Omega VRT350 Slow Masticating Juicer

I bought this as a gift to my girlfriend who has the world's worst eating habits (she used to eat only once a day, ~1000cal/day). She was always on the go and never had time to prepare meals. Like many others, I saw the documentary about the fella who started juicing raw foods and the dramatic results on his health. I was a skeptic, but splurged and bought her this unit out of love and a healthy dose of concern for her well-being. Many months later, we're still juicing daily. I have quit drinking coffee entirely (I used to consume about 16oz of cuban coffee daily). My first meal in the morning is a tall glass of fresh green juice with some fruits added for my desired level of sweetness. I provides me a quick meal and gives me good energy through to lunch. As for my significant other... She's juicing daily. Consuming quality, nutrient dense raw foods and she has noticed the effects in her practice. She's a Yoga teacher, who practices and teaches almost daily in a heated room so she goes through a lot of mineral and electrolyte loss. The juices have help keep her slim, toned, hydrated and pumped with energy. As long as one has a good source for their produce, the cost isn't overbearing. I will not shop at my corner supermarket because the quality is inferior and far overpriced. However, I have a smaller, local store with better prices, organic selections and it does not break the bank. All my skepticism is gone. I do not replace all my meals with juice - I'm a foody and won't give certain things up. But I do replace one or sometimes two meals a day with a good, nutrient filled juice. I like it less pulpy so I use the finer strainer. My girl likes it with a little more pulp, so she'll "hand-select" the pulp she wants from the ejection chute and put it back into her drink. Tips we've used along the way that might benefit others: * Run some water through your juicer when you juice greens to get "every little bit of green goodness" into your glass. Yes, it will dilute your juice to some extent, but you don't have to run a lot of water through it and your overall yield will be greater. We found that sometimes greens and their juices get "backed up" in the filter and take a while to filter down into the cup. Adding a few ounces of water helps move things along. * Start small. We were a little overzealous in the beginning and added anywhere from 10-12 different items in our first attempts at juicing. Some were outright nasty. Start with 3-4 ingredients and add things slowly. Eventually, you'll find what works for you. There are lots of free recipes out there - the internet is a great resource. * Juice as a family. Yes, really. I started doing all the juicing alone in the beginning. Then, I had to work for a few days and my girl didn't know the first thing on how to juice. She went through the same trials and tribulations (and wasted food) that I did in the beginning. Save each other the trouble and expense and go through this process together. It can actually be fun. * Make more juice than you need. Cleanup is not difficult and does not take very long. However, I personally don't want to sit over the juicer every time I need juice. We make about 4-6 cups of juice at a time and bottle the rest in a mason jar to use over the next 24hrs. Juice quality is just as good as when you made it and you save yourself the trouble if you find yourself needing a snack throughout the day. Hope this helps someone and rest assured that the VRT350 is a phenomenal unit that will provide great results. I bought my mother a unit for her birthday and now she's using it daily too.