When juicing, don't toss the pulp

A bright, shiny juicer.

It had a 600-watt motor and extra-wide feed chute with a micro mesh filter basket. A frother attachment inside its juice jug ensured complete separation of foam from juice when poured into a glass. One upward twist of the switch, and boy, did that baby purr.

Whissszzzz.

What a wonder — able to juice whole apples without peeling or coring! Beautiful, sweet apple juice pours from a spout on one side; on the other, the pulp — a sawdustlike amalgamation of whatever the heck was left of the apple minus the juice.

It didn't take long before my sister became nearly rabid in her quest for the best mix: beet, carrot, apple. No, apple, carrot, celery. No, no, pear, apple, blueberry.

When my daughter and I would visit her home on weekends, our stay inevitably involved some tasting of a new combination. A friend of hers touted juicing as the new weight-loss miracle, losing pounds in just a week. A Web search had juice gurus across the country raving about juice as the raw food of the decade.

Suddenly, I was hooked on finding out just how good for you freshly squeezed juice is.

What I found was that, just as those "new mother" guidebooks tell you, unless you drink the pulp with the juice, you're not getting the full benefit of the fruit's or vegetable's nutrients and fiber. Yes, juice contains plenty of vitamins and minerals. But according to Marion Nestle in her book "What to Eat" (North Point Press, $30), the "more pulp a juice retains, the better its nutritional value."

"Juice without the pulp doesn't provide the phytochemicals and fiber found in whole fruits and vegetables," said Atlanta registered dietitian Rachel Brandeis. "But juices are more alluring and palatable than whole foods to most people." In other words, folks would rather sip than nibble their vegetables.

So why juice at all? First, it's actually fun and isn't anywhere near as time-consuming as you might think. (The worst drawback I found was counterspace for the juicer.) It's almost addictive, in a weird, good way.

Second, if you can find a way to add the pulp back to your diet — either in the juice or for use in other recipes — juicing is a great way to get the whopping amount of fruits and vegetables into your diet that the government recommends.

But the Internet's and weight-loss gurus' claims that the enzymes in raw foods will enhance weight loss are pure bunk. "There is absolutely no truth to the idea that enzymes break down fat as some sort of miracle for weight loss," Brandeis said.

Fresh juices are, of course, a tremendous source of enzymes, as well as vitamins and phytochemicals. What are phytochemicals? Naturally occurring, non-nutritive substances found in plants that actually contain protective, disease-preventing compounds that are believed to promote and sustain health.

And you can easily stock up on your daily supply of them by drinking freshly squeezed juices — but only if you use the pulp.

Now for the honesty lowdown: The pulp isn't all that palatable when added back to your freshly squeezed juice. It's kind of like adding pulverized chalk to your juice and trying to drink it.

Add to that the fact that, for some people anyway, adding all these freshly squeezed raw foods to their diets can — at first — be a little daunting to the digestive tract.

Oy, what to do? Simple: Add the pulp to other recipes. And that's exactly what we've done for you. Once you start, you won't want to stop. "Adding the pulp to other recipes is genius," Brandeis said. "It's the perfect way to beef up a juice's nutritional value."

Ladies and gentlemen: Dust off those juicers or head to the nearest kitchen supply store with your credit card. Let the juicing begin.

Vvvrooooom!

Gazpacho

6 servings (about 5 1/2 cups)

u 4 medium tomatoes

u 2 large cucumbers

u 4 sprigs fresh cilantro

u 2 cloves peeled garlic

u 2 ribs celery

u 1 small onion

u 1/4 cup red wine vinegar

u 1 teaspoon salt

u 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

u 1/4 teaspoon cumin

u 1 medium bell pepper, chopped

Process the tomatoes according to manufacturer's instructions; save the juice and pulp separately (you should have about 2 cups juice and 1 cup pulp). Process the cucumbers; save the juice and pulp separately (you should have about 1 cup juice and 1/2 cup pulp). Process the cilantro, garlic, celery and onion; discard pulp.

Add the tomato and cucumber juice to the cilantro/garlic juice and stir in the vinegar, salt, black pepper and cumin. Add the bell pepper, plus the reserved tomato and cucumber pulps. Chill at least 4 hours.