10 Foods To Stop Buying & Make Yourself Instead

When it comes to eating a holistic diet, homemade food is healthier than store bought food the majority of the time. What do I mean by “homemade” food? I’m talking about the snacks, stocks, sauces, and other forms of sustenance that we can make at home with whole, fresh ingredients, but that we often end up buying at the grocery store out of convenience. 

Not only do the store bought versions of certain foods cost more per serving (yes, there’s a premium on convenience), but they almost always contain unnecessary and unhealthy ingredients. Preservatives, fillers, gums, and extra sodium are frequently added to food products to extend their shelf life or change their texture. These ingredients can wreak havoc on your body, disrupting everything from your digestive system to your hormone levels. 

Fortunately, we can cut down on our food bill and our risk of diseases like diabetes, obesity, and IBS by making more of our meals and snacks at home from scratch. Here’s a list of foods I never buy at the store anymore, and recipes so you can make your own, too! 

1. Salad dressing 

Trust me, once you start making your own salad dressing from scratch, you’ll never go back.  Not only can you control the flavor—the acidity, tang, sweetness, etc.—but also you can control the sodium and avoid any additives used in store bought dressings. I like to keep two salad dressings on hand, one for sweeter salads with berries and citrus, and one that’s more savory with garlic, lemon, and shallots. 

• Lemon Tahini Salad Dressing from Yummy Mummy Kitchen

• Healthy Poppy Seed Dressing from Rachel Cooks

• Balsamic Vinaigrette Recipe from A Spicy Perspective

• Creamy Shallot Vinaigrette Dressing from Real Mom Nutrition

2. Hummus

Homemade hummus is a game changer.  You can mix and match flavors to get the exact taste that you want, and it takes less than 10 minutes to make. Plus, hummus ingredients, like chickpeas, olive oil, and tahini, are generally very affordable ingredients. Try experimenting with vegetables that you like, like red peppers, jalapenos, beets, and eggplant. Once you have all of the ingredients you want all you have to do is pulse them together in a food processor. My favorite recipe is from Michael Solomonov, the chef behind the popular restaurant Zahav, which you can find below.

• Zahav’s Hummus Tehina

• Best Hummus Recipe from Cookie and Kate

• Edamame Hummus from Yup it’s Vegan

3. Veggie broth 

Traditional store bought stocks and broths typically have a ton of added sodium to boost their flavor. Making stock from scratch gives you a healthier product and allows you to cut down on food waste!

One of the best food hacks I’ve learned is to always keep a container of veggie scraps in your freezer to make veggie broth. I’m talking about the ends of onions, carrots, celery, stems from peppers, anything that wouldn’t be good to eat on its own. Whenever I’m cutting up vegetables for a stir fry or roasting veggies for meal prep, I always keep a tupperware container or freezer bag on the side to put the scraps in when I’m done. 

Then, when you want to make the broth, simply add your frozen vegetables to a soup pot, cover them with water, and add any seasonings you like (garlic, bay leaf, peppercorns, anything). Then, bring the pot to a low simmer and leave it be for at least an hour. Pour your broth into containers and keep them in the fridge or store them in the freezer to defrost when you need them! If you prefer to follow a recipe, here are a few I like:

• Easy 1-Pot Vegetable Broth from Minimalist Baker

• Gut-Healing Vegetable Broth from Wallflower Kitchen

• Detox Vegetable Broth with Turmeric and Ginger

4. Salsa 

Let’s be honest—store bought salsa from a jar is never as good as fresh homemade salsa. There’s just no comparison! Similar to salad dressing and vegetable broth, storebought salsas are typically loaded with extra salt, and sometimes even sugar. Not to mention, their shelf life can be years long… I can’t speak for you, but that doesn’t sit well with me, considering vegetables are supposed to expire (unless they’re dried or frozen). 

