"You must have a horse," the Publix cashier says wide-eyed to Andrea Meister, who is purchasing ten pounds of carrots, a bulky bag of apples, four bags of kale, and another bag of spinach.
Meister's face turns bright red, and she leaves the explanation of her vegetable purchase a mystery. "I thought 'I never lie,' but I nodded in agreement," Meister dishes to Clean Plate Charlie. "I repent!"
The 48-year-old Boca Pointe mom has been juicing ten to 15 pounds of carrots a week for the past month and a half. After throwing away pounds of leftover carrot pulp each week, Meister turned to Craigslist to donate the shredded root vegetable to someone in need.
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Meister put her "Free Carrot Pulp" ad under the Free Stuff forum on Craigslist last week. "I'm sure someone out there can use it," Meister writes. "For a pet, carrot cake, your garden?"
She instantly heard back from three or four users who had a variety of different uses for the free carrot pulp and she took the post down after three days. This is a screen shot we took last Wednesday of the ad:
"It was my first ad giving away the carrot pulp," Meister explains. "I had a couple of takers. The lady who I'm going to give it to lives right near me, and she has a bunny, but I don't see how one bunny can eat so much carrot pulp each week, and since I don't like to disappoint, I'll reach out to others who messaged me."
Meister has been juicing for six weeks after watching a carrot smoothie being made at Whole Foods. She thought she could do the same thing herself, for a fraction of the
cost. She had friends who were on raw food diets and realized it was something she could do.
She's put ads on Craigslist to give away used furniture but never to donate leftover carrot pulp from her juicing. But Meister assures weary Craiglist users that she refrigerates the pulp and that it's "perfectly good and perfectly edible."
Carrots are rich in vitamins A, K, and fiber. The root vegetable is linked to cardiovascular and vision health and is even believed to stave off certain cancers.
Carrot juice is Meister's main intake. She doesn't eat much meat or anything else really. A few times a week, Meister whips up the raw juice and feels guilty about throwing away all the pulp; however, it tends to pile up in her fridge.
"I feel really good," Meister touts. "I've lost a few pounds. It's not fasting, but I drink about three to four [glasses] a day. I'll cut back when I start to turn orange, but I'm not orange yet."
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