Zero Waste Recipe | Our Favorite Summer Meal 2019: (Almost Vegan) Potato Poblano Tacos

Yep, you read that right. We made these tacos a ton last summer! in 2019 our poblano crop was HUGE! The pepper bushes were huge (several feet wide and tall), the peppers were huge, and our taco consumption matched that. But we only got about 6 poblanos this year!

As a final nod to summer, I wanted to have this meal at least once! As usual, I don’t have a recipe for this meal, so this variation is a little different than last year. I didn’t really measure anything, so I will just mark what I used. Scale up or down depending on how many you want to feed. I also only had regular sour cream which keeps this meal form being totally vegan.

Ingredients:
potato (1/2 a baking potato)
sweet potato (1/2 a Japanese sweet potato)
poblano peppers (3 smallish peppers)
garlic (about 4 cloves)
fresh corn (1 ear)
olive oil
tomatoes (a handful of mini ones)
red onion (about a quarter of a small onion)
sour cream
lime
tortillas

Equipment:
knife
pot
frying pan
spatula

Cut potatoes and sweet potatoes into bit sized cubes, boil or steam until for tender. Fine dice garlic, rough dice peppers, tomatoes, and red onion and cook corn off cob, while potatoes are cooking. Add cooked potatoes and garlic into a frying pan with olive oil and fry until potatoes get brown and a bit crispy. After potatoes are crisped, add peppers and cook until tender. Add corn and cook mixture for 2-3 min more. Set aside veg mixture to cool slightly. While potato mix is cooking and cooling combine red onion and tomatoes in a bowl. These are toppings and add a little juice to the tacos so the tacos are not too dry. Place potatoes mix in a bowl for easy assembly. In the same frying pan (no need to clean it, just bush out any chunks), heat the tortillas thru. Assemble tacos with potato mix, tomato mix, sour cream and lime. Eat and enjoy!

Some notes:
- The only reason this is not a completely vegan meal is bc we only had sour cream. Feel free to use vegan cream, cashew crema, or yogurt, to omit all together.
- These tacos are inspired by ones we used to eat often in Brooklyn. The potatoes and poblanos are essential but everything else can be changed. We had corn, so we used that this time. The sweet potatoes were tasty, but it can easily be made without. Add what you have or what you’ve grown. We usually have this with picked red onions, but I hadn’t made any this time. Add black beans, whatever you like.
- This meal would be good over rice, or as a burrito, or as a burrito bowl.

Making your own tortillas and sour cream would have made this a more zero waste meal. I used up the last of some store bought tortillas, but making them myself would have been better. We reused the plastic bag that these came in. The sour cream is also not zero waste as it comes in plastic. When we eat all the cream, we will clean and reuse the container for seed sprouting in the Spring. The peppers and tomatoes came from our garden. The sweet potatoes, corn, and onion were all from a local farmers market. Eating as local as possible helps this meal be more zero waste.

Did you have a favorite meal this Summer or last?

Zero Waste Recipe: Vegan Sourdough Pancakes

I have been eating so. many. pancakes.

I’m not mad tho. It’s been a log time since I had such a hankering for them and now that I have extra starter, they are even better! It took me a little while to develop this scratch pancake recipe, but it’s simple with only 10 ingredients, and so tasty with a little sourdough tang!

You may have noticed from other recipes that I hate to measure. And you would be right. I don’t truly measure this recipe when I make it at home. Here I have provided measurements for a small batch of pancakes. Feel free to scale up or down.

Ingredients:
3/4 cup starter (fed or discard)
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup milk
1 tb sugar
2 tb oil (I like olive)
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 baking powder
Pinch salt
Nutmeg
Oil for cooking

Equipment:
Medium mixing bowl
Fork
Measuring cups
Measuring Spoons
Frying pan
Spatula

Add starter, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and oil in a medium bowl and whisk with fork to combine. The batter will be very thick. Mix in milk, a little at a time, until you have the desired consistency. Make sure to mix well and get out any lumps and clumps (you can sift in dry ingredients if you wish but this is one too many steps for my taste). I like my pancakes to be thin so my batter is pretty runny. Heat frying pan and add cooking oil (I use a canola oil/olive oil mix). Once hot, pour in batter and cook like normal pancakes. Heat each pancake all the way through on one side until many bubbles form in center of pancake, then flip. Each pancake should be golden brown in the center and slightly crispy on the edges. This recipe makes about 8 small cakes or 4 large ones. Serve with butter, vegan butter, syrup, jam, etc… and enjoy!

