Why I love Penzeys Spices!
I am writing this in response to some of the feedback that I have received on Amazon in regards to my book Paleo Slow Cooking: Gluten Free Recipes Made Simple.
Penzeys Spices
I use Penzeys spices in 9 recipes in my book. I feel that I should start off by saying that I am in no way compensated for mentioning and promoting their products.
After years (pre paleo days) of using pre-made/packaged spices like taco seasonings, fajita seasonings, BBQ marinades etc most of which are found in typical grocery stores, full of ingredients that I cannot pronounce (not good), a co-worker of mine introduced me to Penzeys Spices. What I love most about Penzeys is that they clearly list all of the ingredients (spices) for each spice and spice blend on their website. This made it easy for me to navigate which spices I wanted to try and add to my collection. As a busy mom, wife, business owner, and blogger this was a quick and easy way for me to safely season our food with very little effort on my part. Keep in mind you cannot just walk into your local grocery store and buy Penzeys brand spices, you have to either go to a Penzeys store (the closest one to me is about 3 hours away) or place your order online. Yes, you will have to wait a few days before you receive your package full of spices but I feel that the quality, consistency, and the customer service from Penzeys makes the waiting well worth it.
Some folks have critiqued me for not making my own spice blends and for using a “pre made” product, but simply put I don’t have the little extra time to make my own and honestly at this point in my life it is not super high on my priority list. I am certain that I am not the only person with little time who appreciates good products. In a perfect world I would make my own spices, grow all of my own herbs and vegetables etc. but at present it is not feasible for us and we make do with what we can. With products I trust like Penzeys , as well as other reputable bloggers and cooks like Diane from Balanced Bites who has created a variety of spice blends that she shares both on her blog and in her book Practical Paleo, I don’t feel the need to reinvent the wheel with spices. However, I certainly encourage you to experiment with making your own spice blends if you have the time to do so.
The Penzeys Spices that I use in the book are the following:
Cajun Seasoning (note that many different brands carry Cajun Seasoning… so it can easily be substituted).
Tomatoes
Ideally I would love to grow and can my own tomatoes. Although I did start growing tomatoes this year, we ate them just as fast as they grew. So yes, I do use canned tomatoes from our local grocery store as tomatoes in the jar are not readily available in my area. I encourage you to only use products that you are comfortable with when you are cooking.
The intent with my book was to create a guide for people that would help take the guess work out of the kitchen. People can prepare the recipes as they are written in the book or tweak them to make them better suited for their palate or even work with the ingredients that you have on hand. This is why I included a recipe note card with each recipe so you can document the changes/modifications that you make while Paleo Slow Cooking guides you through making healthy meals for you and your family.
I love hearing that people are using the recipe note cards as they are intended. If you have adapted, modified, or tweaked a version of one of the recipes in my book I would love to hear about it and share it with my readers. Please email me here or please leave a comment.
Also, if you have found any spelling or other errors that I may have missed…would you kindly email me so I can update it before next round of printing. Thank you and happy Monday.
Chrissy, I just want to say that I LOVE that you have these shortcuts for us. The reason I bought your book is because I am working some crazy long hours several days a week and needed something quick to make for my family and myself. To tell you the truth, I don’t have time to make spices either and love that you mention the ones you use. I am actually making a list right now so that I can visit Penzey’s soon. When I wake up at 5:00 to walk the dog, get kids out the door, make lunches, and get myself dressed and out the door by 7:30am, I don’t have time for anything extra. So far, your recipes have saved me the last few weeks. Yesterday morning I quickly made the pesto chicken before heading out for the day as well as the initial steps to one of Sarah’s butternut squash soup recipes. I had a 1.5 hour break at the end of the day to finish making the soup and eat before heading out to teach an all evening class. I got home at 9:30pm with minimal clean-up (actually no clean-up because my son cleaned the soup pot and slow cooker). Plus, everyone loved the meal. It was satisfying and looked as if I had been home all day to cook. Thanks for this book!
Yay! Thanks for sharing Cathy! I love hearing this and I am glad you are enjoying the book!
I just passed a Penzeys store yesterday. I about freaked out, I was so thrilled. I need to go in and check it out. I once got a sample of AZ Dreaming. It was good!
Penzey’s Spices are the best!!! My aunt introduced me to them and I’ve been in love w/them ever since!
my husband and I are looking for a better way to eat. right now, we are in a rut of doing what is readily available, while also appealing to our girls. having this website looks really helpful since the recipes look quick, easy, and healthy. I’ll post more as we get into it
thanks!
Don’t forget that when tomatoes are ripe in your garden, they are ripe in the gardens of local farmers as well.
Buy a bunch of them and get to work making and canning tomato sauce!! You will need a food mill to get the seeds out to avoid bitterness and it is a bit of work to blanch, mill and can them, but when you have quarts and quarts available to eat in the dead of Winter, you will thank yourself and resolve to do more and more each year.
This is a habit I learned from Italian friends. The whole family gets involved and reaps the dividends. If you can find thin skinned cherry tomatoes, you can can them whole. In the Ukraine they refer to them as pickled tomatoes, but they are canned. Their secret ingredient is leafy celery greens. I don’t have a recipe, but you can experiment with other ingredients.
Love Penzys! Finally got around to ordering some. I don’t think I will be buying them from the store anymore. Getting some for my mom for Mother’s day. Her spices need to be replaced.