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vegan cashew cheese sauce

Creamy Cashew Vegan Cheese Sauce

sunflower seed butter

Cinnamon Maple Sunflower Seed Butter

hemp milk and hemp seeds

Package Free 5 Minute Hemp Milk

finex cast iron skillet bread

Cast Iron Skillet Bread

red onion quick pickles

Red Onion Quick Pickles

homemade, package-free matzo

Sea Salt Crispy Flatbread (Matzo)

bruised apples illustration

Apple Scrap Vinegar

Vegetable Stock from Scratch

Chickpeas

Tender Lovin’ Chickpeas from Scratch

tahini flat lay

Homemade Tahini Dreams

soaking almonds for almond milk

Almond – All the Time – Milk

Summer Recipe Inspiration

finished Thanksgiving salad overhead with all ingredients mixed together

Main Dish, Salads

Cauliflower and Winter Squash Salad

finex cast iron skillet bread

How-to's, Side Dish

Cast Iron Skillet Bread

close up of DIY granola bars with almond milk

Breakfast, Snacks

The Best Package-Free Granola Bars

The latest recipes on Instagram »

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HOW TO MAKE APPLE CIDER VINEGAR (aka apple scrap vinegar) 💡🍏 If you’re looking for an easy project to get started this Sunday, try a batch of this homemade vinegar! Fermentation is a great way to extend the life of your produce and apple scrap vinegar is the perfect beginner’s project. Trust me, nature basically does the work on this one. Just remember to stir and burp your bottles!You can collect all of your cores, peels, and imperfect fruits until you have enough to make a batch or ask for a bag of seconds at your local farmers market. Any kind of apple works well here and you can include your extra lemon rinds for a little citrus kick. It’s an inexpensive way to dip your toe into practicing low waste cooking at home. This vinegar is a great addition to soups, stocks, stir-fries, baking, and even home cleaning products! If y’all didn’t know by know I am slightly obsessed with ACV. I’ll tell anyone who’s listening a tbsp mixed with a slice of ginger and a squeeze of lemon in warm water is a miracle cure.Give it a try! Full recipe link in bio!Have you made your own vinegar before?? #closedloopcooking

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Thinking back on this favorite interview from @baguetteandbutter - Amanda’s been a fantastic inspiration in self sufficiency. “I bake bread and made yogurt at home. It’s humbling to know you can make something to sustain yourself even if it’s lumpy or it doesn’t hold up to the picture-perfect standard we’re used to seeing in the store.” It doesn’t have to be perfect.We tend to think if it’s not photo worthy, it’s not perfect. A #lowwaste practice is about imperfection and giving yourself time to learn. It’s ok to make something ugly, to make something that tastes terrible. It’s the first step towards making something you like and can share with others. “The biggest barrier wasn’t so much learning how to preserve, it was really learning how to trust myself. The first time I made yogurt I was terrified I was going to get sick from it. But I realized that I was trusting this larger food system where we really have no idea what’s going on more than I trusted myself.” Trust that you will figure it out. It will take time, be patient, be kind to yourself. It’s a place to start!What imperfect dish have you made recently?? #closedloopcooking 🥣✨

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DIY Low Impact Produce Wash 👏
Apple peels, sweet potato skins, carrot tops, curly leaf kale, all dirty dudes, all nutritious, and worth a good wash. Taking on this ethos of using every part of your produce requires a little bit more preparation. 
I try to buy organic / local when possible to avoid any extra chemical residue. (In situations when this isn’t possible, removing a waxy or damaged skin from your produce is probably the better bet.) A sustainable cleaning process ensures your fruits and veggies are ready to eat and last longer. Getting in the habit of washing your produce as soon as you get home from the store or market makes it super easy to use it later throughout the week. 
Baking soda is an awesome low cost, low impact alternative for clean eats! It’s way better to wash this down the drain than most other commercial dish detergents that are usually dyed, scented, and in a plastic bottle. I buy baking soda in a cute lil cardboard box and it lasts for a few months.
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How-to:
* Gather all fruits and veggies (it’s helpful to do everything at once to make it easier to pull out of the fridge for later use) and a large bowl.
* Fill bowl with cool water about halfway.
* Add 2 tablespoons of baking soda to bowl and mix to combine.
* Add in produce, make sure all pieces are fully submerged, and let sit for 12 – 15 minutes.
* Using a dedicated produce scrub or clean dish towel, scrub and rinse off produce and repeat steps 4 and 5 as needed. (I use the same solution for all of my produce at one time to do a batch wash.) ✨
It’s that easy!
How do you clean your produce?? #closedloopcooking

