If you're thinking that $15 for vanilla beans plus the vodka isn't exactly cheap, you are correct. You're looking at more than the $1.50-2.00 an ounce of buying vanilla. However, your homemade vanilla is nearly endlessly replenishable.
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Have you heard of ancient grains? They seem to be becoming more common, so if you've delved very deep into wheat alternatives, you've probably run across them.
Einkorn is the first ancient grain I used, and it's still the one I'm most familiar with. It's an ancient form of wheat that's been cultivated for thousands of years, and it's different from modern wheat in a couple significant ways that can impact your health – namely its chromosomes and nutrients.
Organic produce has become a hot topic as people grow more interested in eating healthier foods and avoiding toxins.
It is also a rather divisive topic. Some people claim it's the only way to go, and everything they eat must be organic. Others scoff at the idea that organic food is any healthier than conventional.
The truth is that both sides have some merit. It's not a black and white issue, and you must decide for yourself which shade of gray is most closely aligned with your needs.
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In 2012, I embarked on a mission to make one new food from scratch each month. It was quite an adventure, and ever since, I have loved trying my hand at making new foods from time to time.
Not gonna lie. Sometimes, it’s really difficult – like puff pastry! Yikes!
But more often, it’s far easier than I would imagine.
Like when I had a hankering for nachos. Usually, I would just spread some chips on a baking sheet, shred cheese over the top, and pop it in the oven to melt.
But sometimes, I really crave that creamy dipping type of cheese.
Now, the nacho cheese available in jars at the store isn’t something I want in my body. One brand has more partially hydrogenated soybean oil and modified food starch than it had actual cheese! Yellow 5 & 6 and MSG are just a few more ingredients to avoid.
So instead, I did a quick internet search for a from-scratch recipe and found “5 Minute Nacho Cheese Sauce” at budgetbytes.com. I especially love the tips for success and options for switching up the recipe!
I made some minor modifications and came up with this, which is about right for a single serving:
– 1 Tbs. butter
– 1 Tbs. flour
– 1/2 c. milk (I used 2%)
– 3 oz. sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (it’s what I had)
– pinch of black pepper infused pink himalayan sea salt
– sprinkle of chili powder
You start with a roux – melt the butter and stir in the flour for a minute or so until it's cooked. Add the milk and whisk until the mixture has thickened. I've found that I need to cook on a bit higher heat to get this done. It will take forever on low to medium heat.
Last, stir in the cheese until melted and season. See? Simple!
Scoop it up with some minimal ingredients chips or go all out and top it with all the things.
I'm not going to claim it's healthy, but at least it's avoiding the artificial crap found in the jarred cheese.
And it absolutely satisfies my nacho cheese cravings and tastes so much better than my memories of the store bought version! Just another item I will be making myself from now on!
Is there a food you’ve discovered is better homemade than store-bought? Please share your recipe in the comments and inspire us!
Is there something you want to try? I'm happy to share a recipe if I have one!
It’s hard to say exactly when my natural health journey began.
What I consider the first “official” step was making foods from scratch, which seems almost poetic somehow.
I believe it was in 2011 when the news broke about the ingredients in the bread at a certain sandwich chain – ingredients that were also found in yoga mats.
Should anything in a yoga mat be in my sandwich? My thought was “no!”
That led to what was probably the first real step I took toward living more naturally – knowing what was going into the food I was consuming.
In 2012, I made a resolution to make one new food item from scratch each month.
I started with bread. Looking back, it probably wasn’t the easiest place to begin, but probably in part due to the fact that it’s the item which had inspired this mission in the first place, it seemed like a logical starting point for me.
It may not be as pretty as store-bought bread, but it tastes much better, and I can feel good about what’s in it!
I learned about yeast and proofing and different types of flours, and I realized that it wasn’t as difficult as I had anticipated. Sure, it took time – a lot of it! But much of it was time waiting for the dough to rise, and I could work on other things while I waited. I could only bake bread on days I didn’t work, but if you’ve ever eaten homemade bread fresh out of the oven, you know that it’s well worth it!
My other adventures that year included other bread items, such as burger buns, pita bread, and pizza crust, as well as things like peanut butter cups, jam, and more.
My advice if you’d like to take on making food from scratch? Start with what interests you, so you’ll be more likely to stick with it. For me, it was bread, crazy as that seems. For you, it might be something simpler, and that’s fantastic! Wherever you feel led to begin, start there. But don’t be afraid to try something more difficult. It’s all a journey, and what matters is the lessons you learn along the way.
If you'd like to start baking your own bread, this was the first recipe I tried, and it's still my base that I play around with.
And if you'd like to learn more about simple – and not as simple – swap-outs for common toxins, we talk about stuff like that all the time in my free Facebook group.