Some notes:
- I feed my discard starter a little each day so for me these pancakes are pretty active. I really enjoy the flavor but sometimes the sourness needs a little getting used to.
- Use whatever flour you would like to change these pancakes to taste. Rye, buckwheat, or wholewheat all sound good.
- Change up the spices. I love nutmeg, but cinnamon, vanilla, and ginger would all work, I’m sure.
- I like my pancakes on the flatter, chewier side, so I usually cut down the amount of baking soda, but if you prefer a more fluffy pancake up it instead.
- These are sweet pancakes, but probably could be made savory by omitting the sugar, changing the spices and toppings.

These pancakes are a great way to use discard starter which helps with food waste. Using bulk flour or flour that came in paper, oil in glass, and spices in bulk cardboard, or glass, all help with waste. Use your homemade non dairy milk if you have it!

How do you like your pancakes? Fluffy or chewy? Sweet or savory? If you try this recipe, leave a comment below!

Zero Waste Recipe: Super Simple Vegan Tomato Sauce

For most of my life I ate tomato sauce out of a jar. Right from the store, into a pot, onto the pasta. Every once in a while my parents would make a special sauce from scratch or canned tomatoes. I ate scratch sauces in restaurants of course. One day a few years ago, I was eating a store bought sauce at home and it suddenly was horrible to me. I couldn’t imagine ever eating a prefab sauce ever again.

This recipe still uses canned tomatoes, but it’s a huge step up from jarred tomato sauce, so easy to make, and can be modified to anyones taste. I’ll never go back!

Ingredients:
1 large can tomato puree
2-3 cloves garlic
1 small onion
olive oil
salt, pepper, sugar to taste

Equipment:
knife
cutting board
pot
spoon

Fine chop garlic. Chop onions as fine as you would like, I usually do mine in a large dice. Add oils, garlic and onion to the pan over low to medium heat. Cook until the onions and garlic are soft and translucient. I try never to burn mine but if those are flavors that you like, go ahead. Add tomato puree and cook for a few minutes to warm tomatoes thru. Add sugar, salt and pepper. I add about a teaspoon of salt and pepper, and and two tablespoons of sugar. Sometimes I add less sugar, it just depends what mood I’m in. Cover and simmer over low heat for 20 -50 min depending on how thick you like your sauce. Serve over pasta, use for pizza, use in rice, or anything else you like tomato sauce on.

A few notes:
- I know sugar in tomato sauce is controversial, but I like it.
- Add any herbs you like as well. I try to keep a few frozen herbs/oil ice cubes from summer and like to add these occasionally. Fresh or dried herbs work great, too. Chili flakes would also be good, I’m sure.
- I prefer my sauce to be smooth, so I use tomato puree, but if you like chunks/seeds you could use diced or whole tomatoes.
- The better the canned tomatoes you use, the better the sauce will be. Same goes for olive oil.
- This recipe usually yields about 3 meals for us, depending on how we use it. We generally get two pasta meals from it, maybe three, and then I use the last little bit when making rice or lentils (I just add sauce right to the cooking water).

Using loose veg, canned tomatoes, and oil and spices in metal or glass make this a very zero waste friendly recipe. Refill the spices from a bulk section, refill the oil if possible, and reuse the can (good for seedlings if you poke a few holes in the bottom), or recycle it, to be even more zero waste.

I’ve seen other easy tomato sauce recipes; one interesting one used only tomatoes, salt and butter. Do you have a go to sauce recipe?

Zero Waste Recipe: Creamy Vegan Veg Soup

Here is another great recipe for using up veg that might be on the turn. Take those wilty leeks, those potatoes growing eyes, those limp celery stalks and turn them into a rich and delicious soup.

The soup I’ve made here is a Creamy Leek and Celery Soup. But you can use any veg you have languising in the fridge or pantry. Potatoes are a must to make it thick and creamy.

