Is The Attainable Sustainable Pantry Book Worth Buying? My Full Review
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Why Attainable Sustainable Pantry Landed on My Shelf
I was SO excited when I pre-ordered the book Attainable Sustainable Pantry: A Back-to-Basics Guide to Stocking Your Kitchen in September 2024.
A six-month wait time? I was not very excited about that. My book showed up just a few days after it was released, and I spent the weekend reading it from front to back.
My post today covers my review of the new book from the Attainable Sustainable series.
Who Should Buy the Attainable Sustainable Pantry Book?
If you have ever had the thoughts below, this book is for you!
I'd like to be less reliant on the grocery store
Is there a lower-ingredient version of this product?
Could I make this myself?
I wish I didn't have to throw away these fruits and veggies we didn't eat
How can I reduce my household trash?
Let me put it another way: if you are even a little curious about sustainability, this book is for you!
If you can't decide if you are ready to start living more sustainably, I would recommend reading/listening/watching the following:
Buy Now! The Shopping Conspiracy - find it on Netflix
Waste Wars book on Amazon or check your local library!
Waste Wars Book Review - perfect for those who just want the Cliff Notes
What’s Inside: A Peek at the Chapters
If you are like me, you love to take a look at a book before you purchase it. The Amazon listing does a great job of giving a sneak peek of what to expect.
Overall, the 300-page book is very organized. Broken into 3 color-coded sections, with "Break Out Of The Box" having the most pages, so you will be well on your way to fewer grocery store items and more sustainable living!
The whole food pantry covers things like DIY self-rising flour, helpful kitchen tools & much more!
When you reach the back of the book, you will find further reading and conversion charts for canning & metric conversions. In addition, the index is very well organized - if you didn't mark the page, you can use the index to find what you need. From lemon dill aioli to all the recipes that contain jalapenos!
How To Read The Attainable Sustainable Pantry Book
For starters, you will need some supplies - mainly some sort of sticky note to mark your favorite pages. I also needed scissors so I could cut the tabs in half - I had a feeling I'd be marking many recipes to come back to later!
Next, I recommend getting comfortable in your favorite chair with your favorite beverage; maybe try a mocktail.
Finally, start reading! You may be thinking, "But it's a book about the pantry - isn't this just recipes?". Well, how else will you know what is contained on these pages unless you read every page? This book is more than just recipes - there are short explanations entwined within the book.
What To Tag In The Book
For me, I tagged anything that I wanted to come back to - either a tip/trick or a recipe I'm interested in making.
Maybe there is a certain ingredient you are interested in - tag it in the index! I like to use these highlighter stickers for this part.
After reading it over the weekend, I found that I had tagged 35 recipes - WOW. Now for the hard part - how do I start working my way through what I tagged? Continue reading to learn how I plan to tackle working my way through the book.
Working Your Way Through The Attainable Sustainable Pantry
Being a self-described Excel nerd, I started in Excel. Using the headers: Recipe Name, Page, and "Made?". I added on filters to make it easy to sort through later, and then started typing in the data!
This allowed me to have an easy reference as to what I tagged, so I don't have to flip through the book every time I want to make something.
My next step is to set aside 1-2 days a month to make something. Many of these are new-to-me recipes, so I want to ensure I have plenty of time to focus on the recipe. Now, the time doesn't have to be all day - things like an aioli may only need to have an hour or less, perfect for a weekday after work. Other things, like sourdough english muffin bread, will be best for a weekend.
When I think about how much time I need, I pick the recipe I want to make and re-read the recipe so I can note down how long it may take me to make. While I read the recipe, I noted down any ingredients that I would need. Those ingredients go on my shopping list along with "ASP" and the page # so I know it's an ingredient I need for the Attainable Sustainable Pantry and what page #.
Finally, the day comes to make the recipe! Woohoo!
Final Words On Attainable Sustainable Pantry
To say this book is an incredible resource would sum up my review. The writing in the book is thoughtful and encouraging. It's a book I keep handy in my house - it's easy to grab and use the index to find a recipe. If you are looking for a way to make switches from store-bought processed & packaged foods, this is the book for you!
Many of the recipes in the book are family-friendly, meaning the whole family can be involved. Others are easy peasy and had me wondering, "Why doesn't everyone just make this?".
In my opinion, anytime you can remove packaged/processed foods from your pantry and replace them with homemade, clean ingredients, you are doing yourself and your family a huge favor!
That's a wrap on my review of Attainable Sustainable Pantry! Have you read the book? What is your favorite part? Let me know in the comments below.
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