Instead, grab your favorite tomatoes, a red onion, garlic, salt, lime, and, if you like it spicy, some kind of pepper. Here are a few recipes I love for homemade salsa: 

• Easy Homemade Salsa from Cooking Classy

• The Best Spicy Salsa from A Spicy Perspective

• 5 Minute Homemade Salsa from Spend With Pennies

5. Guacamole 

Same deal here as with salsa; nothing beats homemade guacamole! As you probably know, avocados turn brown when they’re exposed to air for too long (this is called oxidation). As a result, many food companies add preservatives to their guacamole to make it stay green for longer. Even still, storebought guacamole only lasts for so long—and it can be very overpriced—so the way I see it, making your own saves you money and it tastes better! Like salsa, you can customize it to your liking. I love adding chopped onion, diced fresh grape tomatoes, jalapenos, garlic, and tons of lime juice to mine. (Talk about an easy and delicious way to sneak in extra veggies.)

• Classic Guacamole from AllRecipes

• Guacamole from Gimme Some Oven

• Healthy Guacamole from Abra’s Kitchen

6. Chia seed pudding 

Trust me, I love a good storebought chia seed pudding as much as the next person—it’s super convenient and always the perfect texture—but did you know that it’s way cheaper and healthier to make your own? That’s because you can control the sugar and fat content, which can sometimes be high even in the healthiest of packaged foods like chia seed pudding. It also requires no cooking whatsoever, so it’s great for anyone looking for a low effort healthy meal! 

• 3-Ingredient Chia Pudding from FeelGoodFoodie

• Chia Seed Pudding from Love and Lemons

• Healthy Chia Pudding from Simply Quinoa

7. Overnight oats

Speaking of low effort healthy meals… overnight oats are a wonderful option for breakfast, especially in the summer months when you don’t want something hot. I make my overnight oats using steel cut oats, almond milk, and whatever fruit I have on hand, usually berries. There are SO MANY (and I really mean so many) overnight oat recipes out there—you can use whatever flavor profile you want, like peanut butter and jelly, cookie dough, banana bread, and even pina colada. Also, if you’re gluten or dairy free, overnight oats are a wonderful option for you. 

• 6 Easy Overnight Oats Recipes from Downshiftology

• Peanut Butter Overnight Oats from Minimalist Baker

• Pecan Coffee Cake Overnight Oats from Liz Moody

8. Pasta sauce

This one requires a little cooking, but man oh man is the result worth it. A lot of canned and jarred foods use sodium and sugar as preservatives to make them last longer. Do you see a theme here? Not to mention, there’s something so satisfying about making your own tomato sauce—you can really taste and adjust as you go to make the perfect batch for you. It’s also super easy to freeze, so I usually make a big batch and freeze some to have on hand whenever I want pasta. 

• Healthy Homemade Spaghetti Sauce from Tastes of Lizzy T

• Fresh Tomato Sauce from The Spruce Eats

• Healthy Spaghetti Sauce from Hint of Healthy

9. Pesto 

The last sauce on this list is pesto, a European classic typically made with fresh basil, garlic, olive oil, pine nuts, salt, and a hard cheese like parmigiano-reggiano or pecorino. Now, as you can imagine, homemade pesto made with fresh basil and garlic has way more flavor than storebought jarred versions. You can also blend other greens into your pesto at home, like spinach or arugula, for an added nutrient boost. Dairy-free folks need not worry, there are tons of dairy-free pesto recipes out there too. 

• BA’s Best Pesto from Bon Appetit

• Homemade Pesto from The Mediterranean Dish

• Easy Vegan Pesto from Minimalist Baker

10. Granola bars

Granola bars are a great snack, but store bought versions can be expensive and full of sugar. Making your own allows you to choose your own flavors and know exactly what goes into your granola! Bonus: It uses a lot of shelf-stable, pantry ingredients that are easy to keep fresh, like nut butter and oats. Here are a few of my favorite recipes: 

• 5-Ingredient Peanut Butter Granola Bars from The Real Food Dietitians 

• Healthy Granola Bars from Erin Lives Whole

• Healthy Granola Bars from Haute & Healthy Living

I hope these recipes get you excited about making more of your food—specifically your condiments, sauces, and snacks—at home! In all seriousness, making this shift has been a game-changer for my health, especially with regards to my overall sodium and sugar intake. And the best part… my meals are way more delicious! 

Wishing you a wonderful week - make sure to join the PJW Facebook Group and follow us on Instagram if you haven’t already!

xo

Renata