Easy Homemade Spice and Dry Mixes
If you’ve shopped for spice and dry mixes lately, you know they’re expensive!
Believe me when I say that there is a cost to having food chopped, diced, dried, powdered or mixed for your buying convenience. But is the convenience worth the cost when you’re already on a tight budget?
For me, getting back to basics meant streamlining my budget and learning to do things myself. It meant getting rid of processed foods that have little or no nutritional value. Processed foods are filled with ingredients most people can’t pronounce and are generally over-priced as well. It meant growing my own food so I could keep more money in my pocket.
Finally, it also meant learning how to create my own dry mixes and spice blends. And let me tell ya, it has made a world of difference on my bottom line!
Full disclosure, I honestly cannot remember the last time I bought seasoned salt, onion or garlic powder. Oh, and let me tell you, making your own baking mix is so much more cost effective than buying a box of Jiffy mix!
There is a catch!
You have to take the time to make them.
For me, the trade off was worth it. One of my big goals was to take a hard look at my grocery purchases and reduce unnecessary spending. Spices and dry mixes were unnecessary because I either grew most of the ingredients or already had the ingredients on my pantry shelf.
Also, I have to admit that growing my own herbs is therapeutic. And lets not forget that when you work with natural ingredients, you eliminate harmful chemicals and preservatives that can cause all kinds of health issues.
In all honesty, these spice and dry mixes are super easy and only take a couple of minutes to throw together. I call that a win-win!
Did you know…
By dehydrating and grinding garlic or onions, you can make your own garlic and onion powder! Yes, it’s that easy! Add salt and you now have garlic and onion salt! Just like that, you have four items you can cross off your shopping list! Why would you ever buy it again!
Just think of how much more you could save if you you grew your own garlic and onions instead of buying them! It’s beyond imagining!
I’ve done the math…
I live in a small town where store options are limited so I do most of my shopping at Wally World. I’ll use them as an example. But if you shop anywhere else, the prices may be higher.
I used to buy the small, .95 oz size of garlic powder. This size would last several months. The average price is $4.96. Now, go to the produce section and pick up three heads of garlic for $1. Peel, slice and dry the cloves. Grind the dried cloves down to a powder and you should have enough to fill that .95 oz container with some powder to spare. You just saved $3.96! Imagine the money you would save if you did this with all the spices you use!
Let’s look at it another way. Are you one of those people who buy spice or spice mixes and end up tossing them because you didn’t use it all before it expired? It’s like tossing money in the garbage. Trust me…been there, done that, got the t-shirt!
If that’s you, then making your own mixes should be a no-brainer. You control how much you make at a time so that it doesn’t expire before it gets used up. Winner winner, chicken dinner!
Don’t have a dehydrator? You can use your oven light (if you have one) or the lowest setting on your oven. Just remember to check the progress regularly to make sure they don’t burn. It may take longer to use the oven so if it’s in your budget, I highly recommend an Excalibur Dehydrator (which is what I use) or a Cosori Dehydrator. I also recommend getting a good spice or coffee grinder as well. You’ll want one that has a stainless steel cup that can be removed for easy pouring. The plastic cups don’t hold up very well…trust me on this!
Keeping it simple!
If you want to cut out unnecessary purchases and save money, start by making your own homemade spice and dry mixes. I’ve listed just a few that I use almost daily. Simply click on the name and you’ll see the recipe open up for each one. Enjoy!
The Best Dry Mix Recipes
Bonus: If you want to make garlic salt or onion salt, simply mix 1 part powder to 3 parts salt and mix well. Store in an air-tight container.
A final thought:
It may seem counter-productive to think you can save time by making spice and dry mixes by hand. But ask yourself: How much is my time worth? Is it worth the time (and gas) spent going to the store? Is it worth the money to buy something you could easily make at home?
For me, saving money was more important than the few minutes it took to throw a few ingredients together. It was more important than spending extra for something I can easily make myself. For others, it may come down to priorities. Time vs. money.
Ask yourself if spending another useless hour on Facebook is more important than saving money. Trust me, if you have time to surf Facebook or Pinterest, you have time to make these mixes. Seriously, it only takes a couple of minutes. And Facebook isn’t going anywhere! Only you know what your time is worth…so use it wisely.
Oh, and here is one more dry mix that is a sure-fire way to warm the insides when it’s nasty outside, check out my big batch hot chocolate mix! This recipe makes enough to get you through the longest of winters!
Keep it simple, my friends!
lisa
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Way too many 404(Page Not Found) links for me to want to subscribe, but your subjects are interesting.
Rex,
I’m sorry to hear that! We recently did some updates which affected many of the pages. But we’re working to get them fixed.
L