I am very excited that so many of you are taking part in our You Can Do This! The First Five Steps To a Real Food Kitchen eCourse!
As an added bonus – for those of you who are participating in the course and for those who aren’t – each Monday for the next few weeks, I plan to share a Bonus Tip to encourage you along in your Real Food Journey. Remember though, these are just bonus tips. If you take the eCourse, you’ll get loads more information, guidance, downloads, recipes, and worksheets – all for just $5! (Click here to purchase if you are interested.)
Today, I wanted to share a little bit about how my Real Food Kitchen works and how I manage to make healthy, whole foods in a timely way.
Last week, I found that I was out of two items that we eat often: Ranch Dressing and Peanut Butter. Now, of course, we don’t eat the two together, nor would I recommend it to you. But I did make them at the same time, just as a way of being efficient. (I’ve talked about this a little bit already, and this new post is an example of how I put this method into practice.)
Side Note: I had to be careful not to pour minced onions or parsley flakes for the dressing mix into the food processor with the peanuts. Wouldn’t that have been…icky. ;)
I first poured peanuts into my food processor, told everyone around me to plug their ears, and turned on the machine so that it could start to make peanut butter.
While it was turning peanuts into peanut butter, I looked up my Ranch Dressing Mix recipe and began getting out the ingredients I needed. I then proceeded to go back and forth between the food processor and the ranch dressing mix until I had four jars of peanut butter and a triple batch of ranch dressing mix all ready to go.
Beyond encouraging you to be efficient with your time in the kitchen, here is actually the main tip I wanted to share:
When working to develop your Real Food Kitchen, try to plan ahead and work ahead just a little bit as you have time. This will save you time in the long run.
I wasn’t actually planning to serve ranch dressing or peanut butter the day I made them. But I often do need them both, and since I had neither of them on hand, taking a few minutes to make them one afternoon will be very convenient for me later, when all I’ll have to do is reach for them at a moment’s notice!
What is one thing you can make this week that will help you to get ahead in your Real Food Kitchen?
Interested in learning more about our
You Can Do This! The First Five Steps To a Real Food Kitchen eCourse?
We’d love to have you join us!
We *love* your ranch dresing recipe! I keep a triple batch of the recipe made up in a jar in my pantry and then I make it as we need it. I make a it about once a week we eat so much of it! Thank you, THANK YOU for sharing your recipe – it’s helped my family tremendously on our journey to eating more healthfully! :)
I think I am going to make up some Ranch today! I am meeting two friends for a school field trip tomorrow and I might have time to make up a little jar of the mix for them too. Thanks!
Have you ever calculated the cost of making your own peanut butter? I buy natural peanut butter from the store that contains only peanuts and am curious if it would be less expensive to make my own. Where do you buy your peanuts and are there different varieties that work better? Sorry for the barrage of questions. And here you made it sound so simple by just tossing them in the food processor. :)
Yes, and there isn’t a huge savings (although there is a little). Mostly I make it because it tastes so DELICIOUS when it’s fresh!! I get my peanuts through my food co-op, Azure Standard.
I prefer roasted unsalted peanuts to make this.
I priced out peanuts online (haven’t checked my “Amish” store yet)
and the price was much higher than if I continue to buy organic
PB already made from Walmart. Anyone find an online source that is
better priced?
PS – your website made it onto the cover stories on my IPad Flipboard app! Yay!
Yay! :)
Well, I’m just excited to have a menu plan this week! I never seem to be able to actually have one but know that it would help ensure that we are eating better! I haven’t started “taking” the courses yet but did go through and get all the lessons downloaded. I’m excited to have more info for my family. We live with my inlaws so it can be difficult to “force” my eating on them (I do most of the cooking).
And we LOVE you ranch mix too! I keep some at all times…except right now because I need some more minced onion! :)
Thanks for all your encouragement!
Awesome job making a menu plan – that is great!!
I use your mix recipes all the time and love them I also share them with others. I made almond butter first time Ive done any butters and wondered do you add oil to yours. My butter never got to spread consistency but improved with the addition of a little coconut oil. Wasnt sure how much to add. Thanks
No, I never add any oil to mine. The peanut butter becomes very smooth if I leave it for a long enough time running in the food processor.
Rebekkah,
I made almond butter for the first time last week and I had to add a bit of oil to it. It was to dry and wouldn’t mix. I added a little oil and it mixed right up. I didn’t measure but I just added a little at a time until it worked.
I need to mix another ranch dressing mix soon. I had my jar for years and just used the last of it at a baby shower (where it got raves and a pregnant mama kept going on about how she couldn’t stop eating it!). I am pretty sure I have all the ingredients too as I ordered in bulk from Azure to make my mix, and I still have lots! Thankfully I my parsley in my home made Italian sausage recipe, or I think I’d have it for decades!
I am laughing though that you are looking up your own recipe on your blog using your laptop in the kitchen. I do that ALL the time. :) I think modern kitchens need some sort of internet accessing devices. You know, some sort of touch screen on the pantry door or something. The screen would have to be wipe-able though!