I was in the mood for a crunchy snack while I was at the grocery store, so I picked up a package of crispy rice crackers. I was a little shocked and dismayed by how much package was involved for these small little chips.

Look at all this packaging!! Source

So I went on a little internet hunt for some crispy rice cracker recipes!

I mishmashed a bunch of recipes together (including the Homemade Senbei Japanese Rice Crackers at Ivy's Feast, Crispy Rice Crackers at Tess's Japanese Kitchen and Homemade Rice Crackers with Nori at Tes at Home) and came out with a really simple recipe. Plus, they go really great with my cousin's Hummus dip! I am hoping to experiment by adding some different flavours like cheese and bbq, and maybe trying to make crispy quinoa crackers, but I'm taking baby steps with this.

I also came across these Best Snacers (and Breeze) ever on Making Love in the Kitchen. They weren't really the type of rice cracker I was looking for, but I'm keen to make these. Plus, if I can really substitute quinoa in these, I'm a happy girl. I love quinoa!

But for now, my version of Rice Crackers.

3/4 cups rice flour 3/4 cups cooked Japanese rice 2 tbsp vegetable oil   0.5 tsp salt 4 tbsp cup water 2 tbsp sesame seeds

Preheat the oven to 400.

Combine the rice flour, rice, vegetable oil and salt in a food processor. Pulse until finely ground. 

Fine ground rice, flour, oil and salt

While the processor is on, add the water.

The water made the dough very sticky

Transfer to a bowl and add the sesame seeds. Knead to combine.

Make 3/4 inch balls of dough. Cover with rice flour and press with the bottom of a glass or bowl.  I found they were best when they were about 1/8 inch thick.

I used LOTS of rice flour to keep these from sticking

 Bake for 5-7 minutes on each side or until slightly brown.

The engineer in me hates that they are not uniform

I was pleasantly surprised how delicious these were!! I figure these are healthier than the store bought ones (though I haven't confirmed this yet) and they produced zero waste, thanks to the bulk food store and my homemade drawstring bags! I call that a big success!

Note to self: Put white crackers into a coloured bowl next time!

In order to reduce my waste at the bulk food store, I made some simple drawstring bags to use instead of the plastic bags provided.

For this project I used some organic cotton that I found at my favourite Designer Fabrics along with the fabric that I got for my cotton make-up pads and handkerchiefs. I love the cute patter of the girl with a balloon.

I started by deciding approximately how big I wanted the bags to be. I decided on about 8" by 10". I then cut strips of fabric that were 9" by 23".

Cut strips that are 1" wider and twice as long plus 3 inches.

Turn over each edge of the fabric 1/4" to 1/3" and press.

Turn over 1/4"

Press!

Next, turn over the short edges 1" and press.  These will be the spaces for the drawstrings.

Turn and press!

Pressing is done for now.

Next sew the short edges. I used bright teal (fun!) because, as with the make-up pads, I didn't have (truth: my mom didn't have) any white thread.

Sew short edges

Fold the fabric in half so that the short edges are touching and with the good sides together.

Fold in half

Sew the long edges together, either starting or stopping at the you just sewed. You have to be able to get the drawstrings through! I sewed these seams twice, to try to keep leakage of the flour, sugar and other bulk items to a minimum

Sew sides closed

Then again

Finished sewing!

Now it's time to put the drawstrings through.  I find putting two in, one each way, makes it really easy to close the bags when they're full, and tie them shut so they stay that way.

Start by threading both strings through one side. A safety pin really helps with this step

Drawstrings

Next thread one string through the rest of the way.  Tie off and, in my case, melt to seal.

Tie off

Yay fire!

Thread the other string through the other way. Tie off and seal.

Voila!

I made a few of these in a variety of sizes. They're not the same design, but the one I described above is by far the best and easiest to use.  I've spilled quinoa all over my shopping bag with another design. I will be fixing it the next time I'm at my parents and can steal my mom's sewing machine.

Easy reusable baggies

FYI - These are also excellent for storing fresh produce in the refrigerator.

