Attainable Sustainable Pantry: A Back-to-Basics Guide to Stocking Your Kitchen

by Kris Bordessa

A handy illustrated collection of tried and true techniques to fill your cupboards with wholesome, homemade food—and save money, too.Internet sensation Kris Bordessa shows how to replace storebought, processed products with your own delicious, nutritious entrees, side dishes, condiments, snacks, and more.With more than 120 recipes—from cake mixes and marmalades to relishes, pickles, and coffee creamer—this comprehensive guide will help you ditch store-bought processed foods and fill your pantry with homemade, healthier options that will save you time and money—and taste better, too!Inside these pages, you'll find recipes • Breakfast favorites, including homemade instant oatmeal, classic pancake and waffle mix, and make-ahead egg cups• Baking must-haves, from chocolate cake mix to no-knead rosemary-garlic bread, sourdough bread loaves, and easy flour tortillas• Everyday go-to condiments, such as ranch dressing, grainy mustard, teriyaki sauce, and mayonnaise• Quick pickles, like bread-and-butter zucchini pickles, pickled beets and okra, and dill pickle relish• Healthier snacks, including barbecue potato chips, sour "fruit" snacks, guacamole, and hummus• And a huge collection of canning classics, from orange-vanilla marmalade and bourbon-apple jelly to chowchow, pizza sauce, salsa, and more—all reviewed for safety by the National Center for Home Food PreservationWith author and homesteader Kris Bordessa as your guide, you'll learn how to meal prep more efficiently, reduce waste, cut out processed ingredients, and enjoy more homemade foods year-round, all from the bounty in your own cupboards.

Genres: Cookbooks, Nonfiction, Cooking, Food, Reference, Food and Drink, Health

663 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 4, 2025

About the author

I’ve been a freelance writer for a dozen years or more and have authored several books. A conversation with a friend got me thinking about creating a blog. I wanted to help readers take small steps toward a more self-reliant lifestyle, embracing some of the vintage skills that have been lost over the past few generations.

I launched Attainable-Sustainable.net in 2011 to answer the question: What if we could tackle one little actionable step each day to start working toward a more self-reliant lifestyle?

That blog has morphed into a beautiful book published by National Geographic Books in March, 2020 which earned the Best How-to Book of 2020 from the American Society of Journalists and Authors

The book covers diverse topics such as food preservation, gardening, raising small livestock, creating a homemade pantry, and crafting non-toxic home care products.

I've lived in Hawaii with my husband and two sons since 2005. I know you're imaging a hammock and a mai tai right about now, but ::spoiler:: there's laundry and dishes to do in paradise.

Reviews

[Provin Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This books is amazing. Not only is it beautiful inside and out, but it’s full of great ideas on stocking your pantry! The thick full color pages make you want to keep turning them. The recipes are easy to follow and make you want to make them! If you’re looking to be healthier and more self sustainable, this book is for you!

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book as a Goodreads giveaway.

I have not tried any of the recipes in this book. They look fine and there are some I would be interested in trying. The book is visually lovely.

My low rating for this book is driven by the inclusion of substantial misinformation in relation to GMOs. GMOs and potential effects on human health have been studied extensively and the scientific consensus is that there is no evidence of adverse health effects of GMOs. It is disappointing to see the National Geographic brand imprinted on a book that promotes false claims about GMOs. There is also a passage touting the old refrain of "don't eat it if you can't pronounce the ingredients", a proclamation that ignores the fact that all foods, even the fresh fruits and veggies you grow at home, are indeed made of chemicals with scary sounding names - they just aren't written on a label.

In general, I find the tone of this book to be a bit preachy, and the entire notion of forsaking manufactured foods to replace them with homemade mixes, condiments, etc., to be steeped in privilege. This level of time and effort is simply not "attainable" for most people in modern day society. That isn't to say this is ideal, but that a change in the way we procure food and eat is going to take much more than personal efforts. But for those who have the capacity and desire to make a shift to more home prepared ingredients, who I think are the primary target audience here, this book has a variety of recipes and technical instruction on topics like canning and fermentation that may be of value.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this book is largely aspirational rather than something that would be attainable or sustainable (in is broad sense) for most people. Also, I lack an actual pantry (as many do).

The book is really beautifully laid out, and it did make me think of the next 20 projects I could do. I leaned heavily toward this kind of thing when I was staying at home with my children when they were younger.

Most people I know simply don't have the space for storage the way this book necessitates. I would be hard-pressed to have cabinet or counter space for a lot of these things. I have a small chest freezer, but many people don't. I also think that most people could pick a couple of these things but not all-- unless they had more time than a person with 40-hour work week and other interests would have. This would have to be the thing you did for a hobby.

I also think that the author drifted from the thesis to commentary about GMOs and things like that. Some other people have criticized the book for weighing in on them. That doesn't bother me, but in talking about these things, the author drifted from the topic.

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

The recipes look interesting and fairly easy. The layout is too cramped, and the font size is too small if I were actually trying to cook out of the book. Each page has three columns of text on it, and the way the recipes flow doesn't work for me. The tone of the book is a bit preachy at times. While it gives tips on how to do this on a budget, I do think the push for fully organic options is cost prohibitive for lower income families.

