50 Things You Should Stop Buying & Start Making As a society, we have become over-reliant on “ready made” products. We have lost the ability to make things from scratch. Rather than blend up some peanuts to make delicious, tasty and fresh peanut butter, we’ll spend many dollars on a jar from the store that contains artificial preservatives, unnecessary packaging and that simply lines the pockets of huge, unethical multinational corporations. Aside from foods, you can also make your own personal care products, beauty and make up products, cleaning products and home accessories that taste, work or look better than store bought, without the harmful chemicals and toxins and free from excessive, earth damaging packaging. Foods Homemade Ketchup – This ketchup won’t brake the bank, tastes better than the real deal and contains no added sugar – so it’s nutritionally good for the whole family. Peanut Butter – It is so simple to make this pantry staple it would be silly to buy it. Want to learn more about making your own foods? Next Page >>>
So Fawned: Chai Love When the fine folks over at Prudent Baby asked me to share a DIY the first thing that came to mind wasn’t exactly crafty, but, surprise, surprise – tea related! You all know by now what a vital role tea plays in my life. I’ve actually wanted to share this recipe with you all for quite a while now and I really hope you’ll all give it a shot. Ingredients: ♥ 3 cups of water ♥ 1 cinnamon stick ♥ 10 cardamom pods ♥ 8 whole cloves ♥ 1 cup of milk ♥ 5 teaspoons sugar (or to taste) ♥ 4 teaspoons of loose black tea (or you can use 3-4 teabags) First, grab your mortar & pestle to crush up all of your spices. Feel free to play around with this recipe to suit your own tastes. Simple, tasty & straight from the Indian food restaurant that I worked in when I was younger. This tea tastes best in the company of friends, family, or curled up in a cozy chair with a good book or a favourite movie. I believe it’s guaranteed to bring smiles & warmth!
Homemade Energy Drink I started out with the intention of coming up with a recipe for a homemade version of the store bought energy drinks, but after doing some research and discovering how unhealthy they are for you, I decided instead to try and design a less sugar/caffeine fueled way to help myself through the workday afternoon sleepy slump. What I landed on was a system of three drinks and some energy boosting ideas that are going a long way to helping me keep my energy up all day long! Here's the good on the drinks: The Fire Hydrant (left) - 3-4 8oz glasses throughout the day filtered water 1 slice lemon 1 pinch cayenne pepper Other than getting 7-8 hours of sleep a night, staying hydrated is the most important thing you can do to help keep your body functioning at optimum levels. *For an explanation of lemons' miraculous transition from acidic outside of the body, to alkaline once ingested, visit this link: The Heavy Lifter (right) - 1 glass in the morning
30 Foods To DIY Instead Of Buy 40 recipes for oranges for superfood meals Our Superfood Recipes Series gathers up great recipes for the most amazing superfoods, inspiring you to add these healthy ingredients to any meal. Oranges are one of the most healthful fruits around -- and one of the most versatile. On the health side of things, oranges are just chock full of vitamins. Known best for their extremely high vitamin C content, oranges also contain vitamin A, which is an important antioxidant, and B6, which helps with healthy skin and fighting fatigue. While you get the most health benefits out of oranges by simply peeling them and eating them raw, that's not exactly the most inspired way to eat them. Breakfast: © Jaymi Heimbuch Vegan Orange-Cranberry Muffins with PecansRecipe: TreeHugger Vegan Banana Orange Nut LoafRecipe: eCurry Raspberry-Orange SunrisesRecipe: My Recipes Mandarin Orange Breakfast BitesRecipe: Taste of Home Date-Orange Breakfast SpreadRecipe: My Recipes Raw Orange Chia Seed Breakfast PuddingRecipe: Rawmazing Blood Orange French ToastRecipe: Babble
CHAI! Oh sweet! I'm totally going to use this, thanks. if you go to middle eastern stores, or even indian stores cardamon is waaay waaaaay cheaper. stop buying ethnic ingredients at chain grocery stores- they over charge!! same goes with pomegranate juice... or figs... or dates. I love it when your comics take a turn to the psychedelic side... Holy cow I'm doing this the second I get home from work. Ok, yeah, definitely making a bigger batch next time. I used to get the best Chai tea from the cafe at Borders when I worked there, for some reason I've never had better! Yeah, they had great Chai...then their cafes became Seattle's Best and the good Chai could never be had again. are you planning to publish a book of the various comic recipes you've been making? Twinings had a nice Indian Spice Chai in tea bags, which is nice. Oh wow this is the coolest recipe ever! Cardamom is a lovely, lovely spice, and makes a fabulous spiced sweetened bread. I can't WAIT to try this recipe now. try Oregon Chai.
30 Vegetarian recipes you can cook in 30 minutes or less We love healthy food, especially if it can be made quickly and easily on busy week nights. It doesn't always have to be summer salads that are quick to put together and serve up -- there is something in this list for any season of the year. Let us know any tips or tricks you have for quick meals made from scratch in the comments. © Jaymi HeimbuchSavory swiss chard and onion frittataSimple, savory, and so satisfying! This delicious frittata is great for a weekend breakfast or brunch treat. It takes the most time on the stove top, sauteeing the onions and chard, with just a few minutes in the oven finishing it up. © Jaymi HeimbuchCrispy zucchini pancakesThese little crispy snacks are great for brunches, or for a healthier way to satisfy that craving for some fried comfort food. © Jaymi HeimbuchOrange-cranberry muffins with pecansThese zesty vegan muffins are filled with citrus flavor, made sweeter with banana. © Jaymi HeimbuchBaked avocado fries Yes, you read that right.
Giant M&M Cookies This is how you make gooey, chewy, massive rainbow cookies that make everyone in life love your guts. Lookie here! You don’t even need a mixer. Add some super cute rainbow candies… aka mini m&m’s. This is the weird part. Bake cookies like this. Not even joking. While your cookies are baking, admire the adorable slash colorful slash overflowing bowl of mini m&m’s that you opened two bags of m&m’s for just so you could show all of your invisible internet friends what an m&m bathtub looks like. After your cookies bake and cool and you inevitably burn the skin off the roof of your mouth because you’re really a child with no patience, flip it over and look at how pretty it’s cookie butt is. Stack up some giant rainbow cookies and set them by your overflowing m&m bathtub bowl. Talk to your cookies because they are so pretty and perfect. This recipe was sent to me by a reader, Gabrielle (Hi Gabrielle!) Giant Rainbow Cookies makes 18 large or 36 small cookies 2 cups + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 Best Methods for Off-the-Grid Food Production For most of us producing all of our own food is just a fantasy. It evokes visions of multiple acres of fertile land, long work days, and expensive machinery. However, none of these are necessary to achieve self-sufficient food production. There are many gardening techniques that can produce an abundance of food for you and your family without requiring a lot of space, money or equipment. Rather, you will need time to study and practice these methods and other food preparation skills such as learning to mill your own wheat or corn flour to make breads, tortillas, pastas from scratch, or learning to can, pickle, or preserve food in all its forms. Your diet should also be considered when planning for the best self-sufficient food production method. With dedication and proper planning, everyone has the ability to survive the looming food crisis by producing their own food. Here are the 4 best food production methods for self-reliance: 1. 2. 3. 4. ,CFLs , or HPSs Picture