Day Two (2)...a little of this, too much of that

Let nothing go to waste!

I am far too excited about posting today.  Why? Because I came up with a really cool idea for using up the pulp from juicing as opposed to putting it in the trash or trying to bake with it.  Now, I am in no way a health food nut.  I love my fatty fried foods and baked goods but I try to strike a balance and with all this produce I am pushed in that direction.  Otherwise, I would just batter and fry all of this stuff and then I'll never get rid of this baby weight.  But I digress.  I knew that I needed to do something with the produce because like I said, I hate throwing out food. Not only is it wasteful but it's also like throwing money away.  Well, I decided that I would pull out the juicer and concoct a really yummy juice and boy am I glad I did.  I am pleased to report that it was very refreshing, sweet and I even got my super picky daughter to try it and she loved it!  As you can see from the pictures below, I used one large cucumber, 5 carrots, 1 tomato, 1 granny smith apple, a thumb sized piece of ginger, 5 clementines and about 2 cups of grapes(that were a bit too soft to eat).  I wondered if it would be overly 'carroty' or 'cucumbery' but no one flavor overpowered the juice and there was a nice hint of the ginger. 

I started off with the grapes and the grape juice alone was splendid. I just might make some grape jelly with the juice from the remaining grapes.  I then alternated between hard and soft fruits and veggies and ended with hard to get the softer stuff through.  The colors were beautiful before mixing it together and I was hoping it would take on that beautiful grape color, but it didn't.  Oh well!  After I had a glass of it, my daughter came into the kitchen (she needed some help with her math work) and when she saw the juice, she said "eeewww."  Now, I try to teach my children to never say that to people when they are eating or drinking something because it's rude she hadn't even tried it. I decided to make her drink some. I put about 2 sips worth in a cup and told her to have at it.  Well, to make a not so long story short, she loved it and asked for more!  This is a big deal with her because when it comes to fruits and veggies she is very limited with what she likes, and cucumbers, tomatoes and ginger are not on her list.  What a breakthrough!!

 It made about 6 cups of juice.  Love the colors.

 This is the color after mixing and now everyone wants a glass.

My super picky daughter Sydney!

Pulp Non-Fiction...

The juice was done but now I was left with the question of what I should do with the pulp.  I don't have my compost bin yet, so that was out.  I was not in the mood to bake anything today, so 'hiding' it in muffins was out.  And I really didn't want to throw it in the trash.  Think Angela, think!  Ding!  I got it!  I will freeze it and use it in smoothies.  Why haven't I thought of this before?  I put the pulp in the blender, added about a cup of orange juice and processed it.  I then used my mini muffin tins and scooped the mixture in them and popped them in the freezer.  If you don't have mini muffin pans just use ice cube trays and when they are frozen take them out and store them in a Ziploc freezer bag.  When you make a smoothie just throw some in there, as many or as little as you like and blend away.  I ended up with about 1/2 cup of the blended mixture and I figured now was as good a time as any to make a smoothie.  It was very good and not only did I not waste but I got in all that yummy fiber.  My body thanks me and so will yours.  Smoothie recipe below:

 

Look at all this lovely pulp, it would be such a shame to throw it away.

Scoop into mini muffin pan after blending with one cup of o.j. or juice of your choice.  Looks like carrot muffin batter.

Pulp Smoothie

Veggie Pulp (I used about 1/2 cup)

5 large frozen strawberries

1/4 cup of plain greek yogurt

1/2 frozen banana

1/4 tsp of cinnamon

6ozs of orange juice

Place juice in the blender and then add frozen strawberries, bananas and pulp(from above) either fresh or frozen.  Add remaining ingredients and blend until creamy.  And like any recipe modify it to your liking and never throw away juicing pulp ever again!