![](\"https:\/\/easyveganmealprep.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/img_1115.jpg\")
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\ud83e\udd2fI made homemade carob powder today! Yesterday while on a walk I found carob pods from a carob tree. Carob trees are common in California and they grow large brown pods that look similar to tamarind pods. I harvested carob pods that had just fallen from the tree and weren’t rotted yet, but you can also harvest them directly from the tree. Choose pods that do not have mold growing on them. Fresh pods can be eaten raw!<\/p>\n
I took the nice looking carob pods home, boiled them, removed the seeds then dehydrated the carob pods. Today I ground the dried pods in my VitaMix blender and now have homemade carob powder! \ud83e\udd17\ud83d\ude0bI used a dehydrator but you can also dry carob pods in an oven set at its lowest heat setting. I dehydrated the carob pods for about 18 hours at 116 degrees Fahrenheit.<\/p>\n
I use carob powder as a substitute for cocoa powder in smoothies, chia pudding, muffins, etc. Carob powder can also be added to coffee or hot water and enjoyed as a beverage.<\/p>\n
Carob tastes similar to cocoa powder but is naturally sweet and doesn\u2019t contain caffeine. It\u2019s what Ovaltine is made from! This powder will most likely make it into a smoothie.<\/p>\n
I also boiled the carob seeds and dehydrated them. Then, I ground the seeds into a fine powder in a coffee grinder and sifted out the parts that wouldn’t grind into a powder and discarded them.<\/p>\n
The carob seeds contain a natural gum that can be used to thicken recipes, it’s also known as locust bean gum. I plan to add the carob seed powder to my next batch of vegan ice cream as a thickener!<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\ud83e\udd2fI made homemade carob powder today! Yesterday while on a walk I found carob pods from a carob tree. Carob trees are common in California and they grow large brown pods that look similar to tamarind pods. I harvested carob pods that had just fallen from the tree and weren’t rotted yet, but you can […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":662,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wprm-recipe-roundup-name":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-description":"","wpupg_custom_link":[],"wpupg_custom_link_behaviour":[],"wpupg_custom_image":[],"wpupg_custom_image_id":[],"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":""},"categories":[1,60,41,42,59,39,17,38,658],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n