Juicing?

[Curmudgeoness]

A friend has been juicing for about a year. She has been giving her veggie waste from after they are juiced to other friends for their compost piles, but the others are now full and she asked me if I wanted some for my compost. I said bring it over. She brought a week's worth in a 5 gallon bucket so heavy that the two of us had trouble lugging it to the backyard.

Am I the only one who thinks that this is the biggest waste of food short of just throwing it away without eating it? So here I sit, thinking that there has to be something that can be done with the "waste" from juicing to use it for food. Can it be used in soups? Casseroles? I am just shocked at the amount of food that is being tossed out, although my compost will appreciate it. I realize that it would have to be used sooner than when I got it----it smelled so bad that I was close to hurling, so a week of accumulation isn't going to cut it. But could it be frozen for use?

Does anyone juice? Do you throw the used veggie material out? Any ways of using it or is it of no value after the juicing process?

[MuseRider]

1. I juice

I either use the waste in my compost or feed it to the goats, they love it. You can certainly use it in your cooking but I don't think I would use it for flavoring since I doubt there is much left but I don't really know.

[Curmudgeoness]

2. Ah, goats....well THAT is a good use for it.

You make a point that I have no answer to....is the flavor lost in the veggie matter??? Is everything of value lost? The fresher material looked beat up and rather pureed, but it still looked like it had some value. More questions.

[MuseRider]

5. I do think it loses

most of the flavor in the juice but when I got our juicer there were a lot of recipes that called for using the left overs. I started using the juice for a cleanse and found it so great that I still do it some. Veggie blends are great, I believe part of the reasoning is that you can get more vitamins and minerals this way. I don't know about you but there is no way I could eat enough to get that many.

[Curmudgeoness]

7. Ah, so there are uses for the leftovers!

Good to know. I guess I have work to do finding options.

You are right, I cannot eat enough fresh fruit and veggies as I would get in a glass of juice. I suppose that my only question would be "does your body need that much vitamins and minerals, or is it just producing rich urine?"

[Flaxbee]

3. I like fresh carrot juice -- but the amount of carrots I use to get maybe 3 cups of juice is

rather appalling --- and there is a lot of waste.

I don't have a compost pile; I need to buy a good bin for it.

It's amazing how things that sound like a good idea - juicing - end up being so wasteful.

I'd feel better if I had goats

And probably will reduce our carrot juice to a 5-lb bag per week, with some ginger, apples and a few other odds and ends thrown in. We don't "juice" as part of a diet - we (me and husband) just like fresh carrot juice...

[Curmudgeoness]

8. Don't buy a bin designated a "compost bin"

since they charge a fortune just because that is what they call it. Just buy a large plastic trash bin, drill a punch of holes in it for aeration (in the bottom too) and you have a decent bin. Or if you have a place that you can just make a chicken wire bin, all it costs is the money for some wire mesh and something to connect the edges to make a circular bin.

Or get some goats. Or pigs.

[shireen]

9. thanks ...

i just bought a house and am determined to put all garden waste back into the garden. When i had some trees trimmed a couple of weeks ago, i asked to keep the branches so i can mulch the small ones (bought a small wood chipper), compost the leaves, and use thicker branches for garden decor like trellises, posts, and such. I'd also love to make miniature furniture pieces and a fairy house for a miniature garden.

The garbage bin idea is great! Wish i had seen your post before i bought a tumbling composter and a collapsible composting container.

[Curmudgeoness]

10. Damn. That happens to me a lot too.

I used to use a garbage bin that had a lid that could snap on tight, and I would tilt it over and roll it around, like a tumbler. LOL. I am just too cheap to buy a fancy tumbler, but it looked like a great idea. I also have a 4 x 4 bin I made with lumber and have had it for about 30 years. Actually, I was forced to devise that one because when I wanted to start composting and lived in the city, it was before it was fashionable. Even in the city of Houston, I was not able to find one store that sold compost bins---and most places didn't know what composting was.

Good luck with using all the tree litter. But maybe you don't have as many big old trees as I do. I have so many branches and limbs come down that I have to deal with them----hence, a fire pit. I do use them for my stakes in the garden, and I do have some nice pieces as garden decor, but it is overwhelming. As to the leaves, I use my mower to shred them and then catch them, and they make nice mulch in the garden....I have not had leaves thrown away for years (and I used to have over 60 bags every fall).

