Would you like to have a nutritious, economic and environment-friendly boost in the morning? That’s veggifruit!

Veggifruit on homemade yogourt and chia seeds.

Around harvest time, I used to cook my own apple, pear or peache sauces. Then after some time, it struck me that these fruits, when ripe, hardly need to be cooked to make good sauces. Besides, as the cooking process breaks down some of the nutrients in it, not cooking it preserves its “ live” benefits.  As a final step towards this recipe, I set out to add more vegetables to my meals, and since I never could manage to eat a salad in the morning, I decided to make “ veggifruit”.  It’s basically fruits and vegetables that I like together reduced to a sauce consistency with a chopping machine. I usually make good batches of which I freeze the amounts I can’t eat in a week.

Why is it environment friendly? Because it reduces waste and if you do have to buy a countertop machine, I recommend only a good chopper and skip the mixer and/or juicer; it does it all. I’m not the liquid-smoothie type in the morning, as I like to have an all-in-one meal complete with carbohydrates and proteins. Besides, when I make smoothies or shakes, I always make more than I can drink, and end up wasting because it doesn’t preserve long. The veggifruit, I add one quantity at a time in either my morning granolas or in a muffin recipes that calls for fruit. That way, there’s no waste of mushy un-appealing leftovers. You don’t have to do the same, but I always keep the skins of fruits or vegetables that I eat because most of the nutrients are contained in it and throwing it in the garbage is, for me, a sad waste of good stuff and money*. Don’t buy vitamins, just keep the vitamins there are already in your food!  

In short, there’s another “short and unsweetened” staple versatile food!

*Wether I buy organic or non-organic fresh produce, there is an evident need for a good washing to cleanse whichever is used to preserve it or anything that may have contaminated the skin. I don’t buy a special type of soap. I use water, a brush and dish soap: if it’s safe for the plates we eat our meals in, it’s safe for the food itself! I’ve been in places of the world where eating uncooked vegetables or fruits is hazardous, and even washing it in water isn’t safe ( as the water itself isn’t drinkable). The food available to us in north america is ten times more sanitized, I humbly think there’s no reason for us to refrain from eating it in whole, skins and leaves included, provided it is washed. 

I will not list the precise quantities as you can never go wrong as long as you use  things that you like. Just use what you have on hand and experiment if you are not sure which mix you like best. For those of you who have a juicer, there’s a fantastic way to re- use the byproducts, and you don’t even need to chop it! Just make sure everything is well washed.

Ingredients:

Base fruit; apple, pear or peach.

Vegetables; kale, beets, carrots, cucumbers, zucchini, celery, parsley.

To spice it up: fresh ginger if it’s your fancy.  You may also add the zest of any citrus, it’s terrific. To preserve the mix longer, add a little lemon juice.

Instructions: chop it all together! It’s that simple. I shouldn’t have bothered to write it, right?