Ingredients:
(I’ve put the amounts I used here, but feel free to scale up or down. This made 4 good sized portions which we ate over 2 nights)
2 potatoes
2 leeks
5 stalks celery
2-3 cloves garlic
Olive oil
1 tablespoon vegan veggie boullion
2 Bay Leaves
Water
Salt and pepper to taste

Equipment:
Soup pot
Cutting board
Knife
Spoon
blender

Fine chop garlic and chop celery. Peel and chop potatoes. Slice leeks and wash thoroughly. I soak mine in a bowl of cool water to let the dirt float out, drain, rinse and repeat until no dirt or sand remains. Add garlic and leeks to put with olive oil and cook until fragrant and wilted. Add celery and cook until tender. Add potatoes, salt, pepper, water to cover and bouillon and bring to a boil. Make sure to stir the bouillon in well to make sure it is totally incorporated. Boil until potatoes are fork tender and then reduce heat to simmer until veg practically falls apart when poked. For this soup, it was about an hour. Let cool before blending in a blender. This time I let it cool for several hours and reheated, but you can wait as little as 20 min as long as you can safely blend it. Blend the entire soup in batches if desired. I always reserve some of the chunky veg as I prefer my soups with a little bite. Add more salt and pepper to taste and serve.

A few notes:
- Make this soup ahead and store then blend. Or do like I did and blend and then store. This soup lasts up to a week in an air tight container. I’m sure it can also be frozen, but I’ve never tried it. It never lasted that long!
- Serve with crusty bread, crackers, add more veg in, as an appetizer, or as the main meal.
- Add whatever spices you might like to change this soup up. Pepper flakes might be nice, warming spices, french herbs. All sound good. Personally I think the bay leaves are key to making this taste fantastic.
- Remember that the bouillion is salty! Add salt with that in mind.
- This soup would also be delicious with sour cream and cheese on top if you are not vegan. But it doesn’t need it!

Using up old vegetables makes this a great zero waste recipe. Using bouillion in a glass jar and spices and oil in glass or bulk are good zero waste options. Always make sure to buy your veg not packaged in plastic.

I love this soup bc it’s so simple, quick and delicious. I also believe all soups should be both creamy and toothsome and this fits the bill. What are some of your go to soup recipes?

Zero Waste Recipe: Vegan Baked "Home Fries"

This recipe might be a no brainer for most people but it’s one I find myself going back to every month or so.

One of my main goals in creating a more zero waste lifestyle was to reduce food waste. I would often buy lots of food, end up not eating much of it and throw it away bc it had gone bad. A continuing challenge for myself is to come up with easy recipes to utilize any veg that might be on the turn.

This recipe is perfect to use those potatoes you forgot about and are starting to grow, the spices that are languishing on your spice rack.

Ingredients:
Potatoes (as many as you have to use up or want to make)
Olive oil (enough to coat potatoes)
Spices (I used salt, pepper, dried dill, garlic powder, and onion powder)

Equipment:
Knife
Sheet pan
Wooden Spoon (or just use your hands)
Fork or tongs for turning.

Skin potatoes and cut into bite sized chunks. If you’re using fresh tubers, you can leave the skins on, but when I make this recipe, my potatoes are usually growing eyes and roots, or have gone green, so the skins have to go. put on sheet pan and add any spices you want to use. Drizzle with olive oil. Combine all with wooden spoon until all the potatoes are well coated in oil and spices. I do this right on the sheet pan. Bake in a 350 degree oven. Turn only after the potatoes have cooked well on the first side has crisped up and will turn without sticking. This is the key to super crispy and delicious potatoes! Turn once more and cook until edges/sides are crispy and potatoes are fork tender, about 30-40 min. Let cool enough to eat and serve!

Some notes:
- These potatoes are great as traditional home fries, as a side, on salads, or for snacking, and can be served hot or cold.
- They last about a week kept in the fridge. To reheat, toss in a frying pan until warmed thru.
- They won’t ever be as crispy after the first day, tho, so I suggest eating asap.
- I know this recipe also works for sweet potatoes, and I’m sure it would work for other hearty potato like veg (rutabaga, etc…) as well. If you try it with more exotic veg, let me know!

