When in human history have we ever not had to plan ahead for our needs? Overnight shipping is only a recent development.
real food
49 Zero-Waste Ways to Save Thousands of Dollars

Some aspects of zero-waste living cost more but most cost less.
Easy tips for a Low-Waste Cold and Flu Season

Reduce your waste during the cold and flu season with the following tips.
I’m not Extreme, Consumerism Is

A woman rides her bike to the farmers’ market to buy locally grown fresh fruit and vegetables. After carefully selecting some apples, oranges, avocados, potatoes and kale, all grown on small farms without the use of synthetic pesticides, she places them in her homemade cloth produce bags. Before she hops back on her bike, she […]
What Is Fermentation and Why Do I Go On About It So Much?

If you have read my blog at all, at some point, you may have had one of the following thoughts: Fermentation sounds revolting. Why does she keep going on about it? OMG. I love fermentation. I named my sourdough starter [insert name]. On [insert date] she turns [insert number] years old. We will throw her […]
12-Step Program to Cut Processed Food

I admit it. I love sugar. I eat less sugar than I used to but I still eat it. And although I don’t believe sugar is as addictive as cocaine, food manufacturers certainly seem addicted to the stuff—or at least to the huge profits that added sugar enables. A University of North Carolina survey found that […]
9 Items Banned from My Kitchen and How I Replaced Them

In 2011, my daughter MK and I decided we would try to live without plastic. Because I’ve been at this for a while, I take for granted many of the early changes we made back then to wean ourselves off of the stuff. But with all the welcome press lately on the plastic pollution crisis […]
Simple, Good Food from Fresh Ingredients: Roasted Honeynut Squash

In my recipe index, you’ll find foods that most people buy processed and packaged today: crackers, bread, broths, nut milk, hummus, ginger beer, yogurt, ketchup, vinegar, tahini, pickles, pickled peppers, pasta—those difficult-to-find foods for anyone trying to reduce their plastic footprint. I also include many recipes for ingredients that would otherwise go to waste—scrap vinegar […]
Someone Tell Me How I’m Missing Out

If you read environmental news, you may have stumbled across articles within the last week or so on a new type of edible straw. This article from Fast Company contains some unfortunate wording about these alternatives to wasteful, single-use, ocean-polluting plastic straws: It’s not about the consumer sacrificing anymore, it’s about the consumer having fun and […]