Homemade alternatives are built on a pantry full of some simple basic ingredients, such as spices. This is the top shelf of my spice rack. As you can see, there's quite a variety of spices...and there are a lot more on the bottom shelf. When you're dealing with homemade alternatives to store-bought products, you totally control what goes into your recipe. So I like to keep a wide variety of spices at hand because you never know what might inspire me to add just a little bit of this or a little bit of that. That's the joy of homemade alternatives - you can design them to your personal taste. And if you need help with what spice goes with what, there are lots of guidelines out there. My preference in all natural. And that's also the preference of J.R.Watkins, one of the oldest and most trusted names in natural spices:
Natural since 1868 and way too stubborn to change! Visit J.R. Watkins today!
Are you a label reader? If you're not, you need to become one. Yes, you'll find a list of spices just like the ones you find on your spice shelf. But you'll also find all kinds of ingredients that you can't even pronounce. Ugh! They say if you can't pronounce it, don't eat it. And that is so true!
Natural since 1868 and way too stubborn to change! Visit J.R. Watkins today!
Are you a label reader? If you're not, you need to become one. Yes, you'll find a list of spices just like the ones you find on your spice shelf. But you'll also find all kinds of ingredients that you can't even pronounce. Ugh! They say if you can't pronounce it, don't eat it. And that is so true!
For me, the biggest advantage to homemade alternatives is the control you have over the ingredients. There are so many easy homemade recipes available online. And those recipes, for the most part, don't have any of the unpronouncable ingredients. I'm going to share with you the ones that work for me. When I started on the DIY home made path, my main goal was to duplicate the taste of store-bought products, while eliminating all the additives and preservatives. Of course, with things like homemade bread, you're going to have to take into consideration how long your bread is going to last without preservatives. But you know your food schedule and you'll be able to easily figure out what you can leave in the breadbox and what you need to freeze. And speaking of homemade bread, here are some great ideas for any kind of bread you could possibly want to make: 500+ Delicious Bread Recipes - A Collection of Quick and Easy Homemade Bread Cookbook. Sometimes, if I know I won't be using a lot of bread, I cut the loaf in half and freeze the other half until I'm ready to use it. That works great for me!
Easy Homemade Recipes
If you're a stay-at-home mom or dad, you probably can find the time to make some easy homemade recipes. They're not that difficult. In fact, I'm going to give you one of the easiest recipes ever for one of the probably most-used ingredients in your kitchen - mayonnaise! Here's what I did. I searched the Internet for homemade mayonnaise. I found a recipe that I thought I could adapt to my specific tastes. And I did exactly that! This recipe takes about 1-2 minutes to prepare and - voila! - you have a full jar of homemade mayonnaise. I've had this recipe for so long that I couldn't find the original again on the Internet. But I'll give you an idea of how I changed the ingredients to my person taste.
Homemade Mayonnaise
1 cup vegetable oil (you can use half or all extra virgin olive oil)
1 egg
1 tablespoon lemon juice (freshly squeezed, of course)
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
3/4 teaspoon salt (the original called for much more but I found it too salty)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon hot water
Whiz 1/4 cup of the vegetable and/or olive oil with the egg, lemon juice, dry mustard and salt in a blender for a few seconds.
Slowly drizzle the remaining 3/4 cup of oil into the mixture (through the top hatch) while the blender is running.
Finally, blend in the hot water.
Refrigerate until use.
Yield: about 1 cup (for me, it's one jar, which is perfect!)
As I mentioned, I made a few changes, gradually, as I molded the recipe to my personal taste. There was no sugar in the original recipe, but I've always liked the taste of Miracle Whip, and that was because of the added sugar. Obviously, when I wised up about all the extra crap in Miracle Whip, I stopped eating it. But to duplicate the taste without the bad stuff, I add the sugar, using only pure cane sugar, not that refined garbage...and I love the taste!
Also notice that I keep my homemade mayonnaise in a jar that I saved from another product. No need to go out and spend a lot of money on mason jars (although mason jars do come in handy a lot of the time). Just save the pickle and jam - any kind of jars you buy - and you'll have the necessary containers for your DIY homemade recipes. Of course, if you make your own homemade pickles and jam, you won't have those jars. In that case, you'll do well to buy a set of mason jars. Here's a great source for good old-fashioned mason jars: Ball® Regular Mouth Pint Jars with Lids and Bands- Set of 12 (by Jarden Home Brands)
And did you know you can actually bake things in mason jars? I find that fascinating! Here's a book to show you how:
And did you know you can actually bake things in mason jars? I find that fascinating! Here's a book to show you how:
How To Make Homemade Products
There are literally hundreds of projects you can embark on if you're leaning towards making your own homemade products. This blog is dedicated to researching them for you and putting them all in one place so you can access them at your leisure - and for your immediate last-minute needs. Homemade mayonnaise is only one of many homemade recipes that I've delved into, and I'm delighted to share some of them with you.
One thing I haven't yet mentioned that may be the most important factor in making homemade recipes is health. There's a strong trend towards eating healthier these days, and the more you can eliminate additives and preservatives from your food, the healthier you'll be. So I'll be focusing on healthy homemade recipes here as well - in fact, predominantly so. Because if you want to be healthy, you need to stay away from processed foods. They have absolutely no nutritional value and they're a total waste of your food dollars.
So stay tuned for all kinds of easy homemade recipes, including specialties like home made breakfast, or any other home made goods. I hope you'll continue to check back to this blog for all your homemade alternatives. It's good for you!
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