Using up veg that might otherwise end up in the garbage makes this recipe perfect for zero waste. It’s also a great way to use up dried spices that are past their prime. Remember to get your potatoes loose, and your spices in glass jars or bulk. Buy olive oil in glass or bulk.

This is a great meal prep element as it can be used in many days and with many meals. If you’re like me, you might eat them all the minute they cool down, tho. That crisp is irresistible!

Zero Waste Recipe: Chickpea Salad

This recipe is so simple, it’s barely a recipe even, I always forget how good it is! It’s simple, can easily be made vegan, delicious and doesn’t try to be something it’s not. And it’s practically zero waste, of course.

If you like tuna, chicken, or egg salad, you’ll enjoy this dish.

Ingredients:
1 can chickpeas, or dried and soaked equivilant
1 medium to large carrot
1 small or 1/2 bigger red onion
1 to 2 stalks celery
mayo or vegan mayo
salt and pepper to taste

bread, crackers, rice cakes, lettuce wraps, or whatever you most like to eat your salad on.

Equipment:
bowl
fork or spoon

Drain and rinse chickpeas. Chop veggies in to preferred size (I like mine in a rough dice). Combine veggies, chickpeas and as mush mayo as you like in a bowl. I like my sandwich salad to not be too wet, or too dry. For 1 can of chick peas, I usually use 1 1/2 tablespoons. Make sure to mix well using a fork to help chop up the chickpeas. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve on your favorite bread.

Some notes:
- I usually eat mine on potatoes bread or rolls, as I love the contrast of the crunchy salad on soft bread.
- This is a great recipe to make vegan, and a good way to introduce simple vegan and zero waste food to those who are new to these ideas.
- This recipe can be used as a dip as well. Simply dice veggies very small and mash the chickpeas more when combining.

Using loose veggies and bulk or canned legumes make this recipe low waste. Making your own bread or crackers, or getting it from a local shop in your own bag would help even more.

This is a good simple dinner or lunch, great to take to work or school, and keeps well in the fridge for a few days for a snack. What are some of your easy go to recipes?

Please note, In my excitement, I ate the final product and neglected to take photo. When I make another batch I will add the finish product photos, here.

Update 3/30/19: Photos added.

Zero Waste Recipe: Vegan Kheer

A few weeks ago I made a kheer inspired vegan rice pudding and a lot of people asked for the recipe. When I got out all the materials to make it again, I had completely forgotten how I made it the first time! So this recipe is a version of the original and perhaps eventually I will make another recipe for that one as well.

Kheer is one of my favorite Indian dishes, a simple rice pudding. This vegan version so so easy to make.

Ingredients:
Cooked (leftover) rice.
Light coconut milk
Cardamum
Nutmeg
Sugar
Thai ginger
Vanilla extract
Saffron

Equipment:
Medium sized pot
Spoon
Knife

In a pot, combine coconut milk, spices and a small chunk of ginger, chopped. Add rice and cook over low heat until mixture starts to thicken. Once desired thickness serve warm or cold. I garnished mine with a simple fruit compote but I like it just as well plain.

A few notes:
-I used batsmati, but you can use any leftover rice you have at hand.
-Saffron was in my original recipe, not the one pictured here, but I included it here bc I thought it added quite a lot.
-I used whatever sugar I had to hand, but you can use maple syrup, agave, coconut sugar, etc… You can also use only a smidgen of sugar to make this a more breakfast friendly recipe.

Using leftover rice, coconut milk out of a can, and bulk spices make this recipe low waste. I really love that this recipe is super creamy even though it’s vegan and I appreciate that it’s not overly coconut flavored.

What are your favorite simple dishes that use left overs?

Recipe | Zero Waste Vegan Baked Oatmeal

I usually like my oats pretty simple. Hot water, fruit, sweetener. The other day I made this baked oatmeal for a brunch and it was a huge hit! It requires slightly more work, but it’s still really easy and can be made very low waste! This recipe is easily adaptable, you can swap out your favorite flavors and change it up often, make as little or as much as you want, and eat hot or cold!

Ingredients
Quick oats
Dried spices. I used nutmeg and ginger.
Lemon Zest
Sugar
Frozen berries. I used bluebs and cherries.
Plant milk. I used cashew.

