Is juicing still an "in" thing? I tend to miss the bus with such things so for the purpose of me feeling all hip and trendy for a change, I'll say yes, it's as "in" as it gets. On our last anniversary my brother sent us some Amazon vouchers so like a pair of kids with a big pile of er Amazon vouchers we headed off for, you guessed it Amazon.co.uk to look for something to buy.

We ignored the usual CDs, DVDs and books, as we wanted a juicer. Why? It was because we're really hip and trendy. Well actually friends and family had them and we felt really left out. It wasn't a case of keeping up with the Jones' though. The reason was we wanted to eat healthier, get more vitamins and minerals and the aforementioned friends and family said this was the way to do it. Not to mention all those infommercials on satellite TV that say you'll become the new Bionic Man if you juice. That appealed to me a lot and I started looking at things I could bend, and pictured leaving dust trails as I ran up the road. I'm pretty sure my wife would be pleased having a bionic man around too.

Our choice of juicer was dictated by one thing, money. In the past we wanted one of those fancy Jack Lalanne ones but at £120 they were way out of our price range. We had about £30 to spend and weren't too confident that we could get anything up to the task. Making a Bionic Man takes a lot of fruit and veg. So with our £30 budget we searched the Amazon site. We made a short list of three, which included the Russell Hobbs 10227-10 Juicelady Junior, the Kenwood JE550 Electronic Juicer and another Kenwood whose name must have been so uninteresting I've forgotten it. We looked up reviews of all three but they didn't help us make a final choice as they all had pros and cons. In the end we went with the Juice Lady 10227 as it had by far the most powerful motor of the three so should make easy going of whatever we threw at it. The order went off and we waited patiently, stockpiling fruit and vegetables, concocting all sorts of weird and wonderful recipes such as apple and orange..

The package arrived a short time later and we pushed through the piles of fruit and vegetables (difficult as I wasn't bionic yet) to get to the box. It was hurriedly opened and the Juice Lady set up. This was a simple process involving removing some plastic bags and cardboard packaging from in and around the machine. I didn't read the manual because a: blokes don't do that and b: there was a woman present to do the tricky stuff. I needn't have worried, as it was all very straightforward.

With "Junior" in the name we were a bit concerned whether it could juice for a small family. You have to be careful reading that. However the larger than average motor was reassuring and any worries were unfounded. The main base feels nicely weighted and houses the 400W motor. The other parts just stack on top. A plastic housing is placed on first, which contains a spout at one end where the juice exits and the lower half of a "tunnel" where the pulp goes, at the other end. A combined stainless steel shredder and sieve sits in that. Then a smoked plastic top fits over the top to finish it off. If it was a Meccano set I'd feel cheated but it wasn't so I'm happy. The smoked plastic top has the top half of the pulp "tunnel" which faces downwards. Two latches come up from the base and clip the top down securely. It all feels sturdy and strong at this point. A separate collector then sits under the previously mentioned tunnel outlet to catch the pulp. This collector is included. It is shaped to fit close to the main unit but it does not attach. A jug or glass needs to be placed under the spout to collect the juice. This is not included. It's worth noting that when the side latches are not locked to the top they hang rather limply at the sides and feel a bit flimsy. If you caught them inadvertently or dropped something on them they might break although I hope not to put that to the test. I haven't seen many other juicers so can't really say if it's super compact but I would guess it's slightly larger than average. I'll see if I can find the manual for the actual dimensions or failing that I will measure it and add the information. Overall the design is similar to other juicers but not as neat as those where the juice collector and pulp catcher all clip in rather than sit beside the main unit.

Right, on to use. Pulp collector and jug in place. Apples, oranges, carrots, kiwi, pears, there are all sorts here, everything you need to make a bionic man. Larger items such as apples need to be cut up to fit the feed chute, or "fruit lumps and vegetable obliterating unified reactor system" (FLAVOURS) as I like to call it. If you're going to be bionic you have to have your acronyms. Other items such as carrots can go in whole. A food plunger is supplied so you don't get anywhere near the sharp bits. The on/off switch, like the latches on the side, feels a bit loose and flimsy but works ok and time will tell if it is robust enough over the life of the machine. Switched on the machine is not too loud, you don't have to raise your voice if talking to someone in the same room for example but it's not whisper quiet. There are no power settings, you switch it on and that's it.

In action it makes short work of even the toughest vegetables; a large carrot for example is gone in a second or two, apples don't stand a chance and for this reason softer fruits always seem to hide in the bottom of the fruit bowl. Bananas are a no go though as they apparently just clog things up. I recommend eating a banana while juicing so they don't think they've gotten off the hook. It will happily juice citrus fruits so no need for a separate orange juicer. The pulp gets deposited safely in the large pulp collector, which although being separate from the machine sits pretty snugly against the main unit and has rubber feet so doesn't move around much. It is however a fraction bigger than the pulp chute that overhangs it so there is a slight gap around the edge of the collector. As such with each piece of fruit that goes in you get a slight rush of fruit mist escaping through the gap. The mist doesn't make any mess and no doubt adds to the pleasant aroma permeating the kitchen at this point. The pulp bin is a good size and I don't think I've filled it in a session making juice for three or four people. The pulp is generally quite dry so most of the juice must end up in the jug. I have noticed on occasion that the orange pulp hasn't been as dry as say the apple or carrot and if that happens I put it back in.

The juice is quite thick. We're not talking smoothie thick here but it has a heavy consistency, not unlike some orange juices you can buy. However as the juice empties into the jug it settles as you continue to work, so you get a clear light juice on the bottom with froth on top. I just mix it all up and pour into glasses. You could use a gravy jug instead though and pour off the clear lighter juice if that is the way you like it. Personally I like it either way so I just mix it up. That way you get a bit more volume as well as keeping a little bit of the roughage, which is lost in the main pulp. The juice is superb. It tastes wonderfully fresh and can really give you a zingy feeling in the mouth. Something as simple as apple and carrot is delicious. Don't be frightened to try a bit of everything though; kiwi, mango, pineapple whatever. I found papaya made a good base for other fruits and with each glass I could tell I was getting better, stronger, faster than I was before.

I'm a guy. We aren't renowned for our cleaning skills. I don't know if it's the bionic side of me kicking in or not but the Juice Lady is easy to clean…as long as you clean it soon after use. There's plenty of pulp that gets lodged inside its nooks and crannies. If you let that dry it would be tricky to remove but do it reasonably soon after use and it's easy. Just unclip the plastic bits and rinse them under a cold tap. A wipe down with a soft sponge and you're nearly done. The metal shredder/sieve takes a bit more time but is easy too. Just hold it under a running cold tap and use a bottlebrush on it. Remember it has sharp bits! A few minutes and it's sparkling. The removable bits are allegedly dishwasher safe but that seems like overkill to me. The base unit itself doesn't get very dirty but if needed a wipe with a bit of dry kitchen roll should have it spick and span and ready for the nest use. Carrot can stain the brilliant white plastic so don't try to remove that or you'll just wear the plastic and yourself out.

If you are juicing everyday it can be pricey so we both keep an eye out for fruit and vegetables on offer. Lidl do a very good range and often do half price days so stock up then.

Right, time to bend something. Nananananananana.