Waste Not Want Not: What to do with juice pulp

Juice often?
And ever wonder what to do with that leftover cellulose plant fibers?
I mean sure, throwing it in your yard or compost pile are great ideas, but if you think about it, you're throwing out a good amount of nutrients and ruffage you could easily add to your diet.
"Waste not want not!"
Here is a simple recipe I used to make some awesome pulp crackers I used with leftover veggie juice pulp!

Juice Pulp Crackers
3 cups of juice pulp
1/2-2/3 cup garbanzo flour
1/4 cup chia seeds
splash of water
1/2 tsp fennel Seeds
1/4 tsp dried thyme
Salt and Pepper to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 425.
2. Mix ingredients in a bowl until paste consistency is produced.
3. Oil baking sheet.
4. Spread pulp dough to thin layer on the sheet.
5. Bake 30-40 minutes until crispy, cut into squares and bake again for 5-10 minutes if needed. (Sometimes it doesn't evenly bake to the middle part, so this is when you would cut it and bake again thoroughly.)

A great source of fiber, protein and PLENTY vitamins!! <3

Kimchee 101 (Vegan ghost pepper-lemongrass kimchee recipe included.)

Ahhh another great reason to write about probiotics!
Kimchee is a fermented food, therefore a great source of all of those beneficial bacteria we NEED to function. (Please see my post on Kombucha.)
Kimchee/"Kimchi" specifically is an amazing source of a lot of beneficial nutrients besides the amazing life it creates, simply because of it's ingredients.

• Cabbage (Nappa cabbage, AKA Won bok, great for digestion and metabolism.)
• Garlic. Seriously. Lots of garlic. (Good for high cholesterol, fungal problems, fever, aches.)
• Chillis (Extremely beneficial for circulation and metabolism.)
• Lemongrass (According to WebMD: lemongrass is used to treat digestive problems, pain, vomiting, muscle spasms, cough, achy joints, fever and to kill germs as a mild astringent!)
• And in this recipe I specifically used miso, to make it vegan. (Traditional kimchee recipes call for a shrimp sauce/paste.) YOU KNOW HOW GOOD MISO IS FOR YOU!!

It has been claimed a "miracle food" and has been used for thousands of years as a way to preserve foods. It has been shown hold cancer preventing properties, aid digestion, skin/hair problems, heart/circulation problems.

It's typically a good source for Vitamins C, A, B-12, selenium, iron, protein, etc. 

Vegan Ghost Pepper Lemongrass Kimchee

1 head of won bok

1 turnip (and it's greens)

green onion

salt

garlic (I used about 20 cloves!)

1/4 cup miso

3 Tbsp sesame seeds

1 ghost pepper (dried)

1 small serano chili

3 small lemongrass stems (should equal about 3 Tbsp)

ume vinegar (about 1/4-1/3 cup)

~4 Tbsp-1/4 cup bragg's liquid aminos 

1. Chop up the veggies, and soak in salt water for 3-4 hours. (You can do longer if you want to!)

Articles I read mentioned that turnips will give it a very specific taste to help replace the shrimp paste. Turnips ferment very well and give off a very STRONG smell!

2. Process the chilis, miso, lemongrass (chopped into small pieces), half of the amount of vinegar given in recipe above, Bragg's liquid aminos, garlic and sesame seeds. Should be a thick paste like the picture below.

3. Drain the soaking veggies and massage the paste throughly into the veggies. BE CAREFUL. The sauce is SUPER spicy and you will hurt yourself if you touch your face (or any other sensitive areas…)!!! 

4. Distribute into jars and let it sit for one day with the lid cracked open in room temp.

Vegan Raw Cacao and Avocado Pudding and the benefits of cacao/arrowroot!

I have a sick addiction to chocolate. Seriously, if you saw my stash that I have in my room you would be worried for me. BUT, I don't care what you think! Chocolate has always been there for me when no one else has… haha.

