If you’re interested in replacing store-bought with DIY homemade, you’re in the right place.
Replace this with that blog series will focus on the many different ways you can lower the costs you spend at stores, enjoy healthier homemade products,
I love getting ideas from the universe. Most of my products are inspired by a problem that needs solving or a solution I’ve discovered that’s a game-changer.
Like my recent obsession with DIY over DFY. Whether it’s food, party decorations, seasonal apparel, or cleaning products, if it’s easy to do myself and saves money, I’m all aboard. Doing things myself also means I know the process of creation. I can be confident that what I’m using or giving to my family is safe and free from contamination.
Not to mention how over it I am to pay big bucks for small quantities of less-than-stellar quality, just because it’s from a big name. Stores are a landmine of propaganda geared towards attracting kids with artificial flavors and too much sugar and fat.
So, I’ve adopted a lifestyle of replacing store-bought ingredients with homemade ones, eliminating as many pre-made items as possible, and replacing them with homemade ones (preferably made by myself or someone local).
This journey has inspired me to create a blog series focused on replacing store-bought items with DIY. Many people are starting to transition into a life of self-sustainability, whether it’s growing or raising food, making chemical-free cleaning or beauty products, cooking from scratch with staple ingredients, or homesteading.
Head to the comments and tell me where you’re at in your journey. Do you prefer a life of convenience with everything already done? Or are you on a path of self-reliance?
My journey of transition has been hit or miss this year as I double down on becoming an ingredients house. But I’m 100% on the boujee mom meals for the kids’ school lunches. I’ve also been doing a lot more meal prepping, which has been a game-changer for busy sports nights and times when I’m low on energy.
On this week’s meal plan includes:
For Breakfast:
- Sausage, biscuit, cheese, egg, bacon sandwiches
- Blueberry yogurt partfait
- Smoothies with granola bar
- Banana nut muffins
- French toast
For Lunch:
- Homemade corn dog nuggets with sides of fruit, pretzels, and marshmallows, brownie
- Homemade lunchables with celery, chocolate pudding, a banana, vanilla wafers, fruit sides
- Homemade meatball hot pockets, cheese sticks, grapes, pistachios, pepporoni sticks (or jerky),
- Homemade burrito wraps with salsa, nacho cheese, and tortillas, churros, apple slices with dipping sauce
- Pizza wraps, with a salad, strawberry cheesecake parfait with a cookie
For Dinner:
Our dinners consist of a protein entrée, typically two different vegetables, a starch (such as pasta, potatoes, beans, or rice), a bread side, and dessert. I like to make larger portions to have enough to put away for meal planning on nights when we’re low on time but want something time-consuming.
My vacuum sealer is seriously amazing for meal prepping, while my meat slicer and meat grinder make it easy to buy in bulk and make our own sausage and ground beef.
- Shrimp Scampi with asparagus, cheesy potatoes, rice, and garlic cheese bread
- Country fried steak and gravy, greens, crescent rolls, mashed potatoes, broccoli and cheese
- Pork tenderloin with potato soup, yeast rolls, corn on the cob, salad, white beans
- Sub sandwiches with cheesy herb sub rolls, homemade chips (potato slices), various meats and cheeses, pickles, salad
- Homemade chicken patties with steak fries, mac-n-cheese, cheesy rice, Hawaiian rolls, mixed veggies (potatoes, carrots, celery, green beans, sweet peas)
Snacks:
- PB & J uncrustables
- Jello
- Homemade gummy bears
- Pudding
- Pizza bites
- Chocolate caramel apple slices on a stick
- Pretzels
- Churros
Desserts
- Strawberry cheesecake parfait
- Chocolate chip granola
- Pecan brownies
- Chocolate cake
- Apple pie
- Chocolate chip oatmeal pie cookies
Restocks
It’s also time to remake some staples to restock, such as mayonnaise, breakfast sausage, ground beef, bread crumbs, granola, ice cream, yogurt, meatballs, baking powder, taco seasoning, bread, biscuits, and tortillas.
Thanks to social media, I’ve found some amazing stuff I want to try making from scratch next. If you’ve done any of these or have an awesome recipe, feel free to share! What’s your best and worst experience with home cooking?
- Fruit rollups
- Breakfast cookies
- Savory uncrustables (how have I seriously never thought of making ham and cheese ones?!)
- Pizza muffins (a great way to use up the leftover crust from the uncrustables if I’m not making bread crumbs)
- Yogurt bark (I’m astonished I’ve never heard of this before
Want to know more about my journey of cooking from scratch? Check out my Medium blog, Confessions of an Xennial Mom. Need help planning out your meals each week for simple mealtimes? Try my monthly meal management subscription to get your meals planned out each month with seasonal dishes.
Or make mealtime fun for you and your kids with mealtime prompt cards. How’s it work? Print your prompt card deck (card stock makes them sturdier than regular paper and laminating them makes them last longer and easier to clean).
Then shuffle the cards (organized into different category decks) and pull one card from each pile to compile your full meal, including sides, a main course, and dessert. I’ve got core decks for adults and for kids and monthly subscriptions that deliver new seasonal cards each month, along with fun food games and challenges.
I’ve also got prompt cards for creative writers, content creators, digital product sellers, and coming soon, crafts. Never be lost for ideas again with these fun prompts.
It’s Fall Y’all – New Fall Products in the Store
Are you ready for the fall season? I’m uber-excited and I’ve already started prepping the shop with fall goodies, like my delish Fall Family Feast cookbook, with over 100 seasonal recipes. I’ve also added some great coloring books, stickers, and graphics.
I’m working on some fall bookmarks. What’s your favorite bookmark theme? Help me decide on my next designs and I’ll send you a free set!
Have you started selling digital products like bookmarks? I’ve got a great intro to selling digital products here. You can also take my latest course that teaches you how to create fall products to add to your digital shop.
Want to see if digital products are right for you? Sign up for my free 3-day micro email challenge that walks you through the process of identifying and planning digital products you can sell. If you want to take the leap and create your first products, check out my 7-day email challenge, helping you create 100 products in one week, with templates and shortcuts that you can re-use for future items.
Want to go deeper? My 30-day email challenge walks you through the full process of starting a business selling digital products. This challenge focuses on a new type of digital product each day, teaching you 30 lucrative products you can create and sell on Etsy or your digital shop.
Don’t have a shop set up yet? I’ve got a guide that walks you through how to create an Etsy shop. I’m also working on a Build Your Business challenge. A 7-day path for those who want to get their business up and running with a product listed in one week.
Or a 30-day plan for those who want to take a more leisurely route, with everything done and in place before you launch (walks you trhough setting up a website (or store), social medias, planned content for 30-days of social, blog, and product creation and the methods for repeating the sequence with future months).
