Sounds like a bad film, right? But if you’ve struggled to know what to do with the leftover pulp from your juicing, then this post may be for you.

If you’re anything like me, it seems criminal to throw away the fibrous husks and debris that remains after your morning juice –  yet what do you do with it? Left in the fridge too long it starts to decompose and often you just don’t have time to think about it. Juicing is time consuming enough – to have to look after the waste as well may simply be a step too far.

My top morning tip is to stick the pulp in the fridge after juicing and forget about it. Once you’re back from work and have more bandwidth there are some options. For example,  I’ve made carrot falafels in the past which were very nice. I’ve also tried putting pulp onto my face as an astringent facemask which felt really lovely but it warrants its own blog post so I won’t go into that here. And then there are pulp muffins.

The key is this. On its own, pulp is not very tasty. Fact. If your juice is filled with greens, like kale or chard, then the leftover pulp is not the first ‘filling’ that springs to mind when you think muffins. The good news is that the sky is the limit when it comes to what you can add to the pulp to make it taste better, delicious even. I am terribly partial to cinnamon and cardamom. You simply can’t take Sweden out of the girl. Others, however, love chocolate and would rather sprinkle their batter with that. My one advice is to always include a banana. It binds, it flavours and adds a soft. rounded taste, needed when dealing with vegetable pulp.

I am childishly excited about having found a good use for the pulp that my children sort of like too.  Yes, I must admit there is a bit of maple syrup and dried apricots in the mixture as well to ensure some sweetness. To make it healthier still, add all your various protein powders and seed mixes, such as chia and hemp.  Raw bits of fruit, such as apple or blueberries, can be added to the muffin cases just before you stick it in the oven if you like your fruit soft and juicy. Here is a recipe I like but don’t worry about going off-piste and make your own varieties.

Pulp Muffins (cinnamon)

3 cups gluten-free flour (alternatively 1/2 almond flour and 1/2 gluten free flour)

Handful of gluten-free oatmeal

1/2 cup flax meal or ground nuts/seeds

2 cups pulp

1/2 cup plain yogurt

1/2 banana

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon powder (or dark chocolate if you fancy and more chocolatey experience

1/2 cup maple syrup

1/2 cup almond/cashew/coconut milk

1/2 tsp salt

Garnish with blueberries, oatmeal flakes or coconut shavings

How to:

Heat the oven to 180Cº. Mix all ingredients in a bowl and scoop a dollop of batter into muffin cases or a lightly greased muffin pan. Bake in the oven for about 20-25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Let cool. Enjoy! x