Juicing Pulp: What the Heck Do I Do With It?!

If you have been doing the spring cleanse with the rest of us then you most probably have been doing a LOT of juicing. My juicer has been working overtime as there are a few of us in the house that are cleansing. I absolutely love starting each day with a fresh juice. It has been a great substitute for my morning coffee with much more of a kick. A kick with no crash either! I never follow a recipe. I make it up as I go while keeping 1 major rule in mind: keep the fruits to a minimum. Half an apple and ¼ of a lemon are all the fruits I add which it is enough to cut the bitterness of the greens. I do use carrots and beets almost everyday and they provide plenty of sweetness.

Juicing has become a daily habit I feel great about. However, there is just one thing about juicing that bothers me: the amount of waste it makes. In just one 16oz glass there are at least 1-1 ½ cups of pulp produced. Although most of the nutrients and enzymes have been extracted, the pulp is a great source of fiber. Throwing this directly into the compost just seems like such a waste and was really getting to me. So I came up with a few options of how to make use of this healthy pulp.

Use it to make soup stock. I am all about making my own soup stock these days. My freezer is packed with jars of frozen stock as well as bags of veggie scraps and juice pulp. I save all my onion peels, potato peels (should be organic), carrot and celery ends, kale and collard stems and whatever other veggies I may be cooking with that day. Along with the scraps I have been adding my juice pulp.

Homemade Soup Stock:

1.     Once you have collected a full grocery bag of veggies scraps, dump it all into the largest pot you own (do not need to defrost) and fill it with filtered water.

2.      Add some spices and bay leaves, pepper and salt and bring it to a boil. Once boiling I turn it down to a simmer for at least an hour (the whole house will smell delish!!).

3.     Once your broth is tasty, turn off and let cool. Once cooled, strain all your veggies (I even squeeze them out!).

4.     Pour into glass jars. If freezing them, make sure to leave a good inch of space from the top of the jar.

5.     Add to any soups, curries, stews your little heart desires!

The other option for juice pulp is to make crackers. I make these with my other favorite appliance, my dehydrator. I realize not all of you choose to be die hard foodies like myself and spend all your hard earned savings on appliances you feel you’ll never use.  If that's the case, an oven will suffice.

Veggie Pulp Crackers

I am still working on this recipe but these ones tasted pretty good and didn’t fall apart when dipping them.

1 cup chia seed, soaked for 4 hrs in 1 cup of filtered water

2 cups juice pulp

1 small onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, diced

1 tsp basil

1 tsp rosemary

1 tsp oregano

Salt & pepper to taste

1.     Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Mix until well combined

2.     If using dehydrator, spread mix onto non-stick sheets and make as flat as possible (1/8” or smaller). Set to 115 degrees and dehydrate for 12 hours. If using oven, preheat to 200. Spread on a non-stick cookie sheet as thin as possible. Cook for at least 2 hours (I haven’t done it in the oven so I do not know how long this part will take;)

3.     Once dry and crispy, break into squares and store in an airtight container. Enjoy with a yummy hummus or other healthy dip!