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Zero-Waste Chef

bunch of bento bags

Posted on December 30, 2018December 30, 2018by Anne-Marie Bonneau
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homemade fabric bento bags and gift wrapping for zero waste and plastic free shopping and gift giving

Several homemade bento bags holding stuff (and a couple of furoshiki wraps)

homemade fabric bento bags and gift wrapping for zero waste and plastic free shopping and gift giving

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I’m out of dish blocks and dish soap 😮 No pro I’m out of dish blocks and dish soap 😮 No problem! I can make dish soap! Here’s how: 🫧 Heat 2 cups of water. 🫧 Turn off the heat and stir in 3 tablespoons of shredded bar soap. 🫧 After the soap melts, stir in 1 teaspoon of washing soda. 🫧 Let the soap sit for several hours or overnight. Add 15 drops of essential oil if you’d like scented dish soap. If it’s too thick to use, give it a whir with an immersion blender. Store in a pump and use as needed. I made this batch with Good Soap. Dr. Bronner’s is good. This is not super sudsy like the commercial stuff but it gets the job done and doesn’t cost very much to make. If you can’t find washing soda, you can make it by heating baking soda. Link in profile for details on that and this dish soap.
Out of baking powder? If you have cream of tarter Out of baking powder? If you have cream of tarter and baking soda on hand, you can “make” it. Sift together 2 parts cream of tartar and 1 part baking soda. Sift and use immediately. Here, I’ve used the baking powder to bake sourdough discard biscuits. Lemon juice mixed with baking soda can also replace baking powder. Mix 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice with 1/4 teaspoon baking soda for every 1 teaspoon of baking powder the recipe calls for and use immediately. Link in profile for 8 more staples that are easy to make yourself.
A lower waste lifestyle should save you money, not A lower waste lifestyle should save you money, not bankrupt you. Yes, some aspects of zero-waste living cost more (unpackaged farmers' market produce versus a discount grocer that packages everything in plastic). But others aspects will save money—eating all the food you buy instead of throwing some out, eating lower on the food chain, buying in bulk when you can (for many items, not all). These nine ideas are just some of the ways to reduce waste and save money. . . . . . #frugal #thriftlife #secondhandfirst #makedo #buyless #sustainablelifestyle #simpleliving #foodwaste #zerofoodwaste #lovefoodhatewaste #wastefreeliving #lowwasteliving #slowfoodmovement #slowlivingmovement #artofslowliving #plasticfreeliving #plasticfreelifestyle #breakfreefromplastic #plasticfreejuly #plasticpollutes #zerowastejourney #zerowasteliving #zerowastelifestyle #zerowastetips #kitchentips #zerowastechef #climateemergency #thereisnoplanetb
UPDATE: The 200 spots have filled! Thank you to ev UPDATE: The 200 spots have filled! Thank you to everyone who registered. Keep an eye out for the next starter class in a couple of months. —————— Every time I pull a loaf of sourdough bread out of the oven, I'm amazed that it contains only three ingredients: flour, water and salt. (Okay, this raisin loaf contains four ingredients.) Before you can witness this amazing transformation, you need to start a sourdough starter. Learn how in my next free online sourdough starter class, Friday, April 7th at 9am PT/12pm ET. Bring a jar, some flour and your questions! Want a gluten-free starter? The starter method is the same. Teff or buckwheat work well. (And if you use teff, you can also make some injera.) Link in profile for more info and to register. This class tends to fill up pretty fast. . . . . . #sourdoughbaking #sourdoughbaker #sourdoughlove #sourdoughstarter #sourdoughdiscard #flourwatersalt #fermentedfoods #fermented #wildfermentation #wildyeast #kitchentips #foodmadewithlove #sustainablelifestyle #simpleliving #wastefreeliving #intentionalliving #slowfoodmovement #slowlivingmovement #artofslowliving #breakfreefromplastic #plasticfreeliving #plasticfreelifejuly #zerowastejourney #zerowastelifestyle #zerowastekitchen #zerowastetips #zerowastechef #thereisnoplanetb
Clean rust from jars and lids with DIY citrus scou Clean rust from jars and lids with DIY citrus scouring powder! This jar had been filled with hair conditioner and sat in the shower, where the jar mouth and lid developed rust. If you ferment anything, you may have some rusty jars and lids. Clean those jars up easily with homemade scouring powder with citrus zest. It easily removed all the rust from this jar and lots from the lid. To make it, combine 1/2 cup baking soda, 1/4 cup salt, 1/4 cup washing soda and 1 to 2 tablespoons ground dried lemon and orange zest. See my website for the full instructions (link in profile). Don’t have washing soda? You can make that too! Simply bake baking soda to transform it into washing soda. See yesterday’s post for the abbreviated instructions for that or my website for the full recipe. Get more out of the citrus you eat. Put the scraps to work and keep your jars clean.
The homemade citrus scouring powder I posted last The homemade citrus scouring powder I posted last week calls for washing soda, which can be hard to find. Fortunately, you can transform easy-to-find baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) into washing soda (sodium carbonate) in the oven. ⚡️ Heat the oven to 400°F. Spread the baking soda evenly in a clean baking sheet. ⚡️ Bake the baking soda for 1 to 2 hours, stirring every half hour. The finished product will look gritty and contain fewer clumps than the finely textured baking soda it began as. You can also weigh the washing soda to check for fineness. The finished product will weigh 2/3 the original. ⚡️ Remove from the oven. When cool, pack the washing soda into a clearly labeled, airtight glass jar. The second photo shows the finely textured baking soda before baking and the last photo shows the gritty washing soda after baking. Although some recipes do call for sodium carbonate (such as ramen), you don't want to mix it up with baking soda and eat it. The two substances do differ slightly in appearance but to avoid any confusion, I've glued a label on my jar with my homemade wheat paste because I love making all the things. See my website for the full instructions for transforming baking soda into washing soda and what you can do with the stuff. Those instructions include links to wheat paste and rice glue if you'd like to make a similar labels for all the jars. . . . . . #bakingsoda #DIYcleaning #selfreliance #wastenotwantnot #wastenot #sustainablelifestyle #simpleliving #wastefreeliving #kitchentips #lowwaste #lowwasteliving #slowfoodmovement #slowlivingmovement #artofslowliving #plasticfreeliving #plasticfreelife #breakfreefromplastic #plasticpollutes #plasticisfossilfuel #packagefree #zerowastejourney #zerowastelifestyle #zerowasteliving #zerowastetips #zerowastekitchen #zerowastechef #climatecrisis #thereisnoplanetb