[Caity · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had a hard time deciding how to rate this book. After looking over some other reviews, I think it's fair to say that some parts of the writing come across as making the Attainable part in the title more difficult. The author's views on avoiding certain foods can be really hard based on your budget, location, and time. I think the book is much more attainable if you already have done your own research on GMOs, organic vs non organic foods, and just overall know what ingredients make the most sense for your households concerns and budget. Going into this with an idea of what pantry staples you'd most like to change up and how much time and money you have available makes it much easier to use this book as a guide to switch up your pantry in reasonable and attainable increments.

I am someone who is very comfortable in the kitchen and already had an idea of what I wanted to start making at home and this really fit what I was looking for. I really appreciate how the chapters broke down the very basics before even getting to the recipes. This really helped show how much of a commitment the different preserving methods and pantry swaps are, making it easier to plan where to start and what to build up to. It also gives a great background for what to look for in other recipes, especially in regards to canning where finding a questionable recipe online could result not only in spoiled food but serious illness. Overall, I do think this is a valuable addition to the kitchen and I am excited to start reworking my pantry.

[Cassandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was first impressed by the quality of this book. A wonderful printing full of easy to understand information on creating, utilizing, and maintaining a pantry. The photos and formatting kept me engaged and helped me retain the information. It also has a way of making most things seem doable. Early on the book tells you to set aside 5 dollars of your grocery money towards a pantry item, so the budgeting and transition are made easier. Another helpful piece of advice was to not stock up on things you know you won't use. It's such an obvious piece of information but it finally got me to stop buying beans, I almost never use them.
My issues with the book primarily stem from opinions stated as facts regarding GMO's. I'd go so far as to call it blatant misinformation and I was disappointed to see it included. It makes me hesitant to recommend it at all despite all the useful information and quality formatting/photos.

[Monica Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am gonna knock one point off only because of some very outdated advice on GMO‘s and the idea of don’t eat it if you can’t pronounce it I promise you if you read what’s in an apple, you won’t be able to pronounce all of it either that aside I get out almost every book from the library before I buy it to decide whether or not it’s worth it and there were probably nine things in this book that I really want to keep there are so many ideas of ways that you can make your own barbecue potato chips or you can store your own cake mix I don’t use a lot of bought products but I do use some and I’m now seeing how I could even reduce my plastic use more

[Sharon Martinez · Rating 2 out of 5]

Beautiful and some helpful info, but very preachy regarding organic and GMO’s . She has a very eloquent way of giving her straight up personal opinions on these topics and presenting them as facts. The first book in this series wasn’t so heavy on this topic, but since this book is solely about food, the topic is front and center. For me, it massively detracted from my enjoyment reading through this book , and it lessened my opinion of the author. Stick to facts, share substantiated info on organic and GMO food, and maybe leave your other personal opinions at the door.

[Cherie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is part cookbook (though honestly, not too many recipes), part how to have an eco-friendly sustainable kitchen. Some good ideas, but a lot of this is too hard for the average person - I'm a big cook and a foodie, but I won't can stuff. I also don't have an enormous place to store tons of stuff, or a lot of time - I work FT and have a kid, of whom I'm the primary caregiver...so much of this is outside my reality. But visually appealing and some neat ideas.

[Cat Roule · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very beautiful book. Beautifully illustrated and laid out. I absolutely love the concept and recipes. I will try many of them, but I don't have a "pantry" or large enough area to store. Also, our local farmers market is lacking in much of the ingredients.
Thanks to Goodreads Giveaways and the publisher for this gifted copy.

[Kaitlyn Thomas · Rating 2 out of 5]

I loved the idea of this book so much, as I’m interested in reducing food waste and preserving my home garden harvest. I found that much of the food supply and nutrition information was inaccurate and borderline fear-mongering. With that being said, the recipes were helpful but somewhat overwhelming to a working mom of 3 little kids

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

Good reference for someone starting to think about using fewer prepackaged foods. Some things make sense, others the quantity is slightly odd - who needs that many batches of brownies or chocolate cakes in the short amount of time the mixes will stay fresh?

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of information on setting up a pantry, using sustainable methods, and from-scratch-cooking, food preservation, etc.

My only quibble.....not enough pictures! And in-depth information for someone who's not already an expert in baking bread, or pressure canning and the like.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This a great cookbook to have on hand if you like to make mixes and condiments, bake bread, can, dehydrate, etc…

[Jenn. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Borrowed from DC library.

Great book. Well laid out with beautiful photography. Found several recipes I want to try. Not enough to purchase but glad I borrowed.

[Allison Farnsworth · Rating 3 out of 5]

There’s a lot of good ideas and recipes in here. However, it’s delivered with such a holier-than-thou tone that I would hesitate to recommend it to anyone.

[Rachel Oppitz · Rating 3 out of 5]

The cover was so enticing yet the content did not grab me. It reminds me of the health food movement in the late 1990s so the info seems dated to some degree.

[Rebecca Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very easy read, love the knowledge. I keep trying more and more!

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

So many recipes! Got this from library but seriously considering purchasing it

[Michele · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought everything was done so well. I really liked it and I want to try pickling.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love this book! I need to buy it. I want to try making hashbrown patties, coffee creamer, 1000 Island dressing, sweet Chile sauce, teriyaki sauce and homemade yogurt. So much more to try!!!

[Gina Zappa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Checked this out from my library and LOVED it. It was an immediate add-to-cart book because I must own it.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful book, useful information and useful recipes

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of great tips towards sustainable living.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book, thank you so much for the ARC!