One very good aspect of our Australian adventure last December was that my sister, Paula, introduced us to home masticating juicing.  I know – doesn’t sound so appetizing… masticating – but that aspect is key in maintaining the enzymatic benefit and nutrients of the fruits and vegetables.  The product is not heated at all in comparison to centrifugal juicers which raise the temperature of the product through the mechanical juicing process.  This rise in temperature denatures precious proteins and alters the nutritious value of the juice.

Eric at the North West International Rowing Regatta 2015

Upon returning to Canada, I did some of my own research and ended up buying the Salton low speed, wide mouth juicer.  At first we juiced all sorts of things – and then we tried a banana.  Not a good idea.  We decided to read the manual at that point and be less cavalier with what we’d juice.

Over the past few years, Eric has taken on a number of athletic disciplines.  It all began with rowing and eventually evolved to include swimming and now cycling.  Part of his regime is to replenish nutrients after these workouts – which usually involve some amount of almond milk.  Being inspired by Kim, I decided to try my hand at making almond milk now that we had this fancy juicer.  It turns out, making almond milk is super simple.  Soak some almonds, rinse and run them through the juicer with some fresh water – add some vanilla (if you’d like) and a pinch of salt.  Homemade almond milk doesn’t stay homogenous like store-bought but I sort of like that.  It is less processed and simple to whip up.  Plus, the juicer extrudes what we’ve colloquially called almond poop.  It is the fibrous mass left after the juicing process.  It is very tasty and slightly damp.  Easy to eat by sprinkling on cereal and such.

However, I found something even better to do with the almond poop… Almond poop brownies!  These are made with coconut oil – another trendy ‘health’ ingredient and topped with cocoa nibs.  Together, these two ingredients convince you that there are huge chunks or flakes of coconut.  A very tasty and fudgy treat.

Note: If you don’t have any almond pulp – feel free to substitute with almond flour.  Finally, just make sure not to overbake.  They are truly more decadent that way.