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Recipes

Radicchio, Fennel, + Apple Fall Salad with Tahini Dressing

Lemon Cucumber + Heirloom Tomato Salad

Easy Radish Greens Spring Salad

purple cabbage, carrot, apple, brussels sprout slaw with tahini dressing

Winter Slaw with Creamy Tahini Dressing

finished Thanksgiving salad overhead with all ingredients mixed together

Cauliflower and Winter Squash Salad

Carrot Top + Kale Dip

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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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B O W L F O O D I N T E N T I O N S ✨🥣 More warm veggies covered in tahini dressing in 2020. Setting intentions y’all. And thinking back on Em von Euw’s interview from this week, “Being a human is messy, it’s not as clean and clear cut as we want it to be. I think talking about mental health, gender, eating disorders, and body acceptance can be a way of healing for all of us—that rehumanization.” I want to feel more at peace with the messy stuff stepping into this next year. Things are never going to be perfect or turn out the way we expect them. “Be kind to yourself always, hold your heart gently always. Whether it’s gender or veganism or consumerism, the lines are blurry. There are no definite borders. …if your intention is to tread more gently, and to be kind to yourself, animals, and the planet, then you’re still doing that.” Let’s all keep this in mind as we move forward towards a #lowimpact practice. We can shift our mindset through intention and making a conscious, imperfect effort.  Thank you again to @thisrawsomeveganlife for an exceptional interview! We’re so appreciative of your practice. <3
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Lovin on this roasted veg bowl with delicata squash, carrots, broccoli, chopped parsley (including the stem) and massaged kale. Topped with a ginger / lemon / tahini dressing and toasted squash seeds it’s a filling, warm bowl great for any meal. Let me know if y’all want this recipe!  What are your low impact intentions for 2020?? #closedloopcooking

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“I am literally made of planet.” Wise words from Em von Euw of This Rawsome Vegan Life. Have you had a chance to read our fantastic interview with them? Em’s work is at the intersection of mindfulness, sustainability, and food. We talked to Em about allowing their blog to evolve as their values did, their journey with gender and body acceptance, and practical tips for transitioning to a plant-based lifestyle with self-compassion.
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Seriously, you don’t want to miss this one! Do you have a favorite recipe from @thisrawsomeveganlife ??#closedloopcooking

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H A P P Y N E W Y E A R 🎉 we are so so excited to kick off 2020 with a fantastic interview featuring Em von Euw of @thisrawsomeveganlife ✨ Em is a powerhouse of intentional living, incredibly cognizant of what it means to live a #plantbased life at the intersection of social and environmental reform. Start your new decade off right with some much needed inspiration!
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“For me, living in a truly sustainable way is about checking my ego and asking myself, ‘Do I really want this bamboo cutlery because I want to have a low impact? What if the cutlery I have now is fine?’ The most eco-friendly thing to do is to keep what we have instead of trying to perform this ideal.” 👏👏
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You can read the full interview today on closedloopcooking.com ✨ What are your #mindfulliving goals for 2020? #closedloopcookingIllustrations by me, @hawnuhlee 💜

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Cinnamon apple chips 🍎✨
One of my favorite snacks of all time! My mom’s most used kitchen tool was the dehydrator–nothing was safe from it. One of her best successes was always dried apple chips. She’d make them every few weeks and the entire house would smell slightly sweet. She’d leave them to dry out overnight and by the next afternoon every single one of them had been eaten. She’ll still send them to me in holiday packages and I eat them just as fast.  To make these cinnamon apple chips, I sliced up and cored 4 apples, including some bruised and on the edge of going to waste. I coated half of them with cinnamon and left them in the dehydrator overnight (approx 10 - 12 hours.) Voila! A simple, #packagefree snack you can have on hand, add in to granola or other baked goods. If you don’t have a dehydrator you can still use the oven - place apple slices on a try, turn the oven on its lowest setting, crack the oven door and let heat overnight.Have you made your own apple chips? #closedloopcooking

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Sundays are for homemade granola. 🥣
One of my favorite weekend rituals is making granola–loaded with nuts, seeds, flax, and oats. It’s a simple recipe that I know by heart now and changes slightly with whatever we have on hand. I love filling the house with the warm scent of cinnamon while I try to do some semblance of yoga as it bakes. We always pick at the corners “testing” chunks while it cools and clumps up.I get all of these ingredients in the bulk bin section of the grocery store (usually in a reusable bag / container or sometimes a paper bag I can compost.) Creating an easy breakfast for the mornings is such a great way to start the weekend and reduce your plastic and package use. That is if it lasts through the end of the week!  Do y’all have any weekend breakfast rituals?#closedloopcooking ✨ (There’s a bulk bin granola recipe in the archives on closedloopcooking.com!)