Equipment
Oven safe dish
Micro plane or zester
Spoon for mixing

Put your oats into your baking dish. I used about a cup of oats, but you can add more or less depending on who your feeding. Add dried spices, lemon zest, sugar to taste, and mix. Add frozen berries and twice the amount of milk as oats, mix well and let sit for 5-10 minutes. Mix again and pop in a 375 degree oven until oats are cooked and the top starts to brown a little. for the amount I made it took about 20 minutes. Serve hot, warm, or cooled. This would be great served with some warmed milk poured over it or with yogurt.

A few notes:
- The lemon zest is key!! used about half a lemon’s worth of zest But I could have done the whole lemon. if you don’t have a zester or micro plane, you can slice off the skin and fine chop.
- I used white sugar bc that’s what I wanted to use up, but this recipe would be great with brown sugar, maple syrup or any other sweetener you like. You can also change up the spices and fruit added.
- To be extra fancy, sprinkle some brown sugar on top and pop in the broiler to brown and crystalize the top of your oatmeal.
- My oatmeal came out a little dry this time bc I didn’t add quite enough milk. It was still good.

To make this recipe low waste, I used bulk oats and spices. I also used up some of my spices, which feels so good! I used pre packaged frozen fruit; I like the fruit from Whole Foods bc you can rinse out and recycle the plastic bags they come in. To make even more low waste, use fresh fruit or fruit that you have frozen yourself.

I didn’t plate mine up very beautifully, but it was still delicious!

This is an easy meal to make in advance. What are some of your favorite easy breakfast foods?

Recipe | Zero Waste Vegan Croutons

I love croutons. But they were one of the first things I gave up buying pre-made when I started going plastic free. It was an easy decision bc croutons are so easy to make!!
Here’s my go to, easy, vegan, zero waste recipe!

Ingredients
Bread (preferably a baguette or other crunchy loaf, preferably day old or bread ends or scrapes)
Olive oil
Spices (whatever you have at hand)
Salt & Pepper

Equipment
Bread knife
Cutting board
Baking pan

Cut bread into bite sized pieces. My bread was a few days old and too stiff to cut up safely, so I just tore mine to pieces. Place on the baking tray and add spices and salt and pepper. I used onion powder (old plastic jar that I’m using up, next I’ll buy glass), garlic powder, thyme (bulk and put in a reused jar), pink salt and fresh pepper. You can use whatever you have but a combo kinda like this is what I usually use. Douse generously with olive oil. Toss well to coat. Place tray in preheated oven. Bake until golden, tossing occasionally, about 20 min depending on oven temp.

A few notes:
- I usually bake these when I’m already using the oven, which is why I don’t have a set temp.
- I have made the spice mix with so many different variations! I really like to add cayenne or chili flakes to make them a little spicy. I also like mine really salty!
- These keep for about a week in an air tight container stored in a cool dry place.
- Use these on salads, soups, stews, or just as a crunchy snack!

Using up old bread, that hopefully came in paper which can be recycled or composted, or from the bulk section and using spices and oil that can be bought in glass or bulk are the biggest reason that this is a zero waste recipe. It is also a great way to save bread that wold have otherwise gone in the trash. And think about all the waste your saving by making these yourself as opposed to buying them in conventional packaging at the store!!

What are some items you used to buy but now make yourself?

Recipe | Zero Waste Dry Shampoo

In 2017 I started my zero waste journey. Zero Waste is the goal, mindful practice is the action. When I use the term Zero Waste, that is my ultimate goal, but Less Waste would be a more  accurate description of my evolving lifestyle. 

I don't really use beauty products. I don't put my face on, I don't wear makeup, I don't style my hair, I barely brush it. But I thought I'd talk about a few grooming staples I've come to know and love.

When I was young, I had to wash my hair every day. Had to. Or else it would become an ratty oily mess. Starting a few years ago, that changed. Now if I wash my hair everyday, it becomes brittle and dry. What the heck? 

