Another rec - homemade tahini. So easy and I think it’s a lot tastier than store bought. Just sesame seeds that you toast yourself and olive oil. It’s not bitter like store bought frequently is. Plus, it stays nicely emulsified. No hard dried block of sesame with a lake of oil floating on top.
I found a clean vanilla oat milk, brand name Malk. It contains filtered water, organic gluten free oats, vanilla, and Himalayan pink salt. Malk also makes clean creamers.
We save our onion and garlic peels and the occasional leek top; keep them in a bag in the freezer; when the bag is full (or I need space in the freezer), I put the contents of the bag in a pot, cover with cold water and simmer on low overnight/24 hours. Never boil it while it “cooks”. The next day, drain it and enjoy your free (possibly organic) vegetable broth to use as a base in your soups or to cook rice. Bring to a boil and save in jars - a large pot will provide for 3-4 jars.
yes! i mainly save my veggie scraps for chicken broth and compost the rest because i had too many for my freezer setup. i did go through a phase of making veg broth and then giving it away to friends, but for some reason its hard to keep pestering your friends to take the insane amount of veg broth off your hands 🤷🏻♀️
YES to all of these! We have had our Almond Cow since 2018, love that thing! And just made homemade hummus with home cooked beans today, it just tastes so much better that way. We also make our black beans, I do two pounds at once in my pressure cooker and it lasts us two weeks (my kids are big black bean fanatics). Homemade granola is where it is at! 👏 I make a double batch and freeze half of it. Mayo with avocado oil and soy milk has been a recent fave staple too, and great for making homemade ranch!
I love the general message and I think there is valid critique of how for-profit food systems are motivated to sideline health concerns in favor of sales. I do sometimes worry when critique starts to fall into “natural=good, artificial=bad” binaries - not only is defining “natural” more complex than most might think, but there are lots of examples where that binary just doesn’t hold up. For example, you talk about avoiding emulsifiers and preservatives, but the vinaigrette recipe here contains an emulsifier (the Dijon mustard) and several preservatives (salt and lemon)
thank you for reading this so thoroughly! and i hear you on the binary arguments being tricky — there’s a lot of purposefully deceptive marketing using this binary perspective, and it only makes the world of food that much more confusing for consumers. however, while i understand that your interpretation is of dijon mustard as an emulsifier because it helps to bind the other ingredients together and keep them from separating and that lemon and salt are preservatives because they delay/prevent decay or microbial growth, my point here is to encourage people to use these ingredients to make their own versions with the “whole food/minimally processed” things instead of the store-bought options (ok mustard is store-bought unless you’re super intense and make your own, in which case, my hat is off to you; but most mustards have minimal, simple ingredient lists). i should have been more specific about the emulsifier and preservative topic being more specifically about those that include the world of “gums”, nitrates/nitrites, various acids — the types of things that you’ll find in a lab before a home kitchen. the stuff that allows for shelf-stablility. i’m happy to go more in-depth on that in a future issue!
My mind is blown about the shop the perimeter. I mean, I mostly do this, but never considered it! Now I will not go into a grocery store without thinking about this!
Yes, good info. I have never bought a prepared salad dressing. I have tasted a couple left in holiday fridges. Nasty. What is easier than mixing 2/3 parts of your oil of choice with 1 part vinegar /citrus of choice, generous amount of salt, then add flavour like garlic, or mustard, herbs, pepper, paprika? Stick it in a jar in the fridge, use over several days!
I love everything about this. It's basically the premise for quite a few of my notes and some posts. All of these things are not only better tasting but they're healthier, cheaper, and take almost zero effort. I also make granola, salad dressing, hummus, LOL all of it.
Another rec - homemade tahini. So easy and I think it’s a lot tastier than store bought. Just sesame seeds that you toast yourself and olive oil. It’s not bitter like store bought frequently is. Plus, it stays nicely emulsified. No hard dried block of sesame with a lake of oil floating on top.
omg i must try this! you just described two of my major gripes with most store-bought tahini
I’m so glad you reminded me of this, I used to make my own and then got away from it for some reason!
This is why I’ve only made humans once - store bought tahini tastes awful! I will try and make my own now, thank you!
I found a clean vanilla oat milk, brand name Malk. It contains filtered water, organic gluten free oats, vanilla, and Himalayan pink salt. Malk also makes clean creamers.