[RebelOne]

26. I have a juicer and mostly use it for fresh carrot juice.

But it is amazing how many carrots you have to use just to get one glass of carrot juice.

[shireen]

4. seems like a lot of wasted fiber

A friend of mine makes smoothies out of veges and fruits using a vitamix. She says that regular blenders don't do a good enough job blending veges/fruit into shakes but a high-end blender like the vitamix makes a big difference. It sounds like a really healthy way to consume veggies as a drink, and there's no waste.

[Curmudgeoness]

6. Now, I could get behind this concept.

It really is the waste that bothers me about this. Now is you talk to a serious juicer like my friend, she will say that the heat generated from the blenders destroys the vitamins. I cannot give an opinion on this since I don't know the research on it, and when I did a search for info on it, all I got was the pro side of the issue.

I will admit to buying some of those V-8 Fusion drinks to try in the winter when I don't eat as many fresh veggies and fruit as I should. I love them when they are in season, but they are dull at other times. So I suppose that I could be tempted to do this if it weren't for the waste. Oh, and the expense....the amount of money my friend pays for produce is more than my whole food budget, just for a glass of juice!

[positiveidea]

11. A great way of thinking about it

Your concern for appropriate use & the reduction of waste is encouraging. Kudos to you for posting this thoughtful question. I can share that for fruit, I have used the mash of leftovers in a dehydrator. I usually juice many types of fruit, combine them together, spread them out on the tray of the dehydrator, sometimes I add a sweetener (stevia, raw sugar or raw honey) and in a few hours I have some fruit roll-ups. Quite popular with kids, healthy & nutritious, and no waste. Best of luck to you.

[cbayer]

12. Welcome to DU and the FEEL group, positiveidea.

I hope you will be contributing here.

[Curmudgeoness]

14. I love that idea. Fruit roll-ups!

Now THAT is what I call frugal----not a bit of waste! Kudos.

And welcome to DU. The FEEL group could always use another poster with great ideas.

[cbayer]

16. Oops. Spoke too soon. New member PPR'ed for 3rd party advocacy.

[Lars39]

13. Maybe make some vegetable broth with fresh peelings?

What you describe does seem really wasteful.

[Curmudgeoness]

15. I would do that with my own peelings if I had any.

I can't think of anything that I eat that I peel. I just use a veggie scrubber and use it all.

I don't know that the juicers have to peel anything, at least the waste that I get for my compost pile is all totally shredded and minced into a sort of mash. Depending on what is used together in the juicer, I would think it could be used to make a soup broth. Now that would mean my friend could not juice fruit together with their veggies! At this point, she mixes all sorts of things together.

[desertduck]

17. I fed it to my dogs

Not sure if it was good for them or not, but they loved it. I stir fried it with some eggs once or twice a week. Their coats were beautiful.

[Curmudgeoness]

18. LOL, why not!

It sounds like a better way of "disposing" of it than just tossing it. And if they dogs loved it, who cares how good it is for them. I have no doubt that it is healthy for them, even if it does have less nutritional value than unjuiced veggies and fruit.

And lots and lots of fiber! Any issues with that?

[womanofthehills]

19. I feed it to my chickens and dog

I juice every day. I mix the veggie waste with chicken food and the chickens are wild for it. I figure it comes back to me in healthier eggs. I feed my dog raw meat for breakfast and mix a little with his meat too - he loves it.

If I go on a total juice fast and have more than my animals can eat, I throw the pulp outside on the ground for the bunnies and other small animals to eat as I live out in the country.

[Curmudgeoness]

20. The circle of life, huh?

Your waste to the chickens, and back to you. Alas, I have no chickens, and no dogs. But I often feed the raccoons things like bones instead of throwing it in the trash. It doesn't come back to me in anything be more mischief from the raccoons, but at least I don't put it in the landfill.

[Tanuki]

22. Lots of ideas here for adding pulp to quick breads,

stews, smoothies, cream cheese (for a sandwich spread), etc.

http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=ie7&q=juicing+pulp+cooking&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-Address&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&rlz=1I7TSNF_enUS461

[Curmudgeoness]

23. I should have thought of doing a search

for things to do with it.....apparently, I am not the only one who finds it offensive to just throw it away. Really good ideas.

