A slower and more sustainable life
Disclaimer: This post contains affilitate links – I will earn a commission if you buy any item. Introducing solid foods to your baby’s diet is an exciting milestone for both you and your little one. As a parent, you want to ensure that your baby …
Disclaimer: This post contains affilitate links – I will earn a commission if you buy any item. Baby weaning can be stressful and time consuming. If you are keen to prepare your own baby food have a look at my recent experince in weaning our …
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Baking my own bread has long been part of my life. We bake about once or twice a week to have fresh bread. The part we have been struggling with was storing homemade bread so it stays fresh longer. It usually went stale when we went through a period of not eating much bread. Below you will find a selection of tips on how to ensure your bread stays fresh longer.
It does not need to be difficult to bake your own bread. There are plenty of options and different recipes.
From using a bread machine and prepared bread mixes to the more advanced baking in the oven. There is probaby a solution that fits you and your lifestyle.
I like baking my own sourdough bread. We always have sourdough starter in the fridge and then whenever I have time I bake a loaf or two and freeze part of it for later.
Now if you have a hungry family and they eat the bread on day one – fantastic! You will not have to worry about how to store it.
But if you just eat bread every now and then you may be wondering how to store your homemade bread. Storing homemade bread can just be as easy as making it!
There are different solutions on how to store homemade bread. Have a look below which option may suit you best:
This is a classic option and I remember growing up my family had a metal bread bin. This is a classic version which just has one storage area and it has suited my family fine. However, there are now these convenient bread bins that have two different storage areas so you can store different breads in it.
If you are after something a bit more understated and decorative in your kitchen have a look at these metal bread bins with a wooden or bamboo lid. Storing homemade bread is easy:
Another option to bread bins are bread bags. These linen cotton bags are a useful alternative to bread bins if space is of the essence or you just prefer bags.
It is easy to extend the freshness of your bread. Just follow these tips with bread bags:
✔ Close bags tightly when storing your homemade bread. When storing smaller loaves of bread or bread pieces wrap the bag around the loaf. Natural linen allows the bread to breathe, but this may also dry the breads out if the bag is not used correctly.
✔ Don’t store your bread in the fridge but keep it at room temperature and ensure you keep it away from sunlight.
These wraps have become very popular and will keep your bread fresh for a few days. One thing to remember is to not put any warm bread into these wraps as it may damage the beeswax cover. Ensure your bread has cooled down after baking before wrapping it up!
If you haven’t decided for any of the above solutions you may try one of the ones below for a temporary solution. You could repurpose some old lined bags, use plastic bags from cornflakes boxes or even muslin cloths. All of these work but may not keep your bread fresh for a long time. However, for a temporary solutions all of these are perfectly fine.
My top tip for getting that fresh bread smell, taste and texture again is to sprinke some water over it and then pop it back into the oven for 15 to 20 minutes (depending on oven) at 180 degrees (about 360°F). We have experimented with this and now love to just pop it back into the oven for a bit if it has gone stale. This even worked with pretty hard white baguettes! We loved this and it definitely works.
Are you interested in more ideas to be more sustainable in your home? Have a look in my Sustainability section.
Disclaimer: This post contains affilitate links – I will earn a commission if you buy any item. When the days are getting shorter and the temperatures drop it’s time to get the comforter out. Unless you have one that can be used all year of …
Disclaimer: This post contains affilitate links – I will earn a commission if you buy any item. There are so many zero waste alternatives that it can be daunting to start thinking about it. But fear not. This helpful guide will show you the best …
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You may wonder in the run up to the holiday season what little gifts you can add as stocking fillers for babies. In the below article I’ve compiled a few ideas to keep the cost and environmental impact down.
Babies don’t need much when they are young. They need food, warmth, security and the comfort of their family. However, if you have older children they may ask why their little brother or sister won’t get any presents if this is a custom in your family.
To avoid this you may decide to add some gifts for your baby even if the little one is too young to appreciate them.
The easiest stocking fillers for babies are items you would have to get for them anyway. Think bibs, toys or clothing. You may purchase them new or get second hand items.
A nice idea is a special outfit for the holiday season so you can take lovely family pictures on this occasion.
You can’t go wrong with age appropriate sensory toys. For example this set of toys for 0 – 6 months old babies will promote balance, fine motor skills and problem solving capabilities.
If you like to get crafty with your family why not make something special this year? Saltdough is easy to make at home and you can create little gifts for all family members and use them as decorations for years to come.
This will be a lovely memory and a treasured item for your children.
