Building a Pantry from Scratch with Kris Bordessa

12 snips

May 27, 2025

In this engaging conversation, Kris Bordessa, author of Attainable Sustainable and its pantry-focused follow-up, shares her insights on building a self-reliant kitchen. She emphasizes the benefits of swapping boxed foods for homemade versions, offering tips on leveraging kitchen tools for accessibility. Learn how to easily preserve food through methods like quick pickling and dehydrating, and discover creative recipes, including transforming leftover wine into vinegar. Kris’s practical advice makes sustainable cooking both simple and enjoyable.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Books

Transcript

Episode notes

ADVICE

Buy Tools That Multiply Effort

Invest in a few helpful kitchen tools to increase success and consistency.
A stand mixer makes bread and baking accessible and saves time for busy cooks.

ADVICE

Make Snacks And Breakfast Ahead

Make snacks at home like cheese crackers to replace packaged options.
Batch-make instant oatmeal mix on weekends to save money and time during the week.

ADVICE

Start With Simple Preservation

Start preserving with easy methods like dehydrating and refrigerator pickles.
Quick pickling requires no canning equipment and stores safely in the fridge.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

Got a question or thought to share? 🤔💬

Head over to the blog post -- https://thriftyhomesteader.com/building-a-pantry-from-scratch/ -- and drop it in the comments—we’d love to hear what you think and we’ll be sure to reply!

Description

In this episode, Deborah Niemann welcomes Kris Bordessa, author of Attainable Sustainable and the new follow-up, Attainable Sustainable Pantry. Kris shares her inspiration behind writing a book focused entirely on pantry staples and kitchen self-reliance, especially after the overwhelming response to her first book.

Whether you’re a complete beginner or already comfortable in the kitchen, this conversation is packed with practical tips, money-saving ideas, and sustainability-minded advice for taking control of your food.

What You’ll Learn

Why Kris’s second book is a deep dive into pantry-focused self-reliance
How to replace boxed foods like pancake mix and instant oatmeal with homemade versions
What to do when you run out of ingredients like brown sugar or oat flour
Kitchen tools that make homemade cooking more accessible (hint: stand mixer wins!)
Tips for using up food instead of throwing it away (like turning failed bread into croutons)
Easy ways to start preserving food without a pressure canner, including:
Quick pickling
Dehydrating
Freezing in oil
Unexpected DIY recipes like crystallized ginger, red wine vinegar, and garlic powder
Kris’s favorite pantry snack: homemade cheese crackers (goodbye, Cheez-Its!)
Why this book is especially timely for anyone struggling with rising grocery costs

Resources Mentioned

📘 Attainable Sustainable Pantry by Kris Bordessa
- Buy on Amazon
- Buy on Bookshop
📘 Attainable Sustainable: The Lost Art of Self-Reliant Living
- Buy on Amazon
- Buy on Bookshop
🧂 National Center for Home Food Preservation (used for vetting preservation recipes)

Connect with Kris Bordessa

🌐 Website: attainablesustainable.net
📱 Social: @AttainableSustainable on Facebook, Instagram, and more

Love This Episode?

Don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with your sustainability-minded friends. Find all episodes and transcripts at:

🔗 thriftyhomesteader.com/bookchat

💜 Love what you hear?

Buy us a coffee! Your support helps keep the conversations going.

And if you found this episode helpful, please consider subscribing, leaving a review, and sharing it with your sustainability-minded friends. Every little bit helps us grow!