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APPLE INSPIRATION 🍎💡 Thinking on a few ideas for how to make the most of this excess winter apple haul (thank you PNW seasonality.) I don’t tend to buy much fruit during the colder months, as what’s available is usually limited. But apples are an almost year-round delight (depending on where you are) that will hold up well if you don’t use them right away.Knowing how to use what you have on hand makes all the difference in reducing food waste. By building up your mental catalogue you’re adding to the references you can pull from when you’ve got produce to save. Another way we can improve our improvisational cooking techniques!To make the most of those apples try dehydrating them into crisp, cinnamon apple chips, slicing into thin pieces for a savory radicchio fennel salad, use up those bruised or imperfect pieces for zucchini top applesauce, and save your cores and peels to make your own apple cider vinegar! So many great uses.What are you using apples for lately?? #closedloopcooking

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LOW WASTE SNACKS 💡
One of my absolute favorite #packagefree snacks is stove top popcorn. Movie nights at home, a quick snack while I’m drawing, I love a bowl (to myself, let’s be honest) of popcorn loaded up with some flaky salt, paprika, and a palmful of nutritional yeast. It’s a relatively guilt-free snack you can doctor up with whatever seasonings you have on hand. I’m a dry popcorn kind of gal but to each their own, we’re not here to judge.I usually find my kernels in the bulk bin of my local grocery store, which makes this a bin to bowl plastic free snack experience. (Reminder to bring your own container!) If you can’t find these at your local grocery store, a conventional packaged bag of popcorn is a much better alternative to several plastic wrapped, microwave bags coated with things we probably shouldn’t be eating on a regular basis.
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Super simple stove top popcorn
Ingredients: - 2 tbsp olive oil - 1/2 cup popcorn kernels - handful of salt, nutritional yeast, pumpkin spice, etc - seasonings to your liking ✨ To-do’s: 1. Pour oil into a heavy bottomed, medium size pan and turn on medium heat. Add in a kernel and cover with lid. You’ll wait for the kernel to pop before you add in the rest.  2. Once that kernel has popped pour in the rest and cover with lid. Give the pot a little shake to let the kernels distribute evenly around bottom of the pan. Let sit as kernels begin to pop. Once they are popping, ever so slightly crack the lid to allow steam to escape (this will keep the popcorn from getting soggy.) 3. Continue cooking until popping slows to a single pop every few seconds or so, anywhere from 1 - 3 minutes. Turn off and remove from heat. Pour popcorn into bowl and add in addition seasoning! Feel free to get creative here and try out new flavor combinations.
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(Note: Make sure to never leave your oil unattended! If you ever smell burning or see smoke turn off the heat and take your pot off the burner. Leave the lid on and put the pot in the sink to cool down.) ✨
I also like to save any unpopped kernels to use next time! I can’t be the only one!What’s your fav popcorn topping?? #closedloopcooking

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M I N D F U L I N T E N T I O N S 👼
So much of our day is run on auto pilot–we’re habituated to keep up with the same routines, eat the same things, accomplish the same small tasks. These things have become integral to how we live our day to day. It’s no wonder that new habits are slow to stick. You’ve got to literally shift how you approach your daily life. You’ve got to make a conscious effort for something different to happen. It’s never an easy task. Especially when we’re talking about low waste practices. Trying to change how we view our own consumption patterns is almost abstract, most of the time we’re not even aware a change is needed. That’s why so many of our conversations around closed-loop practices have to start with mindfulness. The shift happens once we’re cognizant of what is needed.The first, most important thing you can do right now to embark on a low impact lifestyle is develop awareness. Be mindful of everything you touch, eat, see for the next few days and notice how that starts to shift your mentality. Materials you come in contact with, foods and how they came to feed you, things you dispose of. You start to understand the narratives of material objects, you start to appreciate those items with longevity, the things that continue to serve a purpose. It’s a remarkable shift, just having that awareness. And with that new mindset you begin to make small changes. You live with mindful intention and slowly those habits that were running on auto pilot take on a deeper meaning. That day to day feels different. This is where change can take hold and really grow.It takes time. The overwhelm of knowing you want to make a change and the distance to actually making that happen can feel disempowering. It’s totally possible. You’re capable of shifting convention. It starts small and it starts with that mindful intention.What are you setting intentions toward?? #closedloopcooking

