Welcome To Foodie Friday - Get Your 5 Day and More With The Philips Avance Collection Juicer

After all the hype, the cheers and the tears London 2012 is over, we've still got the Paralympics to come, and yet more reasons to be proud of our amazing country but the summer of sport is nearly over, the premier league football season kicks off this weekend, and then we're heading into autumn and winter - boo.

I have to admit that I watched a lot more of the Olympics than I intended too, it was really hard not to get sucked in to the enthusiasm of the nation, and of course it was harder still not to drool over Jessica Ennis' amazing abs! The closest I got to the Olympics this year though was eating a chocolate Wenlock, as yum as it was, I really don't think it helped me on my quest for that amazing physique.

Whilst Jessica's abs are far beyond mere mortals like me who can't train for hours a day, I have been making a conscious effort to eat more healthily, well on most days anyways. I'm fed up of diets and beating myself up for eating naughty things, so I've just decided to watch what I eat a bit and try and eat more fruit and veg. Yes I'm a vegetarian but I admit that there are days when I don't eat my 5 a day. I'll happily eat veg with my dinner, or the odd banana or nectarine as a snack, and I love all types of berries and I also love fresh orange and apple juice, but I'm not one of those people who would sit down and religiously eat an apple or an orange everyday.

The lovely people at Philips must have heard the inner workings of my mind, "how can I integrate more fruit and veg into my diet?" - juice them of course :)

Just over a fortnight  ago I received a fabulous parcel on behalf of electronic giants Philips, containing 3 fabulous gadgets to help me get set for summer. One of the items I received was the Philips  Avance White HR1869 Juicer.

I have to say I've wanted a juice extractor for ever - some relatives got one a while ago and I loved the idea of being able to have fresh fruit juice on tap so I was delighted to receive this one to try out.

The Avance Collection  is Philips premier range of juice extractors. The model I received the HR1869 features a 700 watt motor, 2 speed settings and an extra large feeding tube meaning you can juice whole fruits and vegetables. The juicer comes with an instruction manual and a quick start guide printed on the box, making it pretty easy to set up. You also get a plastic jug and a lid meaning your can store your fresh juices in the fridge.

I also received 3 special recipes written by juicing expert Jason Vale to get me started on my juicing adventure. The lovely people on behalf of Philips also sent a bagful of yummy fresh fruit, herbs, spice and vegetables to make them with, they were so yummy I thought I'd share them with you - each recipe roughly makes enough for 1 glass x

Summer Slimmer

1 Pink Lady Apple

1/4 Medium Cucumber

1 Stick Celery

3cm Piece Raw Ginger Root

1 Small Handful Ice Cubes

Put all the ingredients bar the ice in the juicer and turn it on - simples - serve over lots of ice :)

This recipe was definitely was one of my favourites - it was really refreshing, and the ginger gave it a lovely warming kick :) - the ice isn't essential but I do think it would make it even more refreshing. As you can see from my pics all the ingredients went in the feed tube of the juicer, whole and skin on - fabulously quick and easy - obviously if you already have a juicer you'll know whether it can take whole fruit and veg, but this one definitely can even on the slowest speed it had no problem with the ingredients. It's fascinating to see what's left over in the pulp collector, and how dry it is, which really shows you how much juice has been removed

I have to say Avance Juicer is pretty easy to clean out and take apart the only bit that takes a bit of effort is the actually blade area, but I found that soaking it all the washable parts as soon as I'd finished juicing made a real difference.

Summer Lovin

1 Pink Lady Apple

1 Medium Pear 

1 Small Parsnip

1 Handful Of Fresh Mint Leaves

1 Small Handful Of Ice Cubes

Put the pear and the parsnip in the feeder tube followed by the mint, then the apple, juice and again pour over ice

This was another yummy refreshing juice the mint and the fruit dominated, and you couldn't really taste the parsnip till afterwards if you know what I mean ;) The good thing about these juices is that you can alter the ingredients and amounts for personal taste, I preferred this with slightly less mint, Mummy Lou liked it with a bit more.

Olympic Strength

2 Golden Delicious Apples

1/2 Bulb Raw Beetroot

1 Large Handful Spinach

1/3 Lemon Peeled

1 Small Handful Of Ice Cubes

Put one apple followed by the beetroot, the washed spinach and then the lemon followed by the second apple in to the feeding tube, then juice, and pour over ice.

Now eagle eyed readers will notice that the beetroot in my photograph isn't raw, no well I was accidentally sent fresh pickled beetroot. Still I gave it ago and be all accounts it wasn't bad, pretty tangy but refreshing all the same. Unfortunately I couldn't find any raw beetroot in the supermarket so I got a packet of boiled beetroot with no vinegar and I have to say the juice was much nicer there was a lot more sweetness in it compared to the attempt with pickled beetroot. Mummy Lou actually liked both versions and this was definitely her favourite of the 3.

Although you won't get these recipes with yours, if you buy the Philips Avance Juicer  you get a free recipe book in the box "The Funky Fresh Juice Book, by "Juicemaster" Jason Vale, the book is really brilliant for juicing newbies, it tells you all about juicing for health, all about the best products to juice, and it contains loads of recipes for fresh fruit and vegetable juices and even for smoothies. I've tried quite a few recipes from the book already and my favourites are Orange, Carrot, Mint and Ginger, A Taste Of Florida, Juice Master's World Famous Lemon....Aid, and OJ With A Kick.

I have to say I love this machine with a passion, it's one of those things I really wish that I'd had in my life sooner. My fruit and veg consumption has improved a 100% and I've really enjoyed trying out new juice combinations. It may seem odd to juice fruit and vegetables together but I can honestly say it works. The juices are really refreshing, thirst quenching, and dare I say it filling. It's not like drinking a normal drink these juices honestly leave you feeling a bit fuller. I've even managed to lose weight for the past 3 weeks without even trying. The one downside, increased expenditure on fruit and veg - why on earth is healthy stuff more expensive than junk food? Strange times indeed but it's not going to stop me I'm now a juicing convert, yes this is an invest piece but in my opinion it's well worth it.

The Philips Avance HR1869 White Juicer retails at around £149 from Juicemaster, the silver version is also available from various retailers including Argos for around £199. Have you ever tried juicing? How do you make sure you get your five a day? Let me know in the comments. Oh and just a heads up, after reading the lovely Shannon's blog and Lipglossiping's recent food post I've decided to do a regular post every Friday on something like this - a food related post entitled Foodie Friday :) It could be a recipe, a review or even just on what I've eaten that day. If there is any type of post that you'd like to see on Foodie Friday let me know, I'd love to hear your suggestions x

(The Philips Avance HR1869 White Juicer And All The Fruit And Vegetables Featured In This Post Bar The Parsnip Were Provided For Review / Promotional Purposes)