The Leftovers: Carrot Juice Pulp Muffins
By Alison SmithEight years ago I contracted a serious bacterial infection called Lyme Disease; I was so sick that I lost the ability to function independently: I couldn’t work and I barely left my house. It took five years to receive a diagnosis and three years of aggressive medical treatment.
Contracting a chronic illness made me realize how important it was to do whatever it took to recover. And, I discovered just how important diet transformation is to reclaiming health. I went from being a sugar-holic, cake-for-dinner girl, to a juicing, gluten-free and sugar-free wellness warrior.
I radically transformed my diet to support my recovery. And it worked.
Juicing is a great way to saturate your body with plant-based nutrients that help the body to heal. Juicing can decrease inflammation, alkalize the blood, boost the immune system, and detoxify the body.
But I was faced with one troubling issue: I was creating so much waste! With each juicing session, I was throwing away heaps of gorgeous juice pulp, and I wasn’t happy about it.
So, one day during my annual 21-day juicing challenge that I host on my blog every year, I decided to come up with a recipe that would use juice pulp and eliminate the horrible, wasteful feeling that I, and so many other juicers, feel. And, that’s when Carrot Juice Pulp Mini Muffins were born.
With this recipe, say goodbye to juice pulp waste and hello to delicious juice pulp mini muffins!
Carrot Juice Pulp Mini Muffin Recipe:
Ingredients:
- 3 cups of carrot, ginger, apple juice pulp (made with 3 large carrots, 4 one inch chunks of ginger & 2 apples)
- ⅓ cups + 3 tbsp of brown rice flour
- ⅓ cups of chickpea or coconut flour
- ¼ cup of olive oil (or grape seed)
- 6 large fresh Medjool dates (pitted)
- 1 tsp of liquid stevia (I like NuNaturals Alcohol Free Vanilla Liquid Stevia)
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp of sea salt
- ½ pear or ½ apple (with the skin on & chopped)
- 2½ tbsp of ground cinnamon
- 2 tsp of allspice
- 2 tsp of ground cloves
- 1 tsp of orange zest
- 2 tsp of baking soda
- ¼ cup of the carrot, apple, ginger juice or plain water
- 2 cups of chopped nuts (walnuts are the best)
- ½ cup of shredded coconut (organic, unsweetened, preservative free)
- Optional: chopped dried organic fruit like pineapple, apricots, raisins or prunes
Instructions:
- Make a carrot, apple, ginger juice with 3 large carrots, 4 one inch chunks of ginger & 2 apples. Drink the juice yourself, or with friends and family (but save ¼ cup for this recipe). Or, thaw out 3 cups of carrot, apple, ginger juice pulp.
- Add 3 cups of the carrot, apple, ginger juice pulp to a food processor.
- Add 6 large Medjool dates to the food processor, and add the ¼ cup of juice or plain water, and olive oil. Turn the food processor on for 4 minutes. You want the dates to be totally pureed. Make sure to scrape the sides a couple of times.
- Add ½ pear or apple, chopped. Turn the food processor back on. Don’t forget to scrape the sides.
- Add the egg, spices, baking soda, salt, orange zest and liquid stevia. Turn the food processor on. Make sure the mixture is smooth.
- Add the rice flour and chickpea or coconut flour. Turn the food processor on once again.
- Scoop the pulp mixture into a large mixing bowl. Fold in the coconut, nuts, and some dates or dried fruit (chopped).
- Grease your mini muffin tin with butter or coconut oil; you can also use muffin paper cups.
- Spoon the muffin mixture into the muffin tin. Overfill the muffin tin. These muffins do not rise, so you need to mound the mixture on top by over filling the muffin tin. Mound the mixture into a muffin shape.
- In a pre-heated oven (350 degrees Fahrenheit), cook the mini muffins for 25-30 minutes. The mixture is quite dense, so it takes time to cook these muffins. You want them to be browned and firm to the touch.
- The muffins are done when a wooden toothpick comes out clean after inserting it into a muffin.
Alison Smith is a health & business coach who teaches women how to discover a way to reinvent their health & life. Schooled by her own health journey, following an 8-year battle with Lyme Disease, Alison is the creator of Sweet Liberation, 30-Days to Kick Sugar to the Curb: a one-on-one coaching program that teaches women how to live a sweet sugar-free life without feeling deprived. Alison also coaches women on how to create an award winning blog & business. Creator of the free, annual Get Your Juice On: 21-Day Juicing Challenge, Alison lives and breathes by the motto: Live healthy. Live happy. Live now. To learn more about Alison, check out her website, or follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
