Carrot Pulp & Coconut Flax Crackers

I'm always looking for tasty ways to use carrot pulp leftovers from juicing. I know, I know: juice pulp is great for the compost.... but what about me?! It's tough to just toss away all that bright orange beauty, so often, I save it in the fridge. (I confess, I'm a saver. Some might even venture to say hoarder [how many "bag bags" does one family really need?] but let's not go there.)

Okay, so the fridge is full of carrot pulp. Now what? Well, I have my ways. I feed it to the dog - either mix raw carrot pulp into her food or cook it into the fish scrap and chicken leg stews she loves so well. I feed it to the kids - tucks nicely unnoticed into tuna salad, for instance. I've also tried blending the pulp into raw Cream of Carrot soup and Orange Sunshine salad dressing. (Haven't had great success there yet but am still game for trying. Recipes, anyone?)

By far, my favorite use for the stuff is as a filler for raw flax crackers. Used this way, carrot pulp adds color, texture, flavor and vitamin A nutrition. Plus there's no extra work of grating or chopping, seeing that carrot pulp is pre-pulped, and all. Flax crackers and chia chips were made for carrot pulp. Hence it features prominently in my Spicy Sunflower Chia Chip recipe on this blog, for instance.

Recently, Raw Chef Dan sent out an email with a recipe for "Coconut Toast" which sounded so good, I made a batch straight away. When cracker met tongue, we promptly fell in love at first bite. The richness of the coconut oil paired with the crispy crunch sensation of the tiny flaxseeds creates savory heaven in your mouth, like a macaroon, but not, if you know what I mean.

Anyway, one good recipe deserves another. The following is a mod of RCDs Coconut Toast original using... naturally.... leftover carrot pulp from juicing, as well as sunflower seeds (inexpensive) instead of almonds (expensive). It's really good, really easy and really cheap. With all the fuss about how pricey the raw food diet can be, what could be better? Here's how they look, all scored and ready for drying. Pretty!


CARROT PULP & COCONUT FLAX CRACKERS

1 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup golden flax seeds
3 cups water
2 cups carrot pulp, leftover from juicing
2 cups dried coconut flakes
1-2 tsp Himalayan pink salt (I used 1 but will up it next time)
1-2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Food process or grind the sunflower seeds and flax seeds together to make a gritty meal. Soak this in water for one half to one hour. Stir in remaining ingredients. Place equal amounts of dough onto 3 teflex sheets, and use wet hands or a spatula tool to spread dough to edges. (For a thicker, "crispbread" style cracker, divide the dough onto just 2 teflex sheets.) Use a rubber spatula to score into 16 squares per sheet. Dehydrate at 110 degrees for 4 hours; 6 hours for thicker version. Flip crackers onto mesh, peel off teflex and continue to dehydrate 4-6 more hours or until you attain desired dryness. Store in airtight container in fridge.

Note: I plan try this another time using leftover ALMOND pulp (from making almond milk) instead of the sunflower seeds. That cracker will be a waste-not-want-not dream come true!

BONUS: Remember all that prior posting about Properly Combined Sandwiches, and how bread and nuts don't mix? Well, if you use flaxseed crackers, which are already a seed/nut to begin with, for the bread, you can spread on the tahini, pumpkin seed cheese or raw almond butter to your heart's delight! Enjoy!

Practice Update: Montague Integrative Health – Grand Opening!

Dear Friends,

I am excited to announce that I have moved my practice from Greenfield to the lovely, centrally located village of Montague Center, where I am joining three other holistic practitioners to form Montague Integrative Health. Together, we look forward to providing high quality, comprehensive natural healthcare to the greater Pioneer Valley community. You can learn more about our group by visiting the "about me" page on my website, www.eat2evolve.com.

All local readers are warmly invited to attend our Open House tomorrow, Sunday November 9th from 2 to 5 PM at the offices of Montague Integrative Health, 432 Greenfield Road, Montague (adjacent to the Book Mill). Of course, we will be serving yummy raw, local and organic treats including my famous Raw Pumpkin Pie with Coconut-Date Pecan Crust, mulled cider from New Salem Preserves, Pierce Brothers coffee, assorted raw cheeses, Spicy Sunflower Chia Chips, Emily's fresh Eggplant Caponata, Nancy's Olive Oil Cookies and more!

Here's the recipe for my Chia Chips, which I developed as a way to use the pulp left over from juicing carrots. You probably could make this with any kind of juice pulp, provided it isn't too stringy (i.e. zucchini or cucumber as opposed to celery or kale). Feel free to substitue ground flax for chia, and mix up the seasonings as the spirit moves you – curry, pesto, jalapeno, whatever! I make this in a 9-tray Excalibur dehydrator. My beautiful, cobalt blue Kitchen Aid mixer does a super job of turning all the ingredients into a uniform dough. A big batch like this usually lasts a couple of weeks (unless it is being served at a grand opening celebration!)... Bon appetit!


SPICY SUNFLOWER CHIA CHIPS

INGREDIENTS

½ cup whole flaxseeds
1 ½ cups ground chia seed

½ large onion, minced
4 lg cloves garlic, minced
4 dried red chili peppers, minced
2 Tbs chipotle chili powder
2 Tbs dried basil
2 Tbs dried oregano
1 Tbs dried thyme
1 Tbs kelp powder
1 tsp sea salt

1 cup sunflower seeds
4 cups carrot pulp
4 Tbs wheat free tamari or nama shoyu (contains gluten)
1 cup minced fresh cilantro leaf and stem

DIRECTIONS

Combine flax and chia seeds in a large bowl. Cover with water and stir until as smooth as possible – it will clump up. Add more water to reach consistency of very thick paste. (Add more water if you want thinner chips, as the wetter dough will be easier to spread thin.) Stir well and allow to soak at least 15 minutes while you prepare other ingredients.

Combine minced onions, garlic and hot peppers. Add chili powder, basil, oregano, thyme, kelp powder and sea salt. Stir this mixture into the flax/chia seed paste and combine thoroughly. Add sunflower seeds, carrot pulp, tamari and cilantro, and combine thoroughly again. You can use a mixer if you like to help fully blend ingredients into a thick dough. Feel free to taste and adjust seasonings, but remember that all flavors–especially saltiness–will intensify as the crackers lose moisture and dry.

Line seven dehydrator trays with Paraflexx sheets or waxed paper. Divide dough evenly between the seven trays. One by one, spread each clump of dough into a flat square about 10 X 10 inches. Dampen your palms with water to facilitate spreading if needed. Once flat, I hold a chopstick against the sides and spread dough into edge to make a straight line. If you like, pre-score dough into chip shapes by lightly pressing a knife straight down into the flattened dough – for instance, 9 squares or 18 rectangles.

Put trays in dehydrator and dry at 105 degrees for 10-12 hours. Remove trays from dehydrator and one by one, place a mesh-lined tray on top of dry side of chip, flip trays upside down together, then peel off Paraflexx sheet to expose wet side. Return trays to dehydrator for another 10-12 hours or until chips are dry. Break along scores and store in airtight container; will keep for several weeks.