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Friday, November 26, 2010

Raw Beet Macaroons


What to do with left over juice pulp? Make something yummy, of course!  DOH!
 For the pass few days I've been searching the internet, trying to get inspired to make something special with my beet/apple/carrot/ginger pulp from the red juice  I made a couple days in a row.  The most frequent way juice pulp is used is by dehydrating it into crackers/breads, but since I don't have a dehydrator I had to think out of the box. 
I conjured up endless ways to use my pulp. I could use it in a cake,muffins, cookies,etc but finally I settled on keeping it raw and simple. After a few days, I figured I should get started on something, even though I had no concrete plan, fruit/veggie pulp does go bad eventually, so I couldn't leave it in the fridge any longer.




Once I got into the kitchen and looked into my cupboards, things magically came together. Here's what I used.


  • Approximately 2 packed cups juice pulp (beets, apples, carrots, & ginger)
  • 1 cup raw (unsoaked) walnuts
  • 1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
  • 3 Tbsp maple syrup (not technically raw, could use agave or stevia)
  • Pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg
 Wished I added some salt to bring out the sweetness.

A pictorial break down follows. 

Processed the walnuts until slightly larger then flour grains.


  

Did the same for the coconuts. My shredded coconuts are long shreds so I wanted the size to be smaller. 


Mixed the two together and it turned out something like this. 


Next, I processed the pulp so everything was evenly mixed and any extra large apple pieces were shredded down. Added 3 spoons of maple syrup. If you look carefully you may be able to see a deformed reflection of my pink camera and I. Creepy, ha!
 

The syrup didn't mix very well in the processor so I transferred the pulp to the bowl and mixed with a spatula.  I then added in the walnut/coconut mix, saving a couple spoonfuls (very important step). Do not be alarmed by how raw meat like the mixture turned out.


Measuring a little less then a spoon each, I mashed them into balls and rolled them into the walnut/coconut mixture I saved earlier. Walla, the raw meat looking mixtured turned beautifully into festive red macaroons! 
I placed in the freezer to harden for an hour or two. Once I took them out to eat I noticed the center is slightly icy, but they "defrost" very quickly so next time I'll probably leave them on the counter for a couple minutes before devouring.
 

The taste? A delicious mixture of beet and sweetness of apple along with a tint of ginger and cinnamon flavor. Perfect sweetness! The coconut and walnut gave it some good chewiness.  This was a very healthy treat. Total guilt free success!  I love the colors and it matches the current holiday seasonal colors don't you think? :)
Yay, happy eyes and happy belly.








5 comments:

  1. oh wow you're a genius! I've always thought the pulp looked so nice and such a waste that I used to dump them in my plants as a composte (bad idea - just molded! LOL) so I used to throw it out with regret. But this seems a good idea. But max likes to mix all kinds of ferral veggies like KALE and it's bitter as anything! And he doesn't even include apples sometimes so it's like this green mess :( no pretty red like the above. Also our juicer is intense so the pulp comes out practically 100% dehydrated, so now I"m thinking about using them as a type of flour....hmmmmm!!

    Do you get stringy stuff in it though?

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  2. Oh, you should totally use your pulp! Thats such a shame it didn't work as composte.
    You have to experiment and add different things to make it less bitter. You could always grate up an apple and throw it into the kale mix or add raisins etc. Lemon is great for taking away some of the green taste.
    Or, yeah, use it as flour. Add it to pancakes or make a green cake.

    Yes, I get green stringy stuff from greens. You could see if it breaks down in a blender. Let me know if you have any success and share what you make :)

    What type of juicer do you have?

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  3. Ah Meg, It's so cool how you think outside-the-box and come up with something so interesting like this!
    I haven't gotten on anyone's blog in a while so just today I scrolled down to look at all the photos and read your posts.
    I thought (and still think) how great it'd be to live with you while I'm pregnant so I can partake of all this good healthy food that you make daily! Ha! I fail greatly at cooking.

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  4. we have the rolls royce of juicers..angel juicer, so the juice doesn't oxidize as it's a slow masticating type rather than centrifugal, that's when max was really into juicing, now we can barely get a juice in 1 month hehehe

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  5. Oh, Jan I would LOVE to make you something. Maybe I can bake you something and send it. I wonder if I can send you something before it goes bad. And let me just assure you that I do know that I owe you a little blue sock :) *wink wink* I do believe I still have it. I told hubby the promise we made to each other and he was really surprised and thought it was so cool hehe.

    Lils, you can count on me to use your juicer while I'm there!

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