After the hour of prep work yesterday, My juice pulp flax seed crackers took six hours in the dehydrator to become crunchy. I'm thinking twice about the carbon footprint implications of this exercise.
The result? still warm, dry and crisp, the crackers were okay, not great. With hummus they were great, but for me anything spread with hummus is great. Today, not quite as crisp anymore, the crackers were less great still, even with the hummus.
Everything we do in life has educational value. I am grateful for this experiment because I can add it to my list of things I know how to do. Will I do it again? Probably not.
I am reminded of the time I taught myself how to reupholster my sofa -- not slipcover, though I have done plenty of that too -- reupholster. I disassembled the furniture, panel by panel, and worked with tack strips, piping and hobnails. I used a crow bar, a hammer, a nail gun, a staple gun and a rubber mallet.I sewed each panel, leaving a rough edge for the next section. A couple of times I discovered I was on the wrong track, so I had to disassemble and redo it. I ultimately did a pretty good job with the sofa, but realized I could have benefited from an instructor. So, when I decided to redo my kitchen cabinets, I splurged on an $85 faux painting class. I did it right, and years later the cabinets are all still in good shape, but the whole process took five weeks. Though I saved $20,000-$30,000 doing it myself, I have discovered that time is more valuable than most sums of money. If we spend our time doing something fulfilling -- a learning experience counts here -- it is time well spent. So the crux of the issue is whether we would choose to repeat a project after the fulfillment of learning it is over.
Juice pulp flax seed cracker creation is not an experience I will repeat. My pulp will much more efficiently and appropriately feed the soil of my vegetable garden than it could ever feed me. I believe most of the nutrition left the pulp with the flavor and color, anyway. My healthy diet is a gift to myself, and as such, it should be enjoyable. Every mouthful is carefully chosen and prepared, and is so much more flavorful and pure than the junk I ate for many years. I don't want to waste a bite on something less than fabulous. I will continue to reap the benefits of making delicious juices, and I won't feel guilty about just saying no to homemade pulp crackers.
P.S. -- The topic of the nutritional value of the pulp fiber being lost in the process of juicing has come up among non-vegan friends. You vegans will understand that, unless you are eating only vegan junk food, lack of fiber is not an issue. Juicing simply allows us to pack in a much more diverse selection and quantity of vegetable nutrition than would be possible by consuming the entire vegetable. The juice is not a replacement for a well-rounded diet, it's an enhancement.