While I still lived in Brooklyn, I found a dry shampoo in a spray can and tried it out. I had never used it before and it was great! I love dry shampoo. It allowed me to not feel totally gross between hair washes. Once I started reducing my waste and plastic consumerism, I figured dry shampoo was out. But I did a little research and not only did I discover that plastic free, zero waste dry shampoo was a thing but it's about the easiest recipe ever!

Ingredients:
Arrowroot powder
Essential oils
Cocoa powder for dark hair

Equipment:
Container or shaker (I reuse one from Burt's Bees baby powder)

Combine ingredients and shake well.  I have blondish hair, so I omit the cocoa powder but I have head that for dark hair it works like a dream. 
To use, I either shake some on my brush or directly on my hair and comb through. Be careful not to use too much, you don't want to look like you're wearing a powdered wig. You can always add more! Make sure to comb or brush it through all your hair so it is coated and looks "clean". 

Now, this is easily a zero waste recipe. But truth be told, mine wasn't. I got the arrowroot in a plastic bag. Although I intend to recycle the bag, next time I'll get my arrowroot in bulk. Also, my brush and combs are plastic. I won't throw them away, until they are totally broken and not able to be used. But when my plastic brushes do die, I have my eye on a hand carved wooden comb from mermaidtrousers. I've seen some nice wooden brushes out there, too. 

I also use this powder in my shoes in the summertime to keep my feet from getting sweaty. So from head to toe, I find this powder works great!

What are your simple zero waste beauty care swaps?

Something Nice

The other day I ran out of the rice milk I made (more on that later). Instead of running to the store, I simply made a new batch of oat milk. It took 10 minutes and felt great be self sufficient! 

For this batch, I used 1/2 cup oats and 1 1/2 cups water. I didn't let them soak, just blended them immediately. It came out much better, creamy but not gummy!

Something New: Home Made Oat Milk

I've been allergic to cow's milk for as long as I can remember. So although, I prefer skim milk in my coffee, I rarely drink it and I never buy. My preferred non dairy milk, especially in my coffee, is rice milk. Non sweetened rice milk is the closest to skim milk, in my opinion. But rice milk comes in tetra packs and often has a lot of gross ingredients (canola oil, why?), when bought commercially. So recently I went on the hunt for a rice milk alternative. I have found a few that I enjoy, but when my husband brought home extra oats the other day, and it coincided with running out of milk, I decided to try making my own Oat Milk. 

I had been researching making my own non dairy milks for a while, but buying as many nuts as one needs can get expensive! Oat milk, as well as cashew, hemp and macadamia, was one of the milks I tried and liked when store bought. Oats are super cheap, and can be bought in bulk, so it was a no brainer to try making the milk. I read a bunch of recipes but in the end decided to wing it and make it as simply as possible. 

Ingredients:
1 cup oats
3 cups cool or cold water

Equipment:
Blender
Fine mesh strainer (or cheese cloth or nut milk bag)
Jar

All the recipes suggest using rolled oat or stone ground oats, but all I had on hand were quick oats so I used those. Some say to soak the oats, some not. I soaked mine for about 10 minutes, maybe less. I added the oats and the water to the blender and let sit as I puttered about the kitchen. Next, blend on high, as high as you can, for 5 -7 minutes. You don't want to blend too long. Once blended, use a fine mesh strainer or cheese cloth, etc... and pour into a jar. All I had for straining was a rather large stainer, but that worked fine. I just had a few oatmeal pieces in the jar afterwards. Refrigerate your milk. Makes about 1.5 pints. Use it in coffee, baking, etc... but shake before use! 

A few notes:
-Save the strained oat pieces, use as oatmeal for breakfast, in baking, etc...
-The recipes all say this volume lasts about a week but I'm almost done with mine 3 days in just from drinking in my daily coffees. 
-Don't heat this milk. Pouring it in coffee, or using in baking, is ok, but heating it on the stove will create a goopy mess. Think oatmeal without the meal. 
-Add sweetener and/or a pinch of salt if desired. I like my coffee unsweetened and even sweetened milk is too much for me.  
-Bring a spoon. This milk is a little gummy and heavier than most milk I'm used to in my coffee, so it tends to settle. I now have a spoon on hand to stir my coffee as needed. I also end up using more of this milk than I would another milk, so something to think about. 
-Make this milk zero waste and plastic free by getting your oats in bulk, recycling a jar for storage, and using the leftover blended oat parts.  

