There is a lot of discussion about what you can juice, but it’s just as important to know what not to juice. After buying a juicer, it’s going to be vital to know. So, what can you not put in a juicer that you might think you can?
Well, lucky you I’ve actually done an entire blog post about that topic. And it’s all right here with nice photo illustations.
Some of these items are going to be a hard pass. That means that you can’t and shouldn’t juice them no matter what.
Other items on this list I wanted to include because while you can not put them in a juicer as a rule, there are some workarounds. So they are in the gray area.
Finally, at the bottom of the article I am going to cover some of the misconceptions that people have about what you can and can not put into a juicer. Because there are some items that you actually can put into a juicer that people for some reason continute to say you can’t.
Table of Contents
Avacado’s
So the reaosn that you would not want to juice an avacado is that the flesh is too soft. I wrote an entire article detailing this. You can read it by clicking here: Can You Juice an Avacado?
The reason that fruit deserves it’s own entire article is that so many people are rightfull enthused about avadados. They want avacado this and avacado that. However, you really shouldn’t try avacado juice.
Avacado’s have a really high fat content. This is great, because it’s a healthy fat. One of the reasons so many people on the keto diet like avacado’s is that they give you a health ammount of saturated fat. Saturated fat is necessary for proper hormone production, so it’s important.
However, the fatty nature of the avacado make it impossible to juice. So, stick to avacado in salads, on toast, or in your smoothie.
Coconut
Coconuts are sort of similar to avacado’s. They have a high fat content, so it’s not a great idea to run them through your juicer.
That photo above shows you cocont water. That’s not the same thing as juice. And the cool thing about cocont water is that you don’t need a machine to get it. If you have a whole coconut, the water is inside. All you have to do is crack open the coconut and you will get the coconut water out.
You can also buy a brand like Zico or one of the other brands, but I always say to try and stick to fresh and real foods. Anything that is packaged is going to have less nutrients than a real produt.
My suggestion is, if you’re looking to add a coconut flavor to your juce, then try adding coconut water afterwards. Many people take wheatgrass and add it to coconut water. Or you can take coconut water and add it to a fruit juice. Coconut water is rich in minerals, so it’s a great combo.
Bananas
Following up on things I’ve covered before, the banana is something you can’t juice. I covered this in my article: Can you Juice a Banana?
The reason you cannot juice a banana is a bit different than the reason for coconuts and avacaodos. For bananas, it’s more of the soft texture of the fruit. It doesn’t have the same ammount of fat as coconuts or avocados.
The issue with bananas is that if you do put them into a juicer, you’re not going to get anything resembling juice. You’re just going to end up with some mushed banana.
I suggest that you stick to using bananas in smoothies, and not juices.
As a side note: If you do want to use a juicer to make something with your bananas, then you should look into making nicecream. It’s that fake sort of ice cream that can be made using berries or other fruit. As long as you have an auger juicer, you can do it no problem.
Berries
Everyone loves berries, right? They taste great, look beautiful, and are super healthy! However, they are not really suited to putting in a juicer.
If you try and put berries into a juicer, then you’re going to end up with quite a mess. That’s because berries, like other soft fruit, just isn’t a great thing to put in a juicer.
You won’t get much juice but instead what you will get is a lot of soft, mushy, and wet pulp.
That’s why I like to either eat berries in a fruit salad or use them in a smoothie.
The only way that you can use berries with a juicer is if you have a masticating juicer and are using the attahment meant to make fruit puree.
In that case, what you can make is a frozen berry dessert. It’s like nicecream in that it’s made with just berries (completely vegan). The berries get pureed and the juicer empties it out slowly so you can put it in a container to freeze. It’s actually easier to puree berries in a masticating juicer than in a blender because blenders require so much material to blend efficently.
For instance, if you have a cup of raspberries and want to puree them, it is better to use a masticating juicer with the puree attachment. A blender won’t be efficent since a cup is not enough material. You would have to add ice, milk, coconut water or something else and that would dilute the flavor.
Eggplant
It almost never comes up because people seem to instinctively know not to juice egglants, but just for the heck it it, I wanted to add it to the list.
