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Processed Foods I’m Going to Keep Buying

Published on January 29, 2013 By Emily. Updated on January 29, 2013

If the world were perfect, and I had infinite time and energy to make everything from scratch, I would. To me, there are few things as satisfying as making a batch of cookies or a quiche or something else most people think only comes in a box from a supermarket.  Books like The Homemade Pantry and Edible DIY fascinate me.  I haven’t bought a loaf of bread since the beginning of the year and I’m not planning to look back.

But I can only do so much. As much as I love cooking, I also love my sanity.  There are some foods I just don’t mind picking up at the store.

pantry

Granola Bars

I’ve made some pretty good granola bars in my time, but homemade granola bars don’t satisfy the function of granola bars in my life.  I like granola bars because they’re easy to grab on my way out the door or keep in my desk for an “emergency”.  Homemade granola bars don’t last that long, in terms of both freshness and my ability to resist eating multiple bars in a given afternoon.

yogurt

Yogurt

Yogurt is a pretty regular part of my diet, but I’m fairly picky about it. I’ll eat some regular yogurts, but usually it’s got to be Greek-style. The idea of spending hours making yogurt, then straining it in an attempt to get the proper thickness just doesn’t appeal to me. In addition, I don’t really like plain yogurt, so then I’d have to find out some way to flavor it.  It’s just not in the cards at the moment.

Beans

I confess, I feel a little guilty about this one.  Canned beans are salty, wasteful and considerably more expensive than dried beans.  I have plenty of dried beans in my pantry and I don’t mind cooking a batch when I think far enough ahead.  But if I need less than 2 cups of beans or a mix of varieties, I’m opening a can.  I realize that I could cook batches of beans in advance, but as you may recall, there’s not room in my freezer to store them.  So, for busy nights, canned beans are the answer.

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Peanut Butter

Making nut butter isn’t hard, but it’s also not the same as store-made.  Peanut butter is one of those rare things that taste better to me from the jar than they do homemade. 

Crackers

I made some really excellent crackers a while back, but that’s the only time I’ve ever gotten around to it.  Homemade crackers are really different from store-bought crackers, there’s no way I’m going to be able to create something like a Triscuit.  We go through crackers pretty quickly and though homemade crackers may taste better, there are other things I’m much more interested in spending my time making on a regular basis.

Just to be clear: I have no affiliation or material connection with the brands mentioned above, I just happen to like them and they happen to be in my pantry.

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Comments

  1. Stina says

    January 30, 2013 at 9:29 am

    I am so with you on the beans thing! I know I could (and should) make them myself, but that requires far more foresight than I ever have. I’m lucky if I can remember to take meat out of the freezer then morning I’m planning to make it let alone make a pot of beans a day in advance!

  2. Krista @ Can't Survive on Yarn Alone says

    February 2, 2013 at 6:48 pm

    I’ve made soup using dried beans before but actually having them otherwise I forget ahead of time.

  3. Jean King says

    February 3, 2013 at 3:18 pm

    I’m with you on all of these! How can you beat Triscuits??

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For the fourth year, I've recapped the best new (to me) recipes I made this year in the hope that they'll give you some new dishes to try. This year's list is short, but delicious. It includes @budgetbytes My Favorite Recipes of 2022
Published on December 30, 2022 By Emily. Updated on December 30, 2022

It’s hard to believe that 2022 is basically behind us. Though overall this year found me getting back to the person I want to be (post-babies and “post”-pandemic), I did not try nearly as many new recipes this year as I used to. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised to see that I’d made note of any new-to-me recipes I wanted to share in this post. This year’s list is short, but delicious. It includes recipes from @budgetbytes, @smittenkitchen and @howsweeteats.
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A few more photos from our most recent trip to Mai A few more photos from our most recent trip to Maine:
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