Over all, I really liked making my own oat milk. When I make my next batch, I will use more water to oats, to see if I like the consistency better. When I run out of our excess minute oats, I will try using stone ground to see if it ends up being less gloopy. I may make some sweetened to try it with cookies or for drinking. 

Next up, I plan to try rice milk! Who else out there makes their own non dairy milk? Tips, tricks?

Recipe | Zero Waste Hummus

In 2017 I started my zero waste journey. Zero Waste is the goal, mindful practice is the action. When I use the term Zero Waste, that is my ultimate goal, but Less Waste would be a more  accurate description of my evolving lifestyle. 

I don't eat a lot of hummus. But one day last month I got a hankering for it. I hate that it comes in plastic containers at the store, so I decided to make my own. It's very simple and easy and probably only takes about 30 minutes. It's a great beginner zero waste project!

Ingredients:
Garlic - 1 clove
Juice of 1 lemon
Tahini - 1 spoonful
Chickpeas - 1 can drained and rinsed
Salt and Pepper to taste

Equipment:
Blender
Knife
Cutting Board
Can Opener

Open, drain and rinse chickpeas. Add peeled garlic clove, lemon juice, and blend until garlic is chopped. Add chickpeas, and tahini and blend until smooth. Add water or lemon juice to thin mixture if needed. Add salt and pepper to taste. Eat with crackers, bread, pita, etc...! I like mine with bread or pita and lots of veggies including red onions, tomatoes, radishes, lettuce, and or sprouts and extra good salt. 

A few notes:
-Keep the chickpea juice to use in other recipes. 
-Add more garlic if desired. I love more, but my husband does not. 
-You can make this recipe with a food processor, or by hand mashing. I just happen to have a blender. 

What makes this recipe near to zero waste? I use the lemon peels for cleaning solution and compost any other food waste. I recycle the chickpea can. The tahini came in a metal can with a plastic lid and it's contents will last a long time. When it's done, I plan on reusing the container for other food storage. To make it even more zero waste: Next time I buy tahini I'll get it in a glass jar, or make it myself. I could get the chickpeas in bulk to skip the can. 

What are your favorite low or zero waste snack recipes?

Something New: Smoothie Bowls

When I first started seeing these bowls, in social media, or on the beach, I couldn't figure out what all the fuss was about. Sure, they were pretty and who doesn't like a big bowl of fruit? But what's the big deal?

In July, while my friend was in town, I finally tried a bowl. And it wasn't love at first bite, but I enjoyed it. But then a few days later I was still thinking about it. So I ate another one! Then I started making them at home. And I haven't looked back since. 

People love smoothies, they taste good, are pretty and good for you. It makes sense that people like a smoothie, add extra fruit, stuck in a bowl. Factor in that most bowls use delicious and exotic fruits like acai and pitaya which are super good for you. They tend to be topped with superfoods, and are a great way to get your fruits and veggies, protein, vitamins, and nutrients. 

But truth be told, I don't really like smoothies. I don't like the texture. Never been a fan. So why smoothie bowls, you might be asking?
And here's the answer: The ice cream effect. 

Eating smoothie bowls are like eating ice cream, with awesome toppings, for breakfast. 

As you know, I love new ways of eating fruits and veggies (like juicing) and this is another good way. If you like smoothies or if you don't like them, or if you just like ice cream, I suggest you try a smoothie bowl! Around me, there are many places that sell them, I hear you can get them at certain Wholefoods. But also smoothie bowls are super easy to make at home!

Since I started making them I have acquired lots of superfoods for topping, and frozen fruit for different bases, but here is a super easy beginners recipe with things you might already have on hand:

For the smoothie:
3 bananas (sliced and frozen at least 4 hours)
Handful of spinach. I use cleaned fresh baby spinach
A couple of tablespoons of milk (any type you like/have in the house will do. I've used almond and coconut.)
Optionally add any other fruit you like (frozen, fresh, or a little on the old and wrinkly side will do. The key here is not to out weigh the frozen aspect of the bananas).