So I got inspired, because I absolutely LOVE this vegan chocolate pudding from my local health-food store that they make in the deli, using tofu. However, I have an issue with using too much soy (everything in moderation), so I tried to maneuver a soy-free version which is actually a million times better!! But before I start with the recipe, I'd like to talk about a couple of the ingredients I featured in this recipe.

Arrowroot is the EASIEST thing for your body to digest. If you are suffering from tummy problems, dissolve a couple tablespoons in some warm apple juice and you're good to go! It's also a better alternative to corn starch, which as you know is usually GMO produced, and a good source of the following: folate, b-complex vitamins, copper, iron, manganese, phosphorus, magnesium, zinc, potassium, and also has a little bit of protein! 

Cacao is the original chocolate. And NO I'm not talking about that processed milk chocolate crap! I'm talking about the raw version, without milk, sugar, cream, etc. It is an absolutely fabulous way to make you happy, and yes I'm serious because it's loaded with the amino acids tryptophan and tyrosine to boost serotonin/epinephrine/norepinephrine levels and reduce cortisol in the body (stress) to leave you feelin good! The magnesium content will also aid in PMS symptoms, such as cramps. It is also a great source of fiber and antioxidants.

Okay onto the recipe!

Vegan Raw Cacao Avo Pudding 
2 & 1/4 cups of unsweetened almond milk
1/2 cup arrowroot
1/2 cup raw cacao powder
~1/2 cup agave (depending on how sweet you want it)
1/2 of an avocado
2 tbsp coconut oil
1 tsp vanilla

1. Dissolve arrowroot in almond milk in a medium sized pot on high heat, whisking quickly until thick.
2. Combine raw cacao agave, and vanilla. Keep whisking until its a thick, rich consistency.
3. Let it cool to room temperature.
4. Blend/process with the avocado and coconut oil.
5. Chill!

      

Soy-free is the way to go, yo.

Easy Vegan Apple-Chia Cake

My personal belief is that vegan baking is waaay easier than regular baking.
The part I don't like about baking is having to follow rules. You can't just throw a little bit of this here and there as you go, tasting it all of the way, but instead have to mix up everything in sequence using measuring cups (Hate em!) and hope that it all turns out okay.
If it doesn't, then you're dunzo and you just wasted a bunch of ingredients.

However, I've come to find that not using eggs, butter and regular sugar makes it a lot easier (for me, anyway). So I altered a generic vegan "Apple Sauce Cake" recipe into my own by using coconut oil, chia seeds and flavor twist.

Easy Vegan Apple-Chia Cake 
1/3 cup coconut oil (liquid)
1/2 cup of agave
1 & 1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
2 cups of whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp salt
3 tbsp chia seeds
1 & 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp ginger (fresh or powder)
1 organic apple

Lemon-Apple Glaze
Juice of one lemon + 1/2 tbsp lemon zest
2-3 tbsp apple sauce
1/2-3/4 cup of sugar (depends on how much absorbs)
***You don't want this sauce too thick, but also not too runny. So measure on your judgement!


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix oil, sugar and apple sauce.
3. Combine dry ingredients and add slowly to wet mixture and beat until smooth pancake-like batter.
4. Add chia seeds and mix.
5. Grease a deep cake dish (I used coconut oil spray).
6. Skin and thinly slice apples into half moon shape.
7. Lay one layer of apples, in a spiral fashion in the dish.
8. Pour half of the batter, and layer apples again (spiral).
9. Pour the rest of the batter, and spiral again on top.
10. Bake for 45-50 minutes.
11. Pour glaze on top and serve!

Good for breakfast or dessert! :)

Easy Vegan Date-Pecan-Oat Spiced Scones

Baking makes me feel better, so I baked up some scones this morning that didn't disappoint!

Vegan Date-Pecan-Oat Spiced Scones

2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup old fashioned oats
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup pitted dates (chopped)
1/2 cup chopped raw pecans
1/4 cup & 1/4 cup agave syrup mixed
1/2 cup plain unsweetened almond milk
1/3 cup coconut oil
2 tsp vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, set aside.
3. Combine flour, oats, baking soda, spices and salt, and mix.
4. Add dates and nuts to the dry mix.
5. Add water/agave mixture and combine.
6. Add almond milk, oil, agave, and vanilla and combine into a doughy consistency.
7. Each scone should be about 1/3 cup of wet dough, place about 6-7 on the baking sheet, spaced evenly (at least 2 inches apart!).
8. Place on middle baking rack for 12-14 minutes.

