Making your own milk from home can help to reduce the pile-up of non-recyclable packaging. Usually, non-milk milks such as soy milk, oat milk, almond milk (the list is endless, and growing all the time) come in packaging that is a mix of cardboard and plastic and can’t be recycled. Hemp “milk” isn’t as common as other, but it’s a great-tasting alternative. Plus it’s made even better by the fact that you can easily make it yourself, at home!

My family and I are actually part of a “dairy collective”, which means that once a week my family and I go out and we milk the cows shared by a few families in my village. This puts us in a unique position to be able to have plastic-free milk, and enough left over to make cheese, yogurt and other dairy products. BUT I realise that not everyone has this option available so here is the recipe to one of my favourite milk alternatives. 

To learn more about growing a permaculture garden simply and easily, check out our course The Incredible Edible Garden and learn how to design your own permaculture landscape in our Permaculture Design Course.

How to make hemp mylk

Here’s what you need:

1. 2 tbsp of hemp seeds (about enough to cover the bottom of a smoothie mixer)
2. 1 or 2 dates (without seeds)
3. 1/2 tsp Vanilla Essence
4. 500ml Water (approx)

Pour the ingredients into the mixer or a food processor, in the above order. Close the lid and mix them together for a few minutes. The good thing about this recipe is that you don’t need to strain it like you do with other Mylks.

If it’s not to your liking after the first mix, you can simply add another date, or some honey, or maple syrup. Or even a little bit of cinnamon or nutmeg. 

I find this recipe to be super creamy and just the right balance of sweetness. And, as you can see, it is so quick and easy! It’s also a very cheap, low price recipe and you can source a big bulk bag of hemp in a bulk foods store.

Something like this Mylk will last up to a week in the fridge if you keep it in a nice sealed container. I’ve got some nice glass jars that I put it in and then it just goes into the fridge as soon as I finish it. Hemp milk in a Supermarket is easily over $6 AUD in Australia. This is almost triple the price of other milks in the same isle, so having this recipe will easily save you some money. 

What milk alternatives are your favourites?

Thanks for reading! Enjoy the milk and please let me know if the recipe works for you. 

– Morag

The post How to make Hemp Milk at home appeared first on Our Permaculture Life.

Eating the natural packaging that comes with the plants we grow (or even buy) is one of the many ways that my family and I use to counter this problem. And you can too!

Have a read of this blog to find out how to use the Pumpkin’s natural “packaging”, and why it’s actually way tastier than you might think.

The pumpkin’s edible packaging

How wonderful it is to be able to eat food without having to throw anything away. Yes, even the skin (aka packaging).

Now I love pumpkin for many reasons (as many of you know), but perhaps one of the biggest reasons is its packaging. A lot of people look at the skin of the pumpkin as inedible, because it is thick and often not the nicest part to eat. You may be throwing your pumpkin skins in the compost, a worm farm or even the general bin… but there’s another option.

To learn more about growing a permaculture garden simply and easily, check out our course The Incredible Edible Garden and learn how to design your own permaculture landscape in our Permaculture Design Course.

What can you do with the Pumpkin packaging?

Each year I get a massive abundance of pumpkins in my garden, so I have had a lot of time to experiment with using pumpkins in my cooking.

A very common use for pumpkins is to keep the skin on and roast full sections of the pumpkin. It is delicious! Add oil, some herbs and spices, a little salt and it’s one of the best recipes for a hearty meal.

But if you want to switch it up a little, you can just add pumpkin into the soups, or stews, or curries as well. When doing this, leave the skin on. If you do want to peel it, then why not keep the skin and toss in some kind of stock.

One thing I really like to do with my pumpkins is to peel the skins and toast them

Maybe in a sandwich press if you have one, or an oven if not. It only takes a couple of minutes. Put a little bit of oil on it and I a few sprigs of rosemary for the garden, or some oregano. Maybe even a garlic clove. Then you can press it down – after a couple of minutes they will be nice and soft, and even a little bit crispy on the edges.

You can actually use them too as crackers to dip into your favourite dips. Give it a go with homemade hummus, or pesto and you’ll be wishing you’d made more.

My Pumpkin skin Chips Recipe:

1. Skin the pumpkin into your desired shape, preferably into long and thin slices.
2. Then, preheat your oven to 180°.
3. In a bowl, sprinkle salt and toss. Let it sit for a few minutes to allow the pumpkin skin to absorb the salt.
4. Add a little bit of extra virgin olive oil and a drop of sesame oil then toss.
5. Bake for 30 minutes in 200°C.
6. Cool for a while before serving.

Last but not least – Enjoy! 🙂

When you think of it from a whole system’s perspective, eating the skin of a pumpkin really does make a difference. Particularly, because it helps to shift our way of thinking. And when we shift our way of thinking, everything changes.

The post How to use the Pumpkin’s Edible Packaging appeared first on Our Permaculture Life.

But don’t worry, here are three easy fixes to this problem

• Swap to loose leaf, use a tea ball, teapot or plunger.
• Buy loose tea in bulk from a zero-waste store or with friends.
• Or, why not swap to homegrown teas. They are simple to grow – even in pots on a balcony or windowsill and you don’t need much space.

Some of my favourites that I grow just near my kitchen are lemonbalm, lemon myrtle, mints, pineapple sage and tulsi. To make the tea, you just grab a handful like that, stick it into a teapot, let it seep for a few minutes, and then drink. I also love adding fresh turmeric, mint and ginger too, if you’d like to add an extra zing of flavour.

When you grow your own tea leaves, it means you are able to mess around with the flavours a bit, you know, blend different sorts of teas and come up with new combinations.

Watch my video on all these great combinations

If you don’t have the means or can’t wait to grow your own tea, you can still make an improvement by buying bulk. Find your local bulk foods markets and bring your own jar to fill with loose tea leaves. Many places will have a nice selection available.

To learn more about growing a permaculture garden simply and easily, check out our course The Incredible Edible Garden and learn how to design your own permaculture landscape in our Permaculture Design Course.

What is your favourite homegrown tea combination?

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