Kick those cans! Beginning to reduce your trash can be an intimidating task. Especially if you’ve never shopped the bulk section of your grocery store, low waste can be a lofty goal. I had never even shopped a store with a bulk section before this year! At first, opting for package-free versus pre-prepared staples seems like unnecessary work. I am here to help!! I have found that buying in bulk not only reduces my waste, but also is significantly less expensive than buying the same quantity pre-done. This post on some of my regular favorites will hopefully help you move towards that first step in DIY’ing kitchen basics. All these “recipes” are extremely basic, but I wouldn’t have thought of them if I did not have the motivation of reducing my waste. I will continuously update this post as I try out new replacements for previously store-bought products! Also look out for a post of some of my favorite easy plant-based meals with these staples.
The most useful tool I have in my zero-waste kitchen adventures is a slow cooker. I love my slow cooker because I can just leave it on all day while I’m in class or otherwise living my life, and I come home to a fresh pot of goodies. You just dump your ingredients in + go! I bought my small, 2 QT Crock Pot at Target for less than $10. Here it is on Amazon! My mom has much larger Crock Pot – when I use hers, I just save extra portions of items like beans by freezing in individual glass jars.
BEANS
Black Beans
- 6 cups water
- 6 cups of dry beans (~1 lb) – not pre-soaked
slow cooker: HIGH for 4 Hours or LOW for 8-9 Hours
PRO TIP: I like to make my black beans Cuban by adding garlic powder, onion powder, a bay leaf, and sometimes little tiny chopped up green bell pepper.
Store in an airtight container in the fridge for 1-2 weeks.
Garbanzo Beans
- 7 cups water
- 6 cup of dry beans (~1 lb) – not pre-soaked
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
slow cooker: HIGH for 4 Hours or LOW for 8-9 Hours
Store in an airtight container in the fridge for 1-2 weeks.
Lentils
I like lentils as protein in a salad. If you really want to make lentils in a crock pot, it really has to be for a soup. You can add dry lentils to your broth and other veggies, and cook on LOW for 8 Hours. For straight up lentils, I cook them stove-top in a small-medium stockpot. Generally, use 3 cups of water per 1 cup of dry lentils. Boil for 20 minutes or until tender. If a good bit of water evaporates, don’t be scared to top off with extra water.
COOKING LIQUIDS
Vegetable Broth is any easy, weekly regular! In a repurposed yogurt pint, I freeze scraps from various vegetables until my container is full. For me, this is about equal to a 2 QT Crock Pot-ful of scraps. You can also use a gallon-size plastic baggie or similar medium-sized container. Good scraps to collect for vegetable broth are:
- Celery stalks
- Carrot peels, tops, and bottoms
- Onion and garlic skins
If I’ve got them on hand, I also like bell peppers (tops, cores) and green onion for flavor. I find that including stems from leafy vegetables like spinach or broccoli make the broth slightly bitter.
Generally, I just dump my scraps into the slow cooker and fully cover in water. If you’re feeling creative, you can also add spices (e.g., peppercorns, coriander) or herbs (e.g., thyme).
slow cooker on LOW 8+ hours – it only gets better with time!
Strain your broth through a colander. Transfer the strained broth to a glass, airtight jar. Store in the fridge for ~1 week, or freeze. I find that broth freezes really well, takes about a day to defrost in the fridge, and is nice to always have on hand for soups or veggie risottos.
Shrimp Stock is a similar process to broths. I fill my 2 QT slow cooker with shrimp shells; I estimate about 1.5 lbs of shrimp yields a full pot of shells. Likewise:
slow cooker on LOW 8+ hours – better with time!
Strain your broth through a colander. Transfer the strained broth to a glass, airtight jar. Store in the fridge for ~1 week, or freeze. This also freezes great! I like to use it instead of water when cooking rice for specialty, themed meals.
SNACKS
I can inhale hummus. Unfortunately, almost all hummus I’ve seen at grocery stores comes in plastic. I like to make my own hummus now – and wow, I can’t believe I used to spend so much money on buying it! In a food processor, mix chickpeas, a bit of the chickpea cooking water, and olive oil. Start with small amounts of liquids and add until you’ve reached your desired consistency. Most hummus recipes only call for olive oil to process chickpeas, but I find that cutting that with a bit of the cooking liquid adds a deeper flavor, keeps the hummus from getting too oily, and also reduces our use of (pricey) olive oil. Always add salt, cumin, and tahini – if I don’t have tahini on had, a spoonful of peanut butter is a great substitute. Fun things I like to mix into hummus are roasted garlic and curry powder. To roast garlic, just peel ~4-5 cloves for about 3 oz of hummus (a regular-size container of store bought hummus). Drizzle in olive oil and roast at 400º F for ~10 minutes. Keep an eye on the garlic so it does not burn! Then just toss those full cloves into the food processor with your other ingredients. I have a friend who also loves to roast beets to flavor her hummus – you could either roast or throw raw into the food processor. It gives the hummus a really beautiful pink color!
Popcorn kernels are one of the easiest things to buy in bulk. I love popcorn at all hours – I pop some for a study snack or if I’m making casual appetizers for my friends before a night out. In a small saucepan, cover the bottom with a thin layer of canola oil. Put one single kernel in the oil, and cover the saucepan on high heat. Once the single kernel pops, add all your desired kernels. It should take less than five minutes for all kernels to pop. To prevent burning, I like to shake my saucepan every minute or so to ensure all the kernels are well-covered in oil. I personally like to top my popcorn with olive oil and sea salt, but you can definitely get creative here with spices, butter, etc. Bagged microwave popcorn does not even compare to freshly popped. I can’t go back!
STALE BREAD?
I have been making croutons long before my zero waste ambitions because it is a common suggestion on cooking shows! Slice bread into 1 inch by 1 inch cubes, then toss in olive oil and spices (if desired – I like using garlic powder!). Toast at 400º F for ~10 minutes, or until desired toasty-ness.
Breadcrumbs are also a kitchen staple you don’t need to be purchasing pre-made. Just fill your food processor with cubes of dry, stale bread. I use a NutriBullet and the breadcrumbs come out great – reducing my food waste in a matter of seconds. You can also add spices and herbs – I add Italian Seasoning if I’ll be using the breadcrumbs for meatballs.
UP NEXT:
I hope to make my own marinara sauce in the slow cooker. Most homemade recipes call for canned crushed tomatoes, but I feel like this can be easily substituted for the zero-waste option of softer tomatoes, purchased in reusable produce bags. If you’ve got a great aluminum recycling program, this simple recipe for marinara would be my move. I do not have a desperate need for pasta sauce because I no longer buy pasta – I can’t buy it in bulk in my area, so if I want pasta, I have to make it myself. Pasta is surprisingly easy – just flour and egg – but I have not made myself in quite some time as I’ve left my beloved pasta machine in Florida. Stay tuned for that sauce!! I also don’t purchase many frozen treats, but when the time is here, I’ll be making some zero-waste chocolate syrup to drizzle atop. This recipe from one of my favorite zero-waste food bloggers looks bomb.
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Please share any low waste kitchen swaps in your rotation! If you need some background on why + how I am moving towards a zero-waste lifestyle, check out this post. I spoke more about the zero-waste movement in this podcast, and on this one I shared some knowledge on compost so you can b mindful of your food scraps after these recipes!