Juicing with a Vitamix
My Vitamix will be 12 years old this December (2014). It is still going strong after all these years, despite being in use a minimum of 3 times per day. We use our Vitamix for smoothies, soups, sauces, and many other things. For a few years now, I have been juicing with a juicer. I was getting tired of the tedious cleaning required with a juicer. So one day, I decided to try out the Vitamix for juicing. Since I have made nut milk, I used the nut milk bag I already had on hand. I just processed the veggies the same way I would a smoothie and strained it in the nut milk bag afterward. I did add a bit of water to the Vitamix before blending.
I love juicing with the Vitamix. I find that it’s faster and much less wasteful than my regular juicer. The juicer I have is not a high-quality one. I am sure the more expensive ones create less waste. My only dilemma with juicing was what to do with the leftover pulp.
Powdered juicing pulp. The yellow color is due to turmeric powder.
There are recipes on how to use the leftover juicing pulp. I have two preferred ways to use make good use of the leftovers. One way is to compost it or toss it in the garden. This adds beneficial nutrients back into the soil. The other way I get a second use of the pulp is to dry it out and powder it.
After juicing, I spread the pulp out on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. I turn the oven on to the lowest setting, and when it is preheated, I turn the oven off. I leave the tray in the oven at least overnight and sometimes repeat the process until the pulp is completely dry. A food dehydrator would work just as well.
When it is dry, I store it in glass canning jars with only a paper towel covering the top. This makes sure there is no moisture left in the pulp. After a few days or so, I process the dried pulp in the Vitamix again. This time I use the dry blade container. Once it is powdered, it is ready to be used. Store in an airtight container. The uses for this powder are endless. I use it to add flavor to foods, and it’s great to use in place of a vegetable broth. My kids love it on popcorn.
Daughter of the Earth, Mother of her creations. Ivanna (Evie) doesn’t care for titles, but the ones that fit best are homeschool mom, herbalist, and blogger. Her greatest joy is guiding others to find true wellness within themselves and Mother Earth. When not spending time with her beloved family, she can be found researching everything related to holistic wellness, crafting herbal remedies, or visiting with the plants in the Magical Garden.
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