Making Food from Scratch

by amvandenhurk | Life, Vegetarian

Moving away from processed and pre-made foods.

In the past year I’ve really worked to transform my diet. I have moved away from process and pre-made foods. I’m making more and more from scratch.

We use to purchase salsa and hummus from the grocery store. We ate them. And they tasted OK. Nothing wow about them. They were food. And that’s never a good statement.

The ingredient list was more than ten items and had stuff I couldn’t pronounce. I don’t know about you, but I’m not a fan of my food having stuff I can’t pronounce unless it is from foreign languages.

I found making food from scratch can be quick and easy. And it seems we’ve cut down on waste because we really love the homemade salsa and hummus. Or any meal for that matter. Usually we down it all in one sitting. Or really eat the leftovers.

Hummus

I can make fresh hummus in five minutes. I use a recipe Jeroen found in the February 2013 Reader’s Digest:
– 1 can of chickpeas drained and rinsed
– 2 garlic cloves
– Juice of one lemon (fresh is best)
– 3 tablespoons of tahini (a little more for a smoother hummus)
– 1 tablespoon of olive oil
– 1 teaspoon of sea salt (I use kosher salt)
– 1 teaspoon of cumin
– 1 teaspoon of paprika

Combine all of it in a food processor and blend until smooth.

That’s it. And these are ingredients you may have stocked in your pantry.

And salsa takes about 15 minutes with all the chopping. But that’s it.

Simple, fresh, healthy ingredients. Food that you know where it came from. Not some far away processing plant.

I’m not spending more time in the kitchen. And I not spending more money at the grocery store. But I am getting much better food.

So what do you make from scratch that you use to purchase pre-made?