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CREAMY CASHEW VEGAN CHEESE SAUCE 🧀✨ Having toppings that can liven up ingredients on hand is an awesome way to level up your improvisational cooking skills. You can tie seemingly unrelated items together under one unifying cheese-like sauce, what’s not to love? I think one of the biggest deterrents for folx getting into cooking is thinking they have to adhere to a certain formula whenever they’re cooking. Having ingredients on hand that you can mix and match allows more flexibility and freedom in the kitchen! With room for error cooking a low waste meal is much less intimidating. 
That’s why I love this sauce! You never know when a creamy vegan cashew cheese will come in handy. It takes less than 5 minutes to whip up a batch of this plant-based goodness and you can have a dip, sauce, or spread ready to go when that unexpected guest (or snack attack) comes on. This recipe makes great use of our 5 minute, package free hemp milk–a delicious, nutritious alternative milk that is just as quick to blend. In my attempts to figure out the perfect vegan mac and cheese I discovered just how versatile a cashew cheese spread is. A spoonful goes a long way in jazzing up any old produce you have rolling around in the fridge, as a leftover soup topper, or something to use up those last few crackers with. (Let’s be real, you’re probably not going to eat them otherwise.) You can source just about all of these ingredients package and plastic free for a pretty sustainable sauce option. Not to mention it’s delicious on just about anything.What are you saucing up??#closedloopcooking

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LOW WASTE LUNCH PREP 🥣✨ An easy, plant-based lunch with every last vegetable we had in the fridge. (We get scrappy over here.) Making ahead a meal or two the day or evening before makes such a difference. You’re less likely to grab a last minute meal out or something on the go and you greatly reduce your packaging waste. Even if you can only make a lunch for yourself a few times a week you’re still making a difference in your conscious consumption! It goes a long ways. You’re also more mindful of what you’re eating throughout the week and your meals end up being healthier than had you eaten out.For a simple, low waste lunch prep, the night before you can mix and match: - a grain (try quinoa, farro, barley, brown rice, a mix of each) - a protein (eggs, red lentils, nuts + seeds) - veggies (hearty greens, cabbage, sweet potatoes, carrots) - dressing (apple cider vinegar + olive oil, tahini, smashed avocado)Sticking to an easy formula will help you come up with something on the fly and let you use up anything leftover you may have on hand. And if you don’t like what you make one day, there’s always another lunch to experiment with! I love making creative lunches to see what flavor combinations work well. Yay for Sunday meal prep!What do you prep for your low waste lunch?? #closedloopcooking

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CINNAMON MAPLE SUN BUTTER 🌞If you got a wild hair to whip up a batch of those package free granola bars, you might want to DIY your own nut or nut free butter to go with! This cinnamon maple sunflower seed butter is super simple and dang delicious. I’ve been eating it out of the jar with a spoon, it’s that good. I hope no one else wanted any... It’s also about time we had a nut-free butter on this site! Not to mention there’s no refined sugar, extra oil, or excess packaging. Sunflower seeds are an awesome, inexpensive alternative to some other bulk items and have a unique, earthy flavor that goes great on toast, (maybe time to try that homemade cast iron skillet bread?) with fruit, or as a quick snack by itself! What’s not to love?Conventional nut butters are usually packaged in plastic jars with a seal you have to toss. We’re out here to help y’all curb your plastic packaging waste and this is an easy recipe to get started with! Also anything called “sun butter” has to be warm and tasty.What are you spreading this seed butter on?? #closedloopcooking

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PACKAGE FREE GRANOLA BARS 🙏
We’ve been talking about improving our low waste practices all month–setting ourselves up for success through easy shifts we can gradually build on. After our incredible conversation with Sophia Roe, I’m thinking more about practices we can easily share with others, as much as with ourselves. Something simple like a container full of homemade granola bars is a wonderful way to share the wealth. Maybe you make a batch at the beginning of the week and you bring it into work with you. When that afternoon hunger hits, you’re prepared and you can show your work neighbors just how easy (and tasty) it is to create a #lowwaste snack at home.
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Snack food is a point of low entry for those unfamiliar with low waste practices. The accessibility of waste and lack of time to prep has us reaching for the quickest, easiest option at a moments notice. So let’s change that. Something like this 30 minute recipe will give you a newfound freedom from snack packaging and make you feel good about your mid afternoon food options for yourself and anyone you care to share them with! (And for real, they are SO good! A perfect texture + flavor combination – seriously just try ‘em.)
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That’s how you spread the word. With good and good for you foods. Your influence in your community is so much bigger than you know. Your ideas and actions ripple, they resonate with those around you. You can set mindful intentions that reduce waste, cultivate community, and make change. It’s a thoughtful shift from our day to day routines we’ve grown accustomed to, it might feel uncomfortable to share something new, but it’s the place we can all start. And it can all start with a granola bar.
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How do you share your food knowledge with your community?? #closedloopcooking

