Keep money in the bank and stuff out of landfill by avoiding these products that have simple and often free or very cheap alternatives.
DIY
Plastic-Free Glue and Homemade Paper Tape
Keep money in your pocket and plastic glue bottles out of landfill with this simple, 2-ingredient homemade wheat paste.
Simple DIY Bread Slicing Guide
Cut smooth, even slices every time with this simple wooden bread slicing guide.
Better Than Bought: Homemade Nutella Without Palm Oil or Plastic
Once you taste this homemade hazelnut-cocoa spread, you can never go back to store-bought Nutella. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
How to Sew a Bento Bag
Family, friends and coworkers, please stop reading now… And if you don’t sew, you can also skip this post and buy an original, proper bento bag from Ambatalia, a small, locally owned producer of gorgeous textile goods made from natural fibers and purveyor of daily essentials to help you live “a non-disposable life.” Check out […]
Coconut Milk Made from Dried Coconut
I make my own coconut milk for several reasons: Store-bought coconut milk is packaged in either wasteful cans lined with plastic or hard-to-recycle and even more wasteful Tetra-Paks that contain plastic Many of these plastics contain BPA or a replacement that is just as harmful Store-bought often contains food-like and suspect ingredients Homemade contains only […]
Lemon Extract
I feel as though have a part-time job at the moment finding uses for the lemons that our tree rains down upon us. If I had more than one lemon tree as prolific as this one, I would lose my mind. Or I would list the location of my trees on Falling Fruit, a site […]
How to Make Tahini with Two Ingredients
(Updated 05/02/22) We eat lots of hummus and so go through quite a bit of tahini. I’m pretty sure when people set out to reduce their waste, their hummus intake becomes inversely proportional. There’s likely a mathematical theory that proves this. This past weekend, I cooked two cups of chickpeas in my pressure cooker for […]
Two Spring Webinars: Sourdough Starter and Ginger Beer
I have scheduled two webinars for the spring—one on May 3rd and one on June 7th. Both take place at 4pm Pacific Time. If you can’t attend these, you can watch the recorded webinars later. If you attend, however, you can ask me questions in real time using the chat window next to the live […]
Off-the-Grid Kombucha
Because you want to take your hippie game to the next level… The word “ferment” comes from the Latin verb “fervere,” to boil One of the benefits of making fermented foods is that you can prepare many of them without consuming energy. So, after the apocalypse, I’ll still be able to eat my mouth-watering fermented salsa, […]
How to Make Eggshell Calcium Powder
My daughter MK made me some homemade toothpaste a couple of years ago that I really liked. It was very similar to this recipe but she added calcium powder to it. She bought calcium supplements and emptied the contents of the gelatin capsules into her toothpaste concoction. I have wanted to make her toothpaste recipe […]
How to Make Simple and Effective Zero Waste Mouthwash
This easy-to-make mouthwash passes the don’t-put-anything-down-the-drain-that-you-won’t-eat test. It contains only vodka, spices and water.
18 Time-Saving Tips for Cooking From Scratch
Unless you already do cook everything from scratch, you’ll cook more when you decide to cut down on—or eliminate—your waste. That’s because you’ll cut packaged, processed food from your diet and replace these food-like substances with home-cooked versions. I can do without a lot of stuff in my life—piles of clothing, cosmetics, the latest gadgets. […]
My Zero-Waste World: The TMI Post
In recent interviews, people have asked me if I follow zero-waste practices in aspects of my life other than food. The short answer: Yes but besides food, what else is there? The long answer follows. Food I’ve got this one covered on this blog. Essentially, to go zero-waste in the kitchen: Put together a shopping […]
My TV Debut!
Earlier this year, I was interviewed about zero-waste living on The Better Part, a show on KMVT, my city’s community television station. The show aired yesterday here in Mountain View and also in Cupertino and Los Altos. It will air again in several other towns near me over the week. But you can watch below […]