Hummus Template Recipe

The good thing about hummus, is that it's a healthy and light way to get some protein fast without sacrificing any flavor.
Also, I like to think of hummus as a blank canvas! Chickpeas have a really light flavor, and are easily moldable into any imaginable taste you've been craving.
Anyway, here's my easily, interchangeable hummus recipe.

I've made roasted red pepper hummus,
beet hummus (makes a really rich pink color),
ancho chili hummus,
basil hummus,
cilantro hummus,
jalepeno hummus,
pesto hummus (add pine nuts instead of tahini, parm cheese and basil instead of parsley),
Okinawan sweet potato hummus with ginger,
etc., etc...

Chioggia Beet Hummus

THE Hummus

1 can of chickpeas (you can use fresh as well, I think this is the equivalent to 16 oz.?)
2-3 cloves of garlic
~1/3 olive oil (depending on how smooth you like it)
1/2-1 whole lemon (some people like it more lemony, like me so I use about a whole lemon)
1 Tbsp cumin
1 tsp garam masala
2 heaping tbsp of tahini
fresh parsley (optional)
s&p to taste

1. Add garlic cloves with olive oil and lemon in a food processor, and pulse until garlic is minced.
2. Add spices, and parsley if you want to add it.
3. Drain beans and rinse (this is very important to get all of the preservatives and salt off the beans). Then incorporate into the mixture and blend on high until a thick paste.
4. Add tahini, and and then salt and pepper. Make sure to taste it as your going!
5. Blend into a thick paste. Garnish with a drizzle of olive oil and paprika.

Bad Photography and Delicious Soup

Don't judge me,
I'm not a photographer, I'm a cook.
Just try this recipe.
It's something I've comprised with a combination of googled recipes I've used throughout the years.
A hybrid of savory and aromatic spices, veggie based ingredients (however, this is interchangeable), creamy coconut milk, and LOVE -- duh.

The Best Damn Halloween Soup of Your Life

2 whole cinnamon sticks

1/2-1 Tbsp coriander seeds

1 Tbsp cumin seeds

~6 cardamom pods

Olive oil (or coconut oil)

1 fresh white onion

1 can of full fat coconut milk

Fresh ginger

Fresh turmeric root, or about 1 Tbsp or more of turmeric powder

2 cloves of garlic

2 bay leaves

3/4 of raw butternut squash**

mushrooms

purple cabbage

carrots

green beans

celery

bell pepper

kale

pinch of garam masala (optional)

s&p to taste

** The butternut squash I used was organic, therefore a lot smaller than a generic squash. So, use your best judgement. You might have to just use half of a regular squash.

1. Heat the oil on high/medium heat in a large pot.

2. Dice the whole onion, throw into the pot and add the whole spices (cinnamon, cardamom, cumin, coriander). This will toast them and make them even more aromatic. Add garlic.

3. Sautee until onion is transparent.

4. Add can of coconut milk and simmer, in the meantime dice butternut squash into cubes.

5. Add butternut squash and add bay leaves.

6. Simmer until butternut squash is fully cooked.

7. Add fresh ginger and turmeric. I like a lot of each so I used maybe 1-2 Tbsp of each :)

8. Take out bay leaves and cinnamon sticks, and blend until a puree.

9. Put contents back into the pot, along with cinnamon sticks and bay leaves, simmer a litter more on low heat.

10. Add fresh veggies.

11. Pinch of garam masala is optional, I just like it extra flavorful.

12. Salt and pepper to your liking.

Serve with jasmine rice, quinoa, or just by itself. Garnish with fresh cilantro!!

You can add meat or tofu if you wanted to as well, or change up the ingredients if you wanted to! Do yo thang.

The color is my favorite part.