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DIY FLAXSEED MEAL ✨
If you’re still on a post-holiday baking craze, you’re not alone. I can’t be the only one wanting to share vegan baked goodness cheer. Through the New Year is appropriate - and year round, let’s be honest. I can support plant-based baked goods any and all the time. So baking friends, you’ve probably also discovered the importance of flaxseed meal. The magical egg replacer wonder you can only get in a non-compostable plastic bag from the store. Well, I’ve got news for ya–you can actually DIY your own flaxseed meal at home, with flax seeds from the bulk bin! Totally #packagefree and #plasticfree. I’m so proud of you.  You will need a well cleaned coffee bean grinder or bullet smoothie (or similar) to get a fine meal. This doesn’t work as well in a food processor because the seeds are too small.  DIY Flaxseed Meal ✨
Ingredients: - 1 cup whole flax seeds (from bulk bins) ✨ To-do’s: 1. In your well cleaned coffee grinder or bullet smoothie (or similar) add in ¼ cup of flax seeds at a time. Grind for approx 2 - 3 minutes, until a course meal has formed. You don’t want any whole seeds in the mixture. 2. Repeat with remaining ¾ cups of seeds and store mixture in a glass jar with a tight fitting lid. Store in the fridge. This should keep between 4 - 5 months. Use as you would any other flaxseed meal.  How to make a flax egg ✨ Ingredients: - 1 tbsp flaxseed meal - 2 tbsp water ✨ To-do’s: 1. Combine flaxseed meal and water in a small bowl.  2. Let sit 5 minutes. 3. Use as soon as possible. Will keep in the fridge about 1 day.  That’s literally it! Easy as flaxseed meal. I always have a jar in the fridge and seem to go through it pretty quickly! Less packaging waste and less expensive. Win win!  Are y’all still baking? Show us what you’re making! #closedloopcooking

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Imperfect objects ⚡️ As we wrap up this holiday season, thinking about the things we may or may not have gotten this year, I want to take a moment to remind you that it’s ok to hold on to those imperfect items. We don’t have to be so quick to replace everything. The mug that’s lost it’s handle, the old plastic take away containers, the chipped plates. They can all continue to serve a purpose in your home.  We eat around the chip in this plate, thankful that it has survived our unforgiving tiled kitchen floor. We repurpose those old dish rags within an inch of their lives. We try to extend the life of every item we own before we make a conscious effort to replace or buy new. It’s a practice in patience, yes, and a practice in imperfections. A low impact kitchen isn’t always beautiful, but we can find something in that longevity.  What imperfect pieces are you still holding onto? #closedloopcooking

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DIY Spiced orange peel + ginger tea 🍊✨ Did anyone else’s mom make dreidel bags for Hanukkah? We loved these as kids–we’d get these instead of stockings and they would have a bunch of useful things like socks and chalky Hanukkah gelt we’d be so excited to open. She’d always put in a few oranges to fill out the corners and we would open our bags on the last day of Hanukkah, (which sometimes overlapped Christmas) and peel oranges together. Ah, tradition. If you too remember the fond smell of a wintry citrus morning you might have a taste for this easy spiced orange peel + ginger tea. You can make great use of your leftover orange stocking stuffers, if you have them!Spiced orange peel + ginger tea, makes 2 cups ✨
Ingredients: - peels from 1 whole orange - 1 inch knob of ginger, sliced into a few pieces - 8 to 10 whole cloves - approx 32 ounces / 4 cups water ✨ To-do’s: 1. Boil water. 2. Combine orange peels, ginger, and cloves in large mason jar, teapot, etc and pour in hot water. 3. Let sit 5 - 7 minutes, longer time will make for a stronger brew. Enjoy!
What do y’all do with orange peels? #closedloopcooking

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Happy holidays! ✨👼💛 A plant-based, low waste seasonal cheer from our kitchen to yours. However you’re celebrating this year (failed vegan latkes, anyone?) we hope you’re taking time to wind down and enjoy a few homemade treats.I generally avoid traditional gift giving during the holiday season in favor of baked goods I can wrap in unbleached parchment paper (you can compost it!) and tie off with a bit of string. A #plasticfree alternative in the endless sea of wrapping paper. These spiced almond butter cookies and pumpkin maple cranberry scones are a great seasonal treat to share.Did y’all make any homemade goodies this year? #closedloopcooking

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Closed Loop Cooking is here to help you reduce food waste and single-use kitchen items. You’ll find minimal waste, plant-based recipes, how-to’s, guides, and stories for your low impact kitchen!

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