Think of reducing wasted food as—sometimes liter Think of reducing wasted food as—sometimes literally—the low-hanging fruit of combating climate change. I've been obsessed with this for over a decade and I still have not come up with a single downside to reducing wasted food, only benefits. Reducing wasted food: 🍏 Keeps food out of landfill, where decomposing food emits methane gas, a greenhouse gas much more potent than carbon dioxide 🧅 Helps reduce the number of trips to the grocery store 🥦 Conserves resources that go into producing food 🍞 Saves money 🍋 Makes us more creative cooks 🥔 Results in more delicious food (see creativity) 🥑 Boosts cooking confidence and enhances cooking skills 🍎 Ensures more food remains for those who need it most 🌽 Doesn't require special equipment, an outlay of cash or advanced skills Start reducing wasted food today with your next meal. See my recipe index for loads of waste-reducing recipes.
Co-housing, ecovillages, communes student co-ops a Co-housing, ecovillages, communes student co-ops are all forms of intentional communities. I lived in an intentional community from 2005 to 2020 and I loved it. We residents shared all kinds of resources, from stuff to sitting (kids or cats) to skills. The dinners in the community kitchen, cooked by volunteer residents, were a godsend when my kids were little. Community can help mitigate many environmental and social problems. Organizing neighborhood block parties, planting natives in common spaces, tending community gardens and creating a forum in which to communicate are just some ways we can create community where we live. Not everyone wants to or can live in an intentional community. (But if you’re interested, search for worldwide intentional communities at ic.org.) Disconnected from one another—either in single-family homes, behind screens, working constantly or all of the above—many of us try to consume our way to happiness. Working together (and sometimes living together) in small communities can provide purpose and meaning. And it’s a lot harder to sell people more stuff they don’t need if they have purpose and meaning in their lives. Read more in my newsletter. Register for that in my profile. . . . . . #intentionalcommunity #ecovillage #cooperation #communal #alternativeliving #communalliving #communitygarden #communitykitchen #permaculturegarden #sharingeconomy #climatecrisis #extinctioncrisis #soilhealth #regenerative #thereisnoplanetb #noplanetb #lowwaste #lowwasteliving #ecofriendlyliving #intentionalliving #slowlivingmovement #artofslowliving #plasticpollutes #breakfreefromplastic #zerowastejourney #zerowasteliving #zerowastelifestyle #zerowastechef
Dry out citrus zest to add to homemade scouring po Dry out citrus zest to add to homemade scouring powder. Citrus peels contain d-Limonene, a natural compound that breaks down oil, making it an effective cleaning agent. Many commercial cleaning products contain d-Limonene—and other ingredients you may not want to use. We eat lots of oranges and have a lemon tree and I zest lots of citrus before eating or cooking it. This is one more use for that zest. I stash some zest in the freezer and some I dry out on covered dishes at room temperature. You can also dry zest in the oven at a very low temperature (our lowest temp is 170°F). Break the clumps up with a fork every 15 minutes and dehydrate for about 45 minutes or until dried out. To make your own “Now with d-Limonene!” scouring powder, combine the following (or scale it up for a larger batch): 🍊1/2 cup baking soda 🍊1/4 cup salt 🍊1/4 cup washing soda 🍊1 to tablespoons ground up dried lemon and orange zest
Sprinkle, scrub and rinse. Washing soda is sodium carbonate. Look for it in the laundry aisle of grocery stores. I bought this in bulk at @rainbow.grocery . If you can’t find it, the baking soda + salt + citrus combo will still work very well to scour surfaces clean. You can also “make” washing soda out of baking soda by heating it. Maybe an upcoming Reel? 🤔 Put all the food scraps to use, save money and enjoy citrus scent that comes from real citrus.
I made these peanut butter and chocolate cranberry I made these peanut butter and chocolate cranberry granola bars to take on the road for a zero-waste talk I recently gave. They taste SO good (maybe too good)! My daughter Charlotte came up with the recipe a few years ago. The peanut butter complements the sweet cranberries and chocolate chips (these also contain cocoa powder). A flax egg (ground flaxseed plus water) helps bind everything together. Before baking, push sunflower seeds into the top of the granola mixture using the flat bottom of a metal measuring cup. This helps ensure a compact, flat bar. My kids learned to cook from watching me cook but also out of necessity/cravings. If they wanted peanut butter and chocolate cranberry granola bars, they'd have to make peanut butter and chocolate cranberry granola bars themselves. Because I had stopped buying food packaged in plastic, we started making our own snacks, which turned out to taste much better than store-bought! For my trip, I didn't think I should take all of these chocolatey granola bars with me, so I froze several (I had never tried freezing these). Just to be sure they can be successfully frozen, I thawed them out and tested (i.e., ate) a few when we returned home and am happy to report that they indeed freeze very well. So if you want to make them, since you’ll already have the oven on, you may as well double the batch and freeze some. Cook once, eat several times. See the recipe index on my website for the recipe.
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