More Fiber Please

We are always trying to make sure we get a well rounded diet.  I'm sure I get plenty of "extras" like butter,  sugar and all the good stuff I'm supposed to limit.  So to hopefully balance that Justin and I have been juicing.

A big favorite is carrot juice.  I always throw in an apple and whatever else in the fridge looks like it needs to be eaten.  I read recently that carrots are not the best veggies for your eyes, spinach is... Popeye shouldn't have been squinting all these years!  I got a big bag of spinach while we were at Costco the other day.  I figured we could juice some, have a salad, etc.  Vegetables aren't my favorite, or maybe it's really cooking and chewing that aren't my favorite.  I do like vegetables.

Anyway, I thought this would be a good way to get the benefits of spinach without actually having to eat spinach.  I was told by my aunt that I was getting some of the good stuff and the rest was left in the pulp, namely fiber.  Honestly, I was happy to get any benefit and not have to physically eat all that spinach.  I put lots of spinach in the juice, way more than I would normally eat... who needs fiber anyway?!

This conversation brought on a whole new dilemma for me.  I started to look up online what I could do with juicer pulp.  There were all kinds of ideas!  I could add it to soups, stuffing, dry it and use it as a salad topper, put it in the garden or freeze it for use later.  These were all good ideas, but it isn't really warm enough for soups yet and I didn't want to get a stock pile going in the freezer.  Then I found some recipes for muffins, cookies and cakes!  This was way more up my alley!  I know using the pulp is supposed to be promoting health and all, but I am adding fiber so it should still count.  It is way better for me to eat healthier baked goods with added fiber than regular ones without.  And I'm going to eat baked goods one way or another!

Muffins were the chosen winners this round.  Most of the recipes called for carrot pulp, I figured the spinach would just add more nutrients.  If they were really bad I didn't have to eat them and could chalk it up to a "don't do that again" lesson.  The batter looked really good until I added the pulp.  The spinach made it green and funky looking.  After they were cooked I was definitely leery, it smelled like hot spinach and looked even worse!  Totally not appealing.

Lindsay was excited to try the muffins.  I figured she would make a great guinea pig :)  She is pretty good about saying if she likes something or not.  She tasted one and smiled at me, this made me feel like I could try them safely.  They were actually pretty good!  Granted I waited for them to cool off so I didn't have such a strong spinach aroma.  Next time I will separate my pulp, no more baked spinach goods.  The spinach will be saved for soups and spaghetti sauce where it will blend in better!