Use Water Instead

There are a few key ingredients I rely on in the kitchen, especially to create healthy, plant-based meals. 

Some are expensive and others are cheap. Some require a bit of searching and others are already in my pantry. 

But the one ingredient I use every single day when I’m cooking for my family is WATER. 

If you’re looking to have a healthier diet, simplify mealtime, and save money while doing both, water is your answer. 

Here are 3 ways that I use water instead of a purchased ingredient or tool to prepare my plant-based meals. 

1. Vegetable Broth

I love making my own vegetable broth. My how-to is in The Plant-Based Cookbook. But I don’t always plan appropriately and sometimes I totally forget (more the latter these days). Of course, you can buy vegetable broth, but usually the low-sodium, organic varieties that don’t have added sugars or oils are pricey! Up to $6 a carton. So, most of the time, A LOT of the time, if I don’t have any broth made, I just use water!

Broth definitely helps in building flavor but I account for this by adding more spices to the soup or stew I’m making. Depending on the recipe in question, I’ll increase the spices by about 25%, and taste and reseason with salt and pepper.  

2. Oil

If you’re a frequent visitor to Rise Shine Cook, then I’m preaching to the choir because you know how passionate I am about sautéing with water. If you’re knew here, know that using water instead of oil to sauté veggies is life-changing!

Oil is a staple ingredient in most kitchens because it’s used both as a tool (to lubricate and coat foods while you cook them) and also for taste. But neither are necessary.

As an example, a vegetable stir fry made with water has virtually 0 grams of fat but if made with just 1 tablespoon of olive oil, it now has 14 grams of fat!

By using water instead of oil, not only do you reduce the calories and saturated fats in a meal, but you limit your exposure to rancid, inflammatory fats as well.

When we sauté we’re generally cooking at a high heat and many “good quality” oils with healthy fats are damaged in the process becoming, not only not healthy, but actually harmful. 

I keep a large measuring cup