Two Plastic-Wrapped Nightmares You Can Put To Bed: Hummus & Mozzarella

Some tings are harder to find plastic-free than a clean public restroom. We’re looking at you mozzarella.

Even if you’re the swap-savviest shopper in the co-op, some foods are almost impossible to buy without plastic. Two big offenders?

• 🧆 Hummus
• 🧀 Mozzarella

Both come almost exclusively in plastic tubs or vacuum packs—unless you happen to know a good cheese monger… But the good news? They’re both ridiculously easy to make at home.

Here’s how to skip the plastic, blow up the flavor, and win big at the office pot-luck.

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🧆 DIY Hummus in 5 Minutes

Why bother?
Because even “eco” hummus comes in often unrecyclable and always microplastic-shedding plastic tubs. And homemade hummus tastes better 100% of the time. Period.

You’ll need:

• 1 can of chickpeas (15oz)
• 1/4 cup tahini
• Juice of 1 lemon (1/4 cup)
• 1/2 garlic clove – more if you’re watching Nosferatu tonight
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• Salt to taste
• Optional: cumin, paprika, roasted red peppers, jalapeños, etc.

How to make it:

1. Dump it all in a food processor. Or Vitamix if we fancy like that.
2. Blend until smooth.
3. Add water (1 tbsp at a time) for your desired creaminess.
4. Literally, that’s it.
5. Seriously.

Now’s where you start to drive yourself crazy. You’ve put in all this work only to put all of your ingredients into a plastic blender or food processor! The good news is that your Vitamix is made with BPA free Tritan plastic so it is likely not shedding microplastics when you blend (just don’t wash it in the dishwasher). The better news is you’ve got plastic-free options for this step as well!

Affiliate rec: [Mini Food Processor – Amazon] Good: link mind, better, glass oster or stick mixer, best vitamix stainless

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🧀 Easy Homemade Mozzarella

Why bother?
Because mozzarella packaging is always plastic-heavy. And homemade mozz is the 30 minute party trick of the century (extra impressive since it was actually invented about 20 centuries ago).

You’ll need:

• 1 gallon of whole milk (not ultra-pasteurized)
• 1.5 tsp citric acid
• 1/4 rennet tablet (or liquid equivalent)
• Salt
• Water
• A thermometer

How to make it:

1. Heat milk and citric acid to 90°F.
2. Add rennet, stir, and let sit until curds form (5–10 mins).
3. Cut curds, heat to 105°F while gently stirring.
4. Strain out whey, then microwave/stretch cheese until smooth.

Affiliate rec: [Mozzarella Cheese Making Kit – Amazon]
Comes with everything but the milk—and makes a great gift.

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🚫 Storage to put a bow on your efforts

• Store hummus in glass jars or silicone cups.
• Mozz is trickier to store but these always do the trick:
• Skip the preservatives and weird plastic-taste.

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😎 Final Thought

You don’t need to make everything from scratch. But these two are so easy, it feels criminal not to. And you’ll get to know true satisfaction when you make homemade pizza with mozzarella you made that morning…

Swap it. Save it. And maybe impress someone with a fresh cheese pull.