easily and effectively clean the narrow space around this small, yet hard to access "wall" using any tool or technique I have tried.  Bad design.  [See post dated 2/8/12]

If the function of the bad design wall is to break down the foam the juicer produces, it is not working in my opinion.  If the bad design wall has any other function, I cannot figure out what it is.  Bottom line:  it is impossible to quickly or effectively clean the juice exit port because of this bad design wall, thus there will be additional particle and pigment build up.  Is this healthy?

Is the Omega VRT350HD vertical juicer worth the money?  This is a highly subjective question.  Personally, I expect better design and function for the price.  After all, it is just plastic parts with a motor.  Also, there are other parts that are difficult to efficiently clean due to particles getting caught in poorly engineered fittings such as the auto cleaning brush fitting.  The auto cleaning "brushes" are just rubber-like windshield wipers that wipe the pulp strainer baskets.  Good idea, but the wiper material stains after the first use juicing pigmented vegetables such as carrot, and will stain after each such use. Juice material including pulp gets lodged in the crevices where the "brushes" are attached to the plastic.  This organic juice matter builds up over time and the cleaning tool does not dislodge it effectively.  There are no instructions for use of a special cleaning product except "Do not use metal sponge . . ." and "Do not use dishwasher to clean."  I use a biodegradable liquid soap.  It does not remove all the pigment stains but does lessen the pigment deposits on the juice bowl.  Note I said reduce, not totally remove the pigment stains.  Thus, they will build up over time and form a patina.  There are too many little places that produce material gets lodged and stuck, and no tool can clean.

The replacement Omega VRT350HD juicer produces less pulp in the juice than the Omega VRT350HD I returned.  It produces a juice that is like the most pulpy orange juice, but with some, how to describe it, chunkier style pulp -- little chunks of carrot, etc.  Today I got a string of celery in my juice that was nearly an inch long.  This was not pleasing.  And as I have described in previous posts, the strings of celery or wheatgrass tend to get packed into the pulp ejection port area and can be time consuming to dislodge.  Note that I cut my celery into lengths half as long as Omega recommended to me (although their suggestions have varied from person to person), put all produce into the juicer slowly, and almost never use the pusher.  I have been using the smallest carrots I can find.  Although they are not baby carrots, the largest carrot diameter, at its widest, is 1/2 inch.  Nevertheless, the Omega 350HD jammed and had to be put into reverse to clear the jam.  Come on Omega, a one-half inch diameter carrot!  What's the problem with your product?

Am I totally satisfied with the Omega VRT350HD juicer?  In a word, no.

Added Dec. 17, 2011:  photos of sample of strings, etc. from today's baby spinach and carrot juice.  I have had strings as long as 2 inches in the Omega VRT350HD juice since the original post!  Not pleasant to fish a 2 inch string out of one's throat! 

This gives you the size of the strings in inches.  The photo on the left has added material from the juice.  This is just a small sample and does not include the chunks of "pulp" which are ever present in Omega VRT350HD juice.  There are several other reviews of this juicer in my blog.

Thinking of a way to grow and juice enough wheatgrass to make the Omega VRT350HD worth it,  but juicing the wheatgrass just produces too much foam!
I AM
Southwest Desert Blogger
C. (c)2011   P.S. Support this blog by 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 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.  Currently, they ship free for US orders of $20 or more.  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.  www.iherb.com .  Thanks.
 Also: a free eBook with vegan juice and smoothie recipes and informative blog /videos (recommended by Southwest Desert Blogger) at this link:
http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?af=1383344

Fallen Vegetarians

Day 14 of no coffee.  Day 10 raw food vegan.  It is a comfortable 97 degrees outside with humidity up to 19 percent.  Been so dry I had to water the patio plants today.  Maybe it'll rain on Friday.

I read some interesting information on Dr. Mercola's website:  Most vegetarians are female.  Most of them laps after an average of 9 years of vegetarianism.  This pool of fallen vegetarians outnumbers current practicing vegetarians 3 to one!  They may fall off the vegetable wagon and board the meat truck for reasons such as declining health, cravings for meat, social pressure, etc. Bottom line: 75 percent of vegetarians fall off the wagon, i.e., they are former vegetarians.