With a young baby or toddler you don’t necessarily need to buy anything new. They mostly enjoy the unpacking and playing with the wrapping paper. So consider packing up a small toy they already own in some packing paper and let them unwrap it. Many parents swear by this “present”.
What bave been your best stocking fillers for babies in the past? Leave a comment below!
If you want to read more articles on Zero Waste head over here.
Disclaimer: This post contains affilitate links – I will earn a commission if you buy any item. The holiday season is the time to spend time with your family and loved ones and give them time and thoughtful presents. I’ve collected my favourite Christmas gift …
Disclaimer: This post contains affilitate links – I will earn a commission if you buy any item. Last Christmas I wanted to make some vegan Christmas cookies and found that initially a bit intimidating. I quickly realized that there is no need and there are …
Vegan meal subscriptions are on the rise and there are a lot of different services to choose from. Here in this article, you will find the best vegan meal subscriptions services available in the US. So if you want to spend less time choosing healthy vegan recipes and buying the products you will find the right subscription for you.
Heads up: This post contains affiliate links! If you buy something through these links you won’t pay more but help us run this blog as we will receive a small comission. 🙂
A vegan meal subscription may be something to consider if you are new to the vegan lifestyle and want to learn how to cook healthy vegan meals. They will be a bit pricier than buying ingredients from the store but you will get all ingredients for the meals you chose and you learn the right way to prepare them.
You may already know how to cook healthy vegan meals but may be a bit time poor. They are a great way to skip the searching for a recipe and the right ingredients just pick the meals you want and ensure cooking fresh vegan meals for you and your family.
Another plus is that if you have kids and you want to convince them to try vegan food kids see these kinds of meals as something special and are generally more willing to try them. It can be a great way to introduce them to vegan food if they are a bit reluctant to try. But let’s look further into which are the best vegan meal subscriptions available at the moment.
Below you find an overview over the best vegan meal subscriptions. I will expand on the selection in the future when more vegan meal subscriptions become available!
Many people swear by Purple Carrot. They deliver plant-based meals and have a great selection. Their meals are 100% vegan so you know what you get, no surprises here!
You will receive a meal prep kit with all the ingredients you will need for the meal you have chosen and then can cook it from scratch according to their recipes. So no shopping for ingredients and chasing down that one elusive ingredient. Everything will be delivered to your doorstep and all you need to do is preparing the meal itself.
The meals are delicious and the ingredients fresh so you know you will prepare a tasty meal for yourself or your family.
One downside of delivered meal kits is definitely the plastic. However, Purple Carrot is sharing how to recycle these and have an overview ready for you so you can learn how to recycle the packaging. There are even some ideas for upcycling your packaging.
You can chose from meals for breakfast, lunch and they also have snacks available so there is a wide variety of meals you can try.
Conclusion: Definitely worth testing if you like the meal selection. One of the best vegan meal subscription services around.
Another option if you are looking for the best vegan meal subscription services is Green Chef. It is a certified organic company and the meals are based on chef-crafted recipes and pre-measured ingredients for flavourful, healthy meals. Cooking amazing delicious vegan meals will be so easy!
If you have a speciality diet check out their meal plans as they cater for paleo, vegan, keto or gluten-free dietary restrictions. Definitely worthwhile checking them out
Green Chef has become known for delivering the speciality diet meal plans that customers are seeking; whether it’s Paleo, Vegan, Keto or Gluten-Free, Green Chef is the service for those with discerning lifestyles.
If you are away on holiday you can skip a delivery so no food is wasted if you are away.
3 meals for 2 people comes to approx $70 with Green Chef.
Conclusion: Great choice if you have dietary restrictions but pricier.
One step further you can go with Veestro as they send you the actually prepared meals. Of course, this kind of service comes as a cost and they are a bit more pricey. The meals are tasty and very filling and as there is no prep work like with Purple Carrot or Green Chef quickly prepared. Great if you are after a quick meal option.
All you need to do is bake or reheat the food so this is the most time efficient solution if you don’t have the time to cook from scratch yourself.
Conclusion: The most expensive option but also the easiest and least time-consuming.
No matter which these best vegan meal subscriptions you go for good advice is to check different meals and find out which your favorites are and then just reorder those. Or if you find yourself with more time at some point you know how to prepare these meals so a great way to learn how to make tasty vegan meals.
If you would rather try some simple vegan meals and prepare and cook from scratch check out my recipe section!
I’m a book enthusiast! I love reading them, smelling and unfortunately collecting them. As much as I love seeing all my books when it comes to moving I always notice I have too many. Recently I have noticed these cute homemade DIY book exchange boxes …