An eggplant isn’t really a high moisture fruit and if you juice it, you are going to lose out on a lot of nutrients.
But a more important reason is that eggplant isn’t healthy eaten raw. It contains something called phenolic acids. When you cook eggplant, this is broken down. But if you drink raw eggplant, it’s there.
Listen, there is a reason that you never see raw eggplant on a menu anywhere. Stick to baking it with toamtos or adding it to pasta. It makes a wonderful cooked meal.
Potatos
So this one is a bit contraversial. Most people are not going to want to juice a raw potato, but once you get serious about juicing you might get curious.
The common misconception is that raw potatos are poisionos. That’s not true compltetly. Raw potatos (and even potatos with “Green” on them) can contain solanine. This chemical is toxic. You shoudln’t even eat cooked potatos that have that green on them.
But there are people who have been drinking raw potato juice and they claim no ill effects. In fact, they like it. I do note that they all say to remove the skin and never juice any part of the potato that has green on it.
I am still an advocate of cooking potatos. There is an intersting article in Smithsonian that I will link to at the bottom. It covers how the potato, eggplant and other nightshade vegetables have this insidious chemical. The chemical (solanine) is actually part of the potatos defense against creatures. So it is meant to fight them off! Stick to eating cooked potatos and remove any of the green!
Mango’s
Mango’s are delicious but they are not really something you can juice. It’s the same reason that you should steer clear of juicing berries. It’s the soft, mushy texture of a mango.
You can juice underripe mango’s, but I would just suggest you wait until the mango is ripe and then eat it or add it to a smoothie.
The problem with juicing a mango is that too much of the liquid is going to be in the plup. Mango’s done have a dry pulp like leafy greens, celery, apples, pineapples, citrus and other things.
Simple stick to eating sliced raw mango or adding it to a smoothie. If you really like te flavor or mango, and want to add it to your fruit juices, then go ahead, but I wouldn’t advise making straight mango juice since so much of that mango pulp is wasted.
Peaches
Similar to mangos in texture, the peach is a wonderful fruit and one that I love to eat. I just don’t juice peaches. It’s not something that you can get much juice out of. Even though peaches are super juicy, they do best eaten whole or baked in pies or added to a smoothie.
Again, you can make a peach puree with your juicer if you use the puree attachment, but I would not try and juice a peach. You will end up with a small ammount of peach juice and a lot of pulp left over that shouldn’t be tossed.
Also, if you see recipes for peach nectar, be warned that most of them are peach juice, pulp, and sugar. If you like that sort of thing, but want a healthier alternatie, I would suggest trying to juice overripe peaches. Then take the pulp and press it through a strainer to squeeze out more juice.
I don’t reccomend running pulp through a machine multiple times.
Squash
Squash, and pumpkins, are all fruits but they shouldn’t be juiced. They are not going to yeild much jucie and more than that, they aren’t as flavorful.
Some people like pumpkin flavor and might want to add that to their juice. Well, in most cases, when you think of pumpkin flavor, what you’re thinking of is the spices that are often combined with the pumpkin. These spices include: cloves, ginger, nutmet, cinnamon. You can get a shaker of oragnic pumpkin pie spice and add it to your juice. This works really well with carrot juice to give it a pumpkin like taste!
Pineapple Skins
Everyone who has a juicer has come up against the dreaded pineapple skin. It’s like armour, it’s so indestuctable that people have named weapons after it! But can you juice that dreaded pineapple skin?
Well, it’s another one of those questions that are so common that I ended up writing an entire article on it entitled Can You Juice a Pineapple with the Skin On.
The takeaway from that was a clear NO. There is no reason to juice pineapple skin. No matter what some random says. I don’t think you should. The skin is simply too tough and there is nothing in it that’s worth your time.
There have been a recent flood of videos on postings on social media where people will attempt to juice things that shouldn’t be juiced (pineapple skins, eggplants, pumpkins, etc…) but this one stands out.
Why? Because juicing a pinepple with the skin on it can actually break your juicer. So DON’T DO IT.
For more on what you can put in a juicer look here!
Notes and Sources:
Hi there everyone!
My names Jason (Jay for short). You can find out more about me and why I started this website here.
Stay healthy and I hope you enjoy the information!