They have traded wheat grass for grass fed beef.  Some are just chowing down on commercial greasy burgers and fries, ribs, filet mignon, rib eye, sirloin, bacon cheese burgers, pork chops, ham, you name it.  They crave it.  But I digress.

Back to the website article:  If you want to ensure that your cattle were grass-fed, look for the "USDA Process Verified" label.  That means they were not fed any grain or grain by-products, except for perhaps cow milk, until slaughter.  Apparently that USDA certification is pricey, so many small farmers / ranchers cannot afford it.  There may be some nice grass fed beef in the butcher shop that simply lacks certification.  Tough decision-making for those fallen vegetarians, omnivores, and carnivores -- save a buck or buy USDA certified?

It is not clear whether that USDA grass-fed beef has antibiotics or hormones.  But at least the cattle got to eat grass and hopefully enjoy some nice outdoor grazing in a pastoral environment.  I suppose if demand increases, they will create the grass-fed feed lot.  The concept boggles my mind.

I do not crave meat.  I am thinking about whether I have enough greens in the fridge to get me through tomorrow.  That head of butter lettuce might not be big enough, but I have a good supply of organic celery to fall back on.  I also have cucumbers, carrots, mangoes, nectarines, beets, a green bell pepper, ginger from Hawaii, bananas, blueberries, apples, almonds, one little avocado, and a handful of cherries. What have you got?  Got beef?

Raw veganly yours,
Southwest Desert Blogger
C. (c)2011  P.S. check out this excellent link for raw vegan info, FREE smoothie recipes e-Book, videos, and a super 7 Day Raw Food Challenge and 10 Day Juice Feast.  I have learned so much from this info. 
  http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?af=1383344

Got Greens?

Did you ever crave greens so badly that you had to make a special trip to the store just to get them?  I have had craving for ice cream, chocolate, cookies, a glass of wine, bread, pizza, pasta, some very ripe, sweet fruit, but today, for the first time, I had a craving for greens.  I did not care whether it was a dark green romaine lettuce, chard, spinach . . . it just had to be green.  The cucumbers in the fridge would not satisfy the craving.  I had to make a trip to the store.

I bought 2 bunches of organic celery, one huge dark green head of organic romaine lettuce, and organic beet greens.  I had to go to two different stores to get the quality I wanted.  Wilted romaine or beet greens would not do.  I went home and juiced up the beet greens with some beet root, carrot, apple, and cucumber (all organic save the cucumber which was washed and peeled).  Ahhhhh, the craving was satisfied.

Three hours later I wanted more greens.  It was afternoon and a hot 97 degrees with monsoon humidity.  I mixed up a batch of the banana blueberry smoothie* (FREE smoothie recipe e-Book link at the end of this post) and added as much romaine as I could fit into the blender.  The bananas were cut into 1/4 inch slices and previously frozen.  I had to add extra water to get the whole thing to mix.  See the recipe in previous blog.  I also blended in a few ice cubes; crushed ice would be even better.  The result was a thick, cold product that resembled the $7 smoothies at the smoothie shop.  The smoothie shop will top their smoothies with granola.  I topped mine with hemp seeds which give it a nice texture and taste.  I have also topped smoothies with chia seeds which give a bit more crunch.  Both these seeds are said to have good essential fatty acids such as Omega 3, and protein.  The smoothie works with mango instead of, or in addition to blueberries, but the mango I bought was not organic and had a chemical taste.  There are inorganic mangoes that are better than the ones I had, I just did not want to go to a third store. 

I am not going to accept any of that chemical tasting food.  I put the offending mango in a plastic bag and into the refrigerator.  I will return it to the store.  While I am at the store, I will look for more greens.

Still 100% raw vegan,
Southwest Desert Blogger
*P.S. get easy, delicious, FREE juice and smoothie recipes e-Book, videos, and info on the life changing 7 Day Raw Food Challenge I completed, link here:  http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?af=1383344  Have a healthy, happy day. C.
C. (c)2011