I've been working on this zero waste thing for just over a month now, and the thing I'm finding most challenging is that it seems very big and overwhelming. I feel like I could roam the internet for days finding new and interesting ways to reduce my waste footprint on the planet. My latest obsession with Pinterst hasn't helped at all, there are all kinds of cool ideas there.

So here's where I'm at with what I think are my two biggest waste contributors: Food and Beauty Products.

Food
I started out by making my own applesauce. It was straightforward, easy, and I could make as much or little as I wanted to.  I made my cousin's hummus. Also very easy and scale-able.  Finally I roasted a local grain fed chicken and then made my own chicken stock. I keep it, and a lot of my other meals in individual meal sized jars in the freezer.  But the freezer is running out of room. Quickly.

My next experiment will be rice crackers. I've got rice boiling right now!  I bought some a few weeks ago to go with the hummus I made and I couldn't get over how much packaging there was!

I also want to try to make yogurt and butter, but I'll need to find a local dairy that sells milk in re-useable/returnable glass bottles first.  I have my eye on a potential at the St. Lawrence Market, but I haven't made it there on a weekend morning yet.

On a somewhat related note, I still have trouble getting to the South Market on my way home from work. It's only open to 6pm Tuesdays to Thursdays. I really wish it would stay open until 7pm every day. That way I have a chance to go home to get my re-useable bags, rather than having to carry them with me all day.

Beauty products
When I first evaluated my waste production, it was very clear that by reducing/eliminating beauty product waste would make a big difference.  I first identified solid shampoo from Lush as a potential. Now I find myself reading lots of blogs about using no-shampoo and the myriad of options like baking soda and water, apple cider vinegar, green tea, and conditioner only. The list goes on, and there are as many opinions about what works as there are people in the world.

My inherited Scottish frugalism means that I don't want to throw out any of the things I am currently using. Plus, that's kind of counter to the whole waste reduction thing. I still have 3/4 full bottles of shampoo, conditioner, and 'miracle leave-in product' which I now use every other day. I am in the first week of trialing washing my hair every other weekday, rather than every day. I still shower on the other days, and wet my hair, but don't add shampoo or conditioner. I invested in a boar bristle brush, and brushing my hair thoroughly every night before bed seems to have helped. According to my research, the boar bristles help to move the sebum (healthy scalp oil) from your roots to the ends of your hair. Eventually, hopefully, my scalp with stop producing excess sebum and be less oily. The next step will be to replace the shampoo and conditioner with baking soda and a vinegar and/or green tea rinse.

I am thankfully nearly done my body was, there might be 3 more washes in it. That means I get to try the olive oil soap that I bought this summer, and I've been dying to try out!  It's still a soap, but if it works well, I will to make a (cheaper) version of my own.

My face wash is still quite full, and it's a foaming soap, which means it'll be around for a while. I have been reading about using Rhassoul Clay rather than soap on my face, but since the I'll have to make the change so far in the future, I haven't done much research.

I changed to Witch Hazel as a toner about 8 months ago, and it has been great! I found a place in Mississauga that sells it in bulk, but I have been waiting for the alcohol free stuff to come in for about 4 weeks now, and I'm down to the last few drops.  I'm not sure if it'll make it through the weekend, so I'm left with a decision - buy a smaller bottle at the drug store or wait until the last week in November and hope that my skin stays calm until then.

1. Invest in a re-useable mug and water bottle. I'm a big fan of my glass water bottle for work, and have decided to never buy coffee without my re-useable mug. That means I produce less waste in cups and lids, and spend less money on coffee. Both because I'm notoriously forgetful, and because when I do bring my own mug, I save 10 cents!
   

   Tap Water Bottle

   My Travel Mug

2. Use handkerchiefs, either  home-made or purchased, rather than facial tissue. My grandma has already promised to will all of her hankies to me. Use re-useable make-up pads rather than disposables. They can all be thrown in the washing machine, I put mine in a mesh bag to try to keep them together for longer. To sanitize, just use your iron and some steam! My hankies usually come out of the dryer pretty wrinkled anyways, so the ironing does double duty!
   

   Ironing makes hankies flat and sanitary!