We save our onion and garlic peels and the occasional leek top; keep them in a bag in the freezer; when the bag is full (or I need space in the freezer), I put the contents of the bag in a pot, cover with cold water and simmer on low overnight/24 hours. Never boil it while it “cooks”. The next day, drain it and enjoy your free (possibly organic) vegetable broth to use as a base in your soups or to cook rice. Bring to a boil and save in jars - a large pot will provide for 3-4 jars.
yes! i mainly save my veggie scraps for chicken broth and compost the rest because i had too many for my freezer setup. i did go through a phase of making veg broth and then giving it away to friends, but for some reason its hard to keep pestering your friends to take the insane amount of veg broth off your hands 🤷🏻♀️
Pasta sauces are mostly so easy to make, and often take less time than it takes to cook the pasta you will eat it with!
We make our own garlic and onion powder by drying the skins then pulverizing. Add a little salt for garlic salt. So easy and flavorful.
We also freeze fat drippings from brisket for ready made fat sources for soups.
YES to all of these! We have had our Almond Cow since 2018, love that thing! And just made homemade hummus with home cooked beans today, it just tastes so much better that way. We also make our black beans, I do two pounds at once in my pressure cooker and it lasts us two weeks (my kids are big black bean fanatics). Homemade granola is where it is at! 👏 I make a double batch and freeze half of it. Mayo with avocado oil and soy milk has been a recent fave staple too, and great for making homemade ranch!
Ooo will also add making my own feta and ricotta with tofu, so so yummy! Oh and seitan and pepperonis and pourable cashew cheese. Okay I'm done. 😂
I love the general message and I think there is valid critique of how for-profit food systems are motivated to sideline health concerns in favor of sales. I do sometimes worry when critique starts to fall into “natural=good, artificial=bad” binaries - not only is defining “natural” more complex than most might think, but there are lots of examples where that binary just doesn’t hold up. For example, you talk about avoiding emulsifiers and preservatives, but the vinaigrette recipe here contains an emulsifier (the Dijon mustard) and several preservatives (salt and lemon)
thank you for reading this so thoroughly! and i hear you on the binary arguments being tricky — there’s a lot of purposefully deceptive marketing using this binary perspective, and it only makes the world of food that much more confusing for consumers. however, while i understand that your interpretation is of dijon mustard as an emulsifier because it helps to bind the other ingredients together and keep them from separating and that lemon and salt are preservatives because they delay/prevent decay or microbial growth, my point here is to encourage people to use these ingredients to make their own versions with the “whole food/minimally processed” things instead of the store-bought options (ok mustard is store-bought unless you’re super intense and make your own, in which case, my hat is off to you; but most mustards have minimal, simple ingredient lists). i should have been more specific about the emulsifier and preservative topic being more specifically about those that include the world of “gums”, nitrates/nitrites, various acids — the types of things that you’ll find in a lab before a home kitchen. the stuff that allows for shelf-stablility. i’m happy to go more in-depth on that in a future issue!
I would add make your own Mayonnaise.. so easy!!
https://40aprons.com/whole30-coconut-oil-mayonnaise/
I’m glad you added pesto to your list, most don’t know you can make all kinds of pesto. Once I made beet green and walnut pesto. It was so yummy!
When I finally had to go off of all dairy, I purchased an Almond Cow. Best idea ever! Fabulous, simple machine.
Also, I am now making my own Mayonnaise. Very simple!
Awesome! I’m just made my first granola batch this week and now I will 100% make my own hummus!!
My mind is blown about the shop the perimeter. I mean, I mostly do this, but never considered it! Now I will not go into a grocery store without thinking about this!
yes! love this!
Yes, good info. I have never bought a prepared salad dressing. I have tasted a couple left in holiday fridges. Nasty. What is easier than mixing 2/3 parts of your oil of choice with 1 part vinegar /citrus of choice, generous amount of salt, then add flavour like garlic, or mustard, herbs, pepper, paprika? Stick it in a jar in the fridge, use over several days!
I love everything about this. It's basically the premise for quite a few of my notes and some posts. All of these things are not only better tasting but they're healthier, cheaper, and take almost zero effort. I also make granola, salad dressing, hummus, LOL all of it.