12 Nov, 2012
A giant list of DIY recipes: maybe you’ll find a new thing to make?
Posted by andrea tomkins in: Challenge me, challenge you|Recipes and Food
But first, a discovery! Did you know that if you tuck a wet piece of paper towel inside those plastic green containers that normally house baby greens they’ll stay crisper longer?
I’m VERY happy my package of baby kale and chard is looking so good!
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Awhile back on the Fishbowl Facebook page I asked readers to tell me one thing they’ve stopped buying and started making instead. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but the answers were awesome. I was so impressed with the variety of things you people are making yourselves. (You can read the whole thread here if you like. And if you aren’t following the Fishbowl on Facebook.. DO IT. Because you’re missing stuff!)
Going the DIY route on most of these items doesn’t actually take a whole lot of extra effort. There are a few things that take more work in the grand scheme of things (I’m thinking specifically of lasagna – all that chopping – this is a labour-intensive dish!) but it doesn’t actually take long to make your own taco seasoning for example. Or salad dressing. And what’s more, if you make it yourself you are 100% in control of what goes into it… which is the best reason of all to make your own.
I thought I’d pull some reader ideas from the list and link out to some other websites in case someone was inspired to try to make their own… (I’ve left in a few quotes from the FB discussion.) Please note: some links go offsite and others go to my own previous posts.)
- Toothpaste
- Tortillas (I’ve always wanted to try to make corn tortillas!)
- Tacos (Did you know you can make your own? It’s super easy too. Here’s how.)
- “Baby” food (there are tons of great recipes out there)
- Bread (here’s a good recipe if you’re a beginner)
- Homemade cards
- Dried fruit snacks (here’s a recipe for fruit leather that looks pretty awesome)
- Dog food (we make our own “wet” dog food – it is awesome. And it doesn’t stink!)
- Taco seasoning (this is what we replaced it with. Lots of great suggestions in the comments too.)
- Salad dressings (one of my favourites is part of this recipe)
- Spaghetti/pasta sauce (A lot of you said you make your own! Share your recipes! This is one of my faves.)
- Boxed cookies
- Granola bars
- Pesto
- Lasagna
- Pizza dough
- Jams and jellies
- Dish soap (“from soap bars – smells nicer and is cheaper”) Here’s someone who has a good recipe for dish soap.
- Laundry soap (this site has instructions on how to make ONE YEAR’s worth of laundry soap!)
- Hand soap
- Baby wipes (There’s a good lookin’ tutorial here.)
- Pita bread
- Pop/soda
- Almond butter (I love the look of this recipe)
- Coconut milk
- Gift bags, gift wrap
- Muffins and other baked goods (Here’s one of my MIL’s best recipes!)
- Compost bags (“Newspapers and flyers are easy to fold up for this.” I second the motion.)
- Soup (“Bleech, I can’t believe I ever ate canned soup.”)
- Applesauce (“homemade apple sauce is soooo yummy”)
- Freezer Bags (“… open the tops of milk bags and voila! Heavy duty freezer bags.”)
- Shake n’ Bake … or as I like to call it, Shake n’ Sodium. Here’s my fave recipe.
- Curl cream made out of flax seeds (!!?)
- Yogurt
- Pickles
- Hummus (I hate buying it at the store. It’s so expensive!)
- Poutine
- Popcorn (on the stove instead of in microwavable bags)
- Paper towels
- Toilet paper (Wow. This is devotion.)
- Cleaning products (“I make my own cleaning spray using isopropyl alcohol, ammonia, dishsoap and water”)
- Pancake mix
- Chicken broth
- Hot chocolate mix
- Fruit fly traps
- Air-freshener
If you have a great recipe for any of the above, or would like to add your own thoughts about things you make instead of buy, please leave it in the comments below!
I’d love to issue a challenge! Would your consider trying to make ONE new item instead of buying it this week? e.g. Making your own popcorn in a pot instead of using the microwave variety? Or making your own taco and fajita seasoning? Or your own salad dressing? Let me know if you do! I will do the same. (I’m thinking I might try making almond butter. Hmm.)
