Rethink Juicer Pulp: It's Fuel Your Body

The grocery store knows what the beginning of the year is all about. The carefully placed green juice displays. Gallons of apple cider vinegar on sale. Recipes for vegetarian dinners next to the coupon circulars. Inspiration is strong to fill up your shopping cart with a rainbow of vegetables for juicing. Nothing quite as satisfying as making your own cold pressed juice at home.

Kale, spinach, you name it, down the shoot they go to extract those fortifying raw juices. Cleaning up I wonder, “shouldn’t I be doing something with this vegetable pulp?” Something seems wrong about putting it all down the garbage disposal. The juice may be gone, but all the fiber and nutrition still remains after you extract all the juice goodness. 

We’ve learned vegetable skin can sometimes be the most nutritious part of our foods. Yet, we’re throwing away all those vitamins and minerals because they’ve moved over into the waste bin after juicing. It’s a mater of changing the way we think about juice pulp. We don’t throw away leftovers from a homemade dinner. We end up adding them to our salad bowls the next day. Let’s do the same with vegetable pulp.

Yes, I know, there’s something about these mushy mounds of colors. Scooping them out they’re just a little “wet,” is the only way to describe them. Repeat to yourself, “Vitamins and minerals. Vitamins and minerals.” Throw your leftover vegetable pulp into storage container, and into the fridge, if you feel a culinary adventure happening soon. If the weekends are more your speed, you can also freeze it to make some creations later on.

Now the fun part, what to do this pulp? There’s actually an infinity of options when you start thinking of your vegetable pulp as an ingredient for healthy cooking and baking. You’ll also be saving money when you realize you have the food base to make those non processed, non refined snacks in your own kitchen like, 

Juice Pulp Crackers

Ingredients

• 3 cups Pulp
• 1/2 cup Flax Meal
• 1/2 cup Almond Flour
• 1 cup Water

Stir all of the ingredients together then spread the mixture evenly on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 40 minutes. Cut the crackers apart and enjoy.

Juice Pulp Fruit Leather

Spread your juicer pulp out evenly on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with any type of spices you wish. Bake at 150 degrees Fahrenheit for 3-4 hours, or until the fruit leather is completely dried and pliable. Cut the finished product into strips and enjoy.

Yum, right? All you have to do is save and separate your pulp from the days you made those fruit juices and vegetable heavy concoctions. Your juicer pulp can also become the base for cooking your quinoa or couscous because you can also make your own vegetable broth. No msg, no chemicals. Just the simple, nutritious, and ingredients you can pronounce ready to go with,

Juice Pulp Veggie Broth

• 2 cups Vegetable Pulp
• 8 cups Water
• 2 cloves Garlic, minced
• 1 stalk Celery, chopped
• 2 teaspoon Pepper
• 2 teaspoon Salt 

Bring all of the ingredients to a boil, cover and simmer for 2 hours. Strain the broth through a colander. Store in air tight containers in your refrigerator or freezer.

So simple, flavorful, and the best part, good for you. We juice fresh fruits and vegetables because they are full of vitamins and minerals. We might not have time to juice everyday, but we can get the same benefits everyday if we realize juicer pulp is an ingredient, not waste. The “meat and potatoes” way of life is changing with research continually showing this is not the way to a long, healthy life.

The hashtag #meatlessmonday has millions of posts because doctors, animal lovers, and environmentalist realize consuming red meat has several negative effects. Make your own contribution towards this effort, while combining your newfound love of juice pulp. Make it the center piece of your next meal. 

Juice Pulp Veggie Meatballs

• 1/2 Red Pepper, diced
• 1 Zucchini, shredded
• 2 cloves Garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon Parsley
• 3/4 tablespoon Italian Seasoning
• 2 cups Veggie Pulp

Sauté the veggies over medium heat until they are soft. Next, mix the veggie pulp with the sautéed vegetables, and the remaining ingredients. Form the dough into balls. Bake the veggie balls for 15 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.   

This is a small sampling of what pulp can be. It’s not the waste to throw away. It’s an ingredient to keep you healthy. You don’t have to spend more money on buying nutritious snacks, muffins or breads. Your four legged friend can even benefit from your new found knowledge of juicer pulp. It’s a way to continue the benefits of those fruits and vegetables we need in our bodies.