To Buy or Not to Buy? 🤷♀️
Hello Friends! 👋
OK, let’s dish! I used to make almost everything from scratch and it was a little crazy. If I couldn’t find a certain ingredient or product organic or in glass versus plastic or with all natural ingredients, I would make it myself. And sometimes I would make things from scratch because I could make them better and much cheaper. There are more and more high quality products in stores and online which can make cooking easier and more in line with how I want to eat. I still prefer buying packaged food in a store versus take-out because I know what I’m getting. I can see the ingredients and the order of the ingredients dictates the XXXXXX. When you eat restaurant food, you don’t know if it was made in-house or outsourced, how much oil, sugar or chemicals were added and what type of oil etc. No big deal every now and then, but I don’t eat restaurant food often.
Here are a few of my favorite packaged foods I keep on hand (this is NOT sponsored) and a few that I make from scratch.
Here's what I BUY:
Gluten-free and Paleo flour blends: I used to make my own flour blends because there were no good ones! I had to buy 7 different flours etc. Now I buy King Arthur Multi-purpose Gluten-free Flour, Bob's Red Mill One-to-One GF Flour and Bob’s Paleo Flour. I know Cup-4-Cup is popular, but the first ingredient is cornstarch and it’s not very natural.
Marinara Sauce: I hope my mother is not reading this, but commercial marinara sauces have come a long way from Ragu and Prego. We like Rao’s even though it’s not organic, Thrive Market private label, and if I feel like splurging, I’ll pick up some sauce from an Italian market like Eataly or Uncle Giuseppe’s.
Cooked beans and lentils: I go both ways here, but I always keep jarred, boxed and canned stuff on hand for quick additions to salads and stir-fries and casseroles. Jovial makes outstanding jarred beans, and Sadaf has hands-down the best jarred chickpeas around. New obsession. I also like having Melissa’s Produce or Trader Joe’s steamed lentils in the fridge.
Candied nuts: Not worth my time to make these. I rarely use candied nuts, mainly for salads and cheeseboards when I’m entertaining, and they’re a pain to make. Plus, I’m not going to make them any “healthier” than Trader Joe’s!
Certain condiments: Curry paste (Mae Ploy), Buffalo sauce (Primal Kitchen)
Honorable mentions: We like to make our own pizza, but we also like to keep a few frozen Banza chickpea flour pizza crusts (more like flatbread than pizza) on hand as well as our new favorite, Blackbird plant-based frozen pizzas. Worth a try!
Here's what I always make from scratch:
Salad Dressing: I am not sure why I haven’t started a salad dressing business because there is nothing out there that is remotely better in taste or quality than what I can make at home. My Everyday Salad Dressing #2 is a weekly staple. I now make a triple or quadruple batch at once and freeze jars of it. I like knowing I am using a high quality olive oil and salad dressing takes 5 minutes to make.
Guacamole: too expensive and I like how I make it. Mash some avocados and sprinkle with lime juice and salt to taste and a little minced shallot and cilantro. Add hot sauce to taste and tomato if you have it.
Granola: I’m still making my own even though there are 5 million granolas out there. The ones that are high-quality and low-sugar are high-price. Eh. I’d rather make my Big Cluster Granola and keep it in the freezer. I also make it for my friends. Makes a nice hostess gift in a pretty jar if someone invites you to dinner.
Cut vegetables: Just no. Overpriced, at risk for bacterial contamination, and often either dry or slimy. Get your knives sharpened, put on some Yacht Rock and get chopping.
Stock: The better brands like Kettle and Fire, Bonafide, and Stock Options are expensive. I make vegetable stock for zero dollars because I save scraps in the freezer and I make chicken stock for very little as well. I make it and freeze it so I always have stock ready to go. I just found these cool silicone Souper Cubes so I can freeze smaller sizes of stock (and soup.)
Almond milk: Since I discovered Joi organic almond base (they also have cashew), I have never bought almond milk. It’s basically blanched (no skins) almond butter. I take ¼ cup and blend it with 3 ¾ cups water and pour it into a jar. No straining, no filtering, no squeezing, no work. And you consume all the almond with no fillers, oils, gums, etc. It couldn’t be easier. I order the giant tub because I make so much almond milk.
If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen the reel for the Chocolate-Dipped Date Caramel Apples. Who needs to go to Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory when you can make these at home for much less and use the ingredients that you want!
Chocolate-Dipped Caramel Apples
Makes 4
1 1/2 cups dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 Tablespoon unrefined virgin coconut oil
Few spoonfuls of date caramel sauce (see recipe below)
2 apples, any variety
Topping suggestions: finely chopped pecans, shredded coconut, dye-free sprinkles, flaky sea salt.
Melt the chocolate and coconut oil in a double-boiler or heat-proof bowl set atop a pot of simmering water, until completely smooth.
Cut each apple into two halves, cutting around the core. Insert a popsicle stick through the bottom. Line a plate with unbleached parchment paper.
Slather a small spoonful of date caramel sauce on the cut side of the apples. Coat each apple with chocolate, letting excess chocolate drip off into the bowl. Transfer to parchment-lined plate and sprinkle with desired toppings. Refrigerate apples for about an hour to allow the chocolate to set.
Date caramel sauce (Makes about 1¼ cups)
6 large dates, pitted and soaked in 1 cup warm water for 30 minutes, soaking liquid reserved (about ¾ cup packed dates)
3 Tablespoons melted unrefined virgin coconut oil
3 Tablespoons pure maple syrup
3 Tablespoons brown rice syrup or raw honey
¼ cup creamy raw or roasted almond butter or raw cashew butter (for nut-free, try omitting and if something is needed, try a mild tahini)
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon sea salt
Process all ingredients + 2 Tablespoons date soaking liquid in a blender until completely smooth.
xx, Pamela