Thanks.

[ConcernedCanuk]

24. Only got 2 teeth left, soon to be rectified, . .

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but in the interim.

started using a blender for onions, carrots and so on that my gums can't handle.

Then throw them in my crock-pot going with meat, taters and softer veggies.

will sure be glad when I get new teeth and can chew my food, not suck it down like baby-food!

CC

[Curmudgeoness]

25. I have no doubt that you will be glad.

I hope that it all works out well. Just don't give up on the teeth----leave them in all the time so you get used to them, like a great pair of old shoes.

That is a good idea for cooking with things that you like, but can't chew well. Best of both worlds, you are not hurting yourself by trying to eat what you have trouble with, and you are not depriving yourself.

[ConcernedCanuk]

27. Old shoes, in my mouth? well, DOGS seem to like them!

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getting the old ones out next week - $2,000 -

then the healing, then the dentures/implants.

healing takes awhile,

so I'll have time to decide what my options are, and which way I want to go.

Already looking at what they call "flexible" dentures - interesting.

CC

[Curmudgeoness]

28. No, no, no.

Don't do it that way. Have the dentures put in IMMEDIATELY after the teeth are removed. I mean it.

That is what they did with my mother, who never had any problems with her teeth (uppers and lowers all at the same time) and could eat anything without worry. My older sister had to have her teeth removed and her dentist did not want to do it that way, he wanted to have healing first, then the dentures....but she insisted because she knew how well it worked for my mom. She has no problems either. My father did not do it, and waited for the healing, and he hated the dentures and had them out often....ugh. My aunt also waited for healing, and she hardly spoke again because the dentures were so uncomfortable and she never trusted them.

Make them put dentures in right away.

[ConcernedCanuk]

29. I did that before, when they yanked out 21, but left in 6.

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woke up after surgery with the dentures in my mouth, told not to take them out for two weeks to protect the healing of the gums.

Within a month I had problems, jaw aches after chewing for five minutes or so.

I'm a very slow eater, masticate until everything is well liquefied.

Had the dentures reworked twice, they even gave me problems when not eating, top plate tickling the back of my throat and I would literally gag them out of my mouth.

Out of the bottom 6, only 2 remain above the gum line - others are infected and will not be easy to remove, seeing as 4 have nothing to grab onto above the gum line.

I know from my own research, your advice is good -

Unfortunately, I have a busy schedule with other matters, and do not have the time to travel where I can get superior dental care.

I want these infected teeth out now.

And will travel in the future to get the dental care I want regarding replacement, not available near where I am living now.

I appreciate your advice, it is well founded, not just by your personal experience, but also by many articles on-line.

Thank you for you input - I hope others benefit from it.

CC

[Curmudgeoness]

30. I wish you well.

I do hope all works out, and I can appreciate the desire to get the infected teeth out immediately. Been there myself. I have lost two teeth, both to infection. Luckily not at the same time, and I got implants in those spots. But that is not really possible (at least for me) if it were several at the same time.

Good luck.

[ConcernedCanuk]

31. Thanks - surgery is the 10th next month

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be eating baby food for awhile.

Last time, around 2005, I wanted meat, so I cooked up some moose-meat, cut it up into about 1/2 inch squares, and pureed it in my blender with onions and so on.

Not as nice as chewing, but my body liked it.

OH

like your signature, always luved Bill Cosby.

"A word to the wise ain't necessary---it's the stupid ones that need the advice. ~ Bill Cosby"

LOL

CC

[laundry_queen]

32. I do...

...and it IS amazing the amount of pulp it generates when compared to the amount of juice that results. I'm lucky that we have a municipal composting program (you put your food waste in a special bin, and they pick it up just like garbage...every week) so I don't feel guilty. From what I understand, residents can then go get the finished compost to put in their garden, and it's also sold to outside users.

I have friends who have used the pulp in muffins/breads/soups/dog food etc. I've thought about it, but I'm picky about mixing all the different fruits and veggies together, lol.

[Curmudgeoness]

33. That is great to have your municipal compost program.

If you have a garden, or even flower bed, you should take advantage.

I am not sure if I would make many things with the pulp, if it was mixed with fruit and vegetable matter. I don't think I would want strawberry in my soup! But muffins or breads might be good with a mix.