Juicing fruits and vegetables is very beneficial to your health. For some, it's a trend; but to me, it's a part of my morning routine.
However, the negative side to juicing large quantities of fruits and vegetables is that leftover pulp can be wasted. Thankfully, this is easily fixed with some creativity and ingenuity.
Reduce Waste: Reuse Pulp!
Consider using the pulp as a part of your everyday cooking routine to both eliminate throwing away nutritious food and add extra fiber to your diet. For me, every batch of juice I make provides delicious leftovers for new meal inspiration... and makes the groceries in the fridge last even longer.
1. Add Vegetable Pulp to Store-Bought Red Sauce
I always add additional spices to store-bought sauce for extra flavor in spaghetti and eggplant. Kale, carrot, and even a little apple or pear adds texture and mild flavor. Be sure to mix in a little water with the sauce since the dehydrated vegetables will absorb moisture.
Sneaky nutrition: my husband didn't even notice all of the extra greens in his eggplant bake until I told him! So it goes without saying that it's a great trick for kids who won't go near kale.
2. Freeze Fruit Pulp in Simple Molds & Make Fruity Popsicles
Fiber from fruits like mango, apple, pear, melons, or berries taste delicious, even after having most of the juice squeezed out of them. Therefore, a great way to utilize these fruity pulps is to make popsicles.
Think about the fruits you are going to be juicing and what kind of popsicles you want to make ahead of time. This rule could be used with all fruits and vegetables—think of your juice as part one, and your pulp as part two.
To make these popsicles, save about ¼ cup of the original juice and mix it in with the pulp; otherwise, you'll just be eating frozen pulp. Freeze the popsicles for a few hours, then pop out and enjoy!
3. Make a Pureed Soup or Thicken Up Broth-Based Soups
Most of my juices have a heavy kale base with carrots, apples, pears, and cucumber... flavors which lend themselves to a delicious soup.
To make the soup, I take the leftover pulp and cook it with chicken broth. Then I'll puree everything in a blender and add in sausage or chicken—green soup never tasted so good.
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Try adding handfuls of vegetable pulp to chicken noodle—even canned soups if you are short on time. The pulp will enhance the flavor and cook up nicely.
4. Roll Pulp into Falafel, Meatballs, & Burgers
It's so easy to mix pulp leftovers into burgers (meat or vegetarian) or meatballs; it also stretches your recipe so you use less meat. Try this falafel recipe and use any kind of vegetable pulp instead of straight carrot pulp.
5. Feed It to Your Dog
I eat well... so, it only makes sense that my pet should have good eats too. Sprinkle some of your leftover pulp over dried dog food or whip up a batch of homemade dog treats. Modern Dog Magazine has a great recipe to get you started.
A word of caution: make sure you're not feeding any toxic fruit or vegetables to your dogs, as they can't eat everything we do.
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In the summer, I mix pulp and broth to create pupsicles! I freeze these treats and let my dog enjoy them outside on a hot day.
6. Blend into Smoothies
I like to mix things up: one day I'll have juice; the next day, I'll use the leftover pulp from that juicing session and make a smoothie. If you'd like to do the same, blend a batch of pulp with more fresh fruit, milk, and yogurt for a healthy boost.
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Pro tip: Use strongly-flavored berries like raspberries to mask the taste of greens if you're not a fan of the flavor.
7. Stir Pulp in with Scrambled Eggs or Egg Bakes
Large egg bakes are great for serving company. Mix in vegetable pulp with eggs, milk, bacon, cheese, or whatever else your heart desires.
8. Add to a Dip or Dressing
Spinach dip can get a revamp for the better if you blend in vegetable pulp instead of frozen spinach. You can also sprinkle carrot pulp in ranch dressing or hide it in bean dip.
9. Turn It into Broth
Add the pulp to water with herbs and spices, boil, simmer and strain for a homemade vegetable broth. (A homemade chicken stock would be just as tasty, too.)
10. Freeze for Later
If you are short on time or simply have too much fresh pulp on hand, put it in the freezer. I like to use ice cube mold trays to separate the different fruits and vegetables; this comes in handy for all of the options above. I used to keep frozen vegetables in my freezer for quick meals when I was short on time... now I just use the frozen pulp, instead.
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The concept of repurposing fruit and vegetable pulp isn't new but it's very helpful for cutting back on your grocery bill and increasing your daily fiber intake.
Do you currently practice any of these methods at home? Tell us about your success stories in the comments.
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