3. Shop at Bulk Food stores for basics like flour, sugar, and rice. Plus candy, chocolate and nuts! Blog TO did a great review of the top 10 bulk food stores in Toronto. I'm partial to Domino's foods in the St. Lawrence Market because they're so close to my house.
   

   Candy at Domino's

4. Use re-useable bags everywhere, not just the grocery store. I found this amazing idea for turning old t-shirts into bags, and will be trying it soon. I have a t-shirt from my Inka Trail trek to Machu Picchu that I can't bear to throw out, but will never wear because it's yellow!

   Great use for old T-shirts!

   There are also some great re-useable produce bags available on the market.  I got some thin mesh bags from President's Choice, and I love them. I also made some bags for bulk items that could double as produce bags as well.
5. Use microfibre cleaning cloths rather than paper towels. Use wash cloths rather than disposable sponges. I found this 'worlds best pot scrubbers' at the St. Lawrence Market. They're machine washable, dishwasher safe, and can be used on glass stovetops and non-stick pots.  I used mine to scrub my favourite pan (which I am VERY picky about) and it's still fabulously non-stick.

   World's Best Pot Scrubber

Despite having, in essence, taking last week off from my 'Great Insanity Plan', I was really happy with my fit test today. I did 3 more push ups and 3 more squats. But I'm most proud of doing 9 more power jumps than the last time!


 
 And then an extra 5 to get a picture of how excited I was! Still not as much vertical as Andrew "Mama's Boy" Blair...


I almost enjoy the fail photos as much as the win ones! This is why one should never try to take self photos with a timer...

I'm not much of a cook, but I'm learning through my move to zero waste that I really like experimenting in the kitchen. I cruise the internet for interesting recipes to experiment with. I was looking for some yummy chocolate cupcakes when I came across Joy the Baker. I ended up using a different recipe for the cupcakes, but fell in love with her beautiful photographs and decided I needed to try many of her recipes.  She was also the reason I was able to put the Quinoa Breakfast together!

Tonight I tried her Curried Sweet Potato Soup with Goat Cheese Biscuits.

The sprinkle of goat cheese in the soup is incredible!

As she says, the soup is not particularly Curry-y, but is full of flavour! I loved it! And the goat cheese biscuits are my new favourite biscuit. They're easy, and delicious, and did I mention easy?

I now label all of the leftovers of my creations with a china maker. It means I know what I've got in the fridge, but then it wipes right off when the container is empty!

I picked up a copy of the Inspired magazine from my local Sobeys last week because there was a beautiful looking pumpkin curry on the front. Now that I know that they have an online version, I will be checking that out, rather than taking the paper copy. It`s less waste!

A few missing and forgotten items from the grocery store let me to make this butternut squash version instead!

1/2 medium sweet onion, chopped 2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed 2 tbsp olive oil 2 tbsp freshly grated ginger 1 medium butternut squash, diced 4 tbsp curry powder salt and pepper 3 tbsp tomato paste 1 1/2 cups broth Raisins Slivered Almonds

Using a food processor, puree the onion and garlic into a paste. I used the mini food processor that came with my immersion blender.


Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in the onion-garlic paste and ginger. Cook until most of the moisture evaporates.



Stir in the pumpkin, curry powder, salt and pepper and cook for 1 minute. Mix in the tomato paste and cook another 2 to 3 minutes.

Add the broth, cover and keep to a low simmer.  Cook until the pumpkin is tender and the sauce has thickened slightly, approximately 15 minutes.


Serve with Basmati Rice. Garnish each bowl with raisins and almonds.

I went a bit overboard with the raisins.

The recipe called for pumpkin (none at the store), chickpeas (the can I thought I had was gone) and cilantro (kicking myself that I forgot to buy it). I think the chickpeas and cilantro would have made this yummy dish even better!

Now for my brainwave for the night! Instead of putting the rice and curry separately in the fridge, which I normally do. I put individually sized portions into some glass jars into the freezer. But first I labeled them with my china marker!



 These will make amazing lunches. I can`t wait to figure out what else I can put in jars and freeze!


Where do you find inspiration for new dishes?