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How-to make a low waste shopping kit
💡One of my favorite #lowwaste shopping tricks is super simple–just stuff things into other things and keep it on your person. A small glass jar usually fits several other bags that prepare me for a mindful trip to the grocery store. Shout out to this well worn tote I’ve had for 10 years, a sturdy mesh produce bag, and a plastic produce bag I’ve reused more times than I care to share. If an unexpected trip to get groceries pops up you can always be prepared! The glass jar comes in handy if you’re out getting coffee and forget your travel mug or have leftovers from a quick bite to eat. I usually keep some variation of this mini travel kit in my bag or backpack and it comes in handy almost everyday.Our latest piece from @hippiemoji on forming intentional habits really resonates. If collectively we want to make change, to reduce the amount of to-go containers, flimsy plastic bags, and single use items in the landfill we have to be mindful about how that change takes place. We have to intentionally implement small habit shifts that add up over time. Moji sums it up so well, “We simply want to adopt habits at a pace that won’t be overwhelming to the point of inaction. When we are able to consistently see ourselves have small wins, it transforms the new habit into a behavior we no longer have to actively think about.” YES. Adopting an entirely zero waste lifestyle change cold tofurkey is not sustainable for most people.So, small steps. Packing a mini travel kit in your bag everyday is an impactful habit shift that will influence other actions. This is an achievable intention that will help you navigate the overwhelm of trying to live a completely zero waste life. Low impact intentions, y’all. We know this is an imperfect practice and giving yourself the kindness to make mistakes and correct is how things stick. If you haven’t read Moji’s latest piece about intention setting get on over to closedloopcooking.com already!What’s in your low waste travel kit?? #closedloopcooking

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W I N T E R C O L O R S 💜🍠✨ Thinking back to these vibrantly hued daikon radishes from @portlandfarmers ✨ I’m always amazed by the array of colors I see, even in winter, across the stands. A lot of folx don’t find inspiration in cold weather produce but there is an abundance of exciting fruits and vegetables you can still find seasonally. I’m grateful for the plethora of beautiful eats in the Pacific Northwest. I know my access to fresh produce year round is an absolute privilege and I make it a point to honor each and every piece by using all of its edible parts.Winter produce in the PNW is definitely heartier, lots of root veggies that will go a long way and keep you full during the colder months. It’s easy to just stick with the same few dishes when it’s grey, raining, and chilly but there are so many lovely winter shapes, sizes, and colors to keep things interesting in the kitchen. Sometimes it’s just about knowing where to look. I seem to have a knack for finding every piece of purple produce when I’m out and about and that inspires many of my dishes. We can all try to shop by color a little more, it’ll get you excited to be back in the kitchen.What’s your favorite winter fruit or veg?? #closedloopcooking

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PACKAGE FREE 5 MINUTE HEMP MILK ✨ New recipe up on closedloopcooking.com ✨Hemp seeds have a subtle nutty flavor and they happen to be packed with nutrients, hello superfood! One of my favorite things about this recipe is that you don’t need to strain! There will be a slight texture but you’ll get to enjoy all of those bonus essential amino acids and protein. You can increase your blend time a minute or so to make sure you get a smooth milk. (And shake well before every use, separation is natural!) All you need is:
* ½ cup hulled hemp seeds
* 2 - 3 cups water
* ½ tsp vanilla
* ¼ tsp salt (we used kosher)
* 1 pitted date or 1 tbsp maple syrup (optional, but recommended for added sweetness)Check out the link in bio for the full recipe! (It’s basically just blending y’all!) Super simple and something you’ll want to keep on hand all the time. You can make it in less than 5 minutes and there are no extra stabilizers or ingredients like conventional store bought milks. That’s seriously low impact folx! You can usually find hemp seeds at your local bulk bin or purchase a large packet that will last you a while.Have you made hemp milk yet? Let us know how it goes! #closedloopcooking

