We are back now from our 4 month long road trip and the real world is hitting hard. Part of this is stocking my kitchen with all essentials, veg and fruit to enjoy my self isolation as best as possible. But when standing in front of empty supermarket shelves, the stories of people buying excessive amounts of stuff really sunk in.. I am not getting into the details of how egoistic and silly these purchases are. But I want to remind you guys more of the fact that we can actually use the time and start making things ourselves again. We can make ourselves a little more independent from the supermarkets, in other words: let’s focus on DIY’ing instead of hoarding!
Do what’s right now: DIY’ing instead of hoarding
This is the time to learn how to preserve food and learn about fermenting, chocolate, and cheesemaking. So I have gathered some recipes for you to do exactly that. Let’s inspire and learn from each other! I would love to know what is your favorite food DIY?
Ferment your veggies at home
Fermenting is an easy of preserving food and creating healthy gut bacteria that support your immune system at the same time. Isn’t that what we all want during this time?
Fermenting veggies is insanely easy and once you have done the veggie chopping part, there is not much today except to relax and wait until your veggies have fermented and build healthy probiotics. The fermented veggies make a great addition to salads, sandwiches or as a side dish. great thing is these jars last for months!
Find the full article and recipe on how to make these Fermented Rainbow Veggie Jars here!
Make your own vegan cheese
If you are getting a bit braver and more keen to experiment, I have a good one for you. And you might not even have to leave the house to get your hands on a vegan feta. Your main ingredients are skinned almonds or cashews, agar-agar powder, citric acid, apple cider vinegar, olive oil, nutritional yeast and your favorite herbs and spices. You will add your vegan feta to a brine and that’s what preserves it for weeks. Great addition to your vegan pantry!
For full instructions and the recipe for the vegan marinated feta, read here.
Become a chocolate maker
I do buy chocolate once in a while, like the really good dark chocolate but I have also learned how to whip up my own vegan chocolate in my kitchen. And it is handy sometimes when that sweet craving hits you and you know deep down that you don’t have to take off your pyjamas to make your way to the grocery store. Nope, you can do that right at home!
I have a couple of recipes for chocolate but my favorite is the Vegan White Chocolate recipe. It has only 5 ingredients and is based on cacao butter. If are more of a dark chocolate lover, go for my coconut oil chocolate! It’s probably not even worth mentioning how long these chocolates last in the fridge cause you are going to much them away in no time anyways.
Save money on nut butter
I couldn’t imagine my life without nut butters anymore. And I have been making my own for a long time now. To make your own you will need a high quality high speed blender (I have been using the Vitamix) to break down the nuts into smooth butter. It’s a healthy addition to a your diet and they last for years in jars on your kitchen bench.
For some serious recipe inspiration on how to make your nut butter extra gourmet, check out my instructions for almond poppyseed butter, almond vanilla chai butter, hazelnut gingerbread chocolate spread, and roasted hazelnut butter here.
Make your own fruit chips
Fruit chips are so easy to make and cost quite a fortune in the supermarket. Dehydrating is such an easy and fun way to preserve food. I love to use my fruit chips to top my smoothie bowls with or eat them straight from the bowl. And by no means you need a dehydrator, your normal oven will work wonders too.
If you feel a little extra, you can dip them in dark chocolate too. There is no real recipe to it but I have added all the details here.
Craft your own bathroom items
Your supermarket ran out of soap and toothpaste? No problem because making your own bathroom products is much easier than you would probably think. You will need some basics but once you have them (it’s probably better to order them online), you can make years worth of products.
I have a great recipe for wildflower soap and an easy peasy tooth powder for you which also help to make your bathroom a little more waste conscious.
Make your own wellness products
I am definitely not an expert in the wellness field but I have made my own scented candles and I love my easy 2-ingredient whipped body butter. Both are very doable DIY’s with only a handful ingredients.
These are some good examples of DIY’ing instead of hoarding! Please share some of your favorite DIY’s here with me, I would love to hear what I can learn from YOU!