For the toppings:
Go nuts!
Literally, use nuts. Or seeds, or granola, rawnola, fresh fruit, frozen fruit, superfoods, chocolate sauce, yogurt, oats, oatmeal, peanut butter, any other nut butter, honey, agave, bee pollen, coconut in any form, and on and on, etc...
My current favorites are; any local fruit I have on hand, chia seeds (these guys are so healthy and give a nice little pop), cacao nibs for crunch, and goji berries for chew. 

Instructions:
-Get your toppings ready first. I almost always fail to do this but it helps you get to your smoothie bowl faster before it melts (especially useful if you plan on taking photos of your breakfast). Lay out the toppings sundae bar style, or at least keep them in arms length. Have your bowl ready, as well. 
-Into your blender (whatever kind you have works fine) put the spinach and just enough milk to get it blending. This is the time to add any other non frozen fruit you may want. 
-Once the spinach is pureed pretty well, add the frozen fruit. Add more milk for a wetter, smoothie consistency, or less for a "nice cream" style smoothie bowl. I prefer the nice cream rout. 
-Pour your smoothie into a bowl and top with all the good stuff. 
-Eat up and enjoy!

Anyone else eating smoothie bowls? Give us your favorite recipe in the comments!

Juicy Update

First off:
Give me all your juice recipes, please!!

We've been juicing for about five months now and we are still loving it. My husband has jumped on board and it really helps me keep on track. Here are a few more tips I've learned to help with a juicing lifestyle:

Benefits - We find that we feel better when we juice. We are less tired, more energized, sleep better, and dream more. My skin is clearer, my mood is better. Juicing has helped us consume more greens, more regularly. Personally I could eat a salad every day, but they start to bore my better half. And honestly, I don't eat salad every day. If we juice, at least I feel we are getting some good leafy greens. Since we don't eat meat, juicing helps us get iron and other vitamins. We use all our veggies/fruits and have less waste. Buying lots of fresh veggies but not eating them before they went bad was really bumming me out. Now we don't have that problem.

Routine - It really helps me to keep up a routine with my juicing. We try to drink juice every day, but sometimes it goes a little longer. Rarely we will have more than one juice per day. We don't juice more than once a day for several reasons (I eat a ton of fruits and veggies besides what I juice, the machine is a pain to clean, juicing is time consuming etc...) but it's not a hard and fast rule. I try to keep track of when we juice, how many we drink and recipes in my Bullet Journal. We have mostly been juicing in the evening when my husband gets home from work. 

Simple is Key - For a while, we were adding a million fruits and veggies into our juices. More is better, right? Turns out adding too many flavors is like the equivalent of mixing all the paint colors: you just get muddy brown. Since this realization I've been trying to limit to 4 ingredients plus apple. Apple almost doesn't count. I like to use apple as a sweetener, and to add liquid. I think apples do a good job of blending a juice. And an apple a day.... Although apples are good for you, I know store bought conventional apples aren't the best (factory farms, pesticides, etc...) This summer I plan to get apples in bulk (keep em in the cool basement) from local farms for all our juicing needs! 

No Juice Fruits and Veg List - Along the way we have come up with a few things we do not like in our juices. In the earlier months, I used quite a bit of grapefruit bc I had a lot of it. But I've decided that I'd rather eat it than juice it. The bitter flavor doesn't enhance my juicing experience. I've tried romaine lettuce a few times and just don't like the flavor. Again, romaine is something I'd much rather eat than drink. We like celery and cucumber but only in low doses. We like the taste of mango, but not the texture. Try as I might, I'm not a fan of carrot juice. We also have had a few instances of having a veg we really like make our juice undrinkable. We got some kale that was so bitter and peppery that neither my husband our I could bare it. If it's questionable (something new, strong smell, etc... ) I try to taste test it first. 

Juices We Love: There have only been a few juices that we have recreated more than once of twice. Here are three of our favorite recipes so far:
Apple, Spinach, Red Pepper, Lime
Apple, Orange, Cherry Tomatoes, Blackberries, Kale Stalks, Lime  
Mixed Berry (Bluebs, Raz, Black, or whatever is at hand/needs to be used), Kale, Cucumber, Green Apple

Anyone else working on their juice journey? Please share links to your juice posts, favorite recipes, or ideas!