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PACKAGE FREE, PLASTIC FREE HEMP MILK ✨💚
I’m always on the hunt for an easy, sustainable alternative to tetra pak non-dairy milks (and regular milk.) I can’t believe I haven’t made my own hemp milk yet! It’s ready in under 5 minutes, there’s no excess pulp to strain and it’s delicious! Honestly, I might be a hemp milk convert now. From bulk bin to blender there’s no packaging to “recycle” and you can use it interchangeably with other milks.Creating convenience around low waste foods means figuring out ways to simplify the process. We buy packaged milks because we rarely have time to make our own, let alone track down the ingredients, and invest in something that may or may not turn out edible. Lucky for y’all, we’re making it easier over here at CLC by testing recipes, how-to’s, tips + tricks to make your kitchen practice a little easier (and low waste!) Stay tuned for this recipe going live on closedloopcooking.com tomorrow! It’ll give your granola a whole new meaning :DWhat’s your favorite non-dairy milk?? #closedloopcooking

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NEW YEAR, NEW LOW IMPACT INTENTIONS ✨👏 We’re starting off the next decade right with a new piece from our quarterly habits series with @hippiemoji of Blue Daisi consulting! Moji is taking us through easy to navigate steps for maintaining low waste practices. We know that it’s going to take a global effort to make change happen and it all starts with mindful intention setting. An ongoing, imperfect practice we can all strive for.How do we really set ourselves up for success? Creating an intentional practice around sustainability takes time and patience to figure out what works for you. Making your eco-minded decisions a habit is about making those choices as easy as possible.
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“The final piece to creating low impact intentions is setting aside time in your schedule to work toward it. Personally, if something is not built into my schedule, I likely won’t get to it. Humans tend to want to take the path of least resistance, so it helps to create a structure for yourself that offers the fewest barriers. I know I won’t remember to bring my toolkit of essentials — typically, it’s a set of silverware, a metal straw, and a reusable water bottle — with me on a regular basis if I have to think about it every day. To prevent myself from forgetting my tools at home, I keep all my stuff in the same tote bag that I use every day and I give myself a minute on my way out the door to do a quick check that everything is where I need it to be. Small actions like this allow me to continue developing systems that help me maintain my sustainable living habits.”
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It can be as easy as starting out by always keep a produce bag or two in your purse, backpack, or fanny pack. Just let it live there now. What are your New Year’s intentions?? #closedloopcookingLink in bio! ✨
photo by the amazing @rainbowpink <3

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Drawing up some winter produce! 🥕
Kale, carrots, and arugula are just a few colorful produce options in the PNW during the colder months. You’d be surprised at what you can find growing locally as the seasons change. The more local food we can eat, the less miles food has to travel. Sustainable food for thought y’all!What colorful winter produce is growing locally near you? #closedloopcooking

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✨HOT TIP! ✨This well loved (and well stained) enameled cast iron I’ve had for years is a perfect bread storage container. An #plasticfree and #packagefree airtight option for keeping all of that homemade cast iron skillet bread you’ve made this week fresh!https://closedloopcooking.com/cast-iron-skillet-bread/ 
You can wrap your homemade bread in a clean kitchen linen and it should stay fresh about 4 - 5 days. Who knows if you’ll have any left by then though?I’m a big fan of unconventional storage methods. Preserving your food is an important part of reducing food waste and every imaginative approach helps! How do you keep your bread fresh?? #closedloopcooking

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Sundays are for making homemade cast iron skillet bread! (In our fav FINEX from @made.trade ✨) Full recipe link in bio!You can prepare the dough before bed and leave to rise overnight, popping it in the oven just 30 minutes before you serve it–could not be easier! The most important step to remember is preheating your oven with your cast iron inside, so when you add in the dough it will immediately start baking. Bread trade secrets, y’all. You too can whip up a zero-waste bread with your cast iron from @madetrade like a pro!Did you try out this recipe? Let us know how it goes! #closedloopcooking ✨

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Cast Iron Skillet Bread 🍞✨ Y’all! So excited to share this partnership with @made.trade 💛💛Homemade bread is such a sensory delight. The epitome of #lowimpactliving, a package-free and plastic-free alternative to traditional store-bought bread (which usually has loads of fillers). Making bread from scratch will give you an immense sense of accomplishment considering how dang easy it is! You can absolutely use whatever cast iron you have on hand, enameled or not, to make this bread. Heirloom kitchen pieces are essential when building a low impact kitchen practice. 
You can check out our latest recipe and video up on closedloopcooking.com today (link in bio) to start getting packaged bread outta your kitchen! One step at a time folx, we can all start somewhere 👏 
Have you ever made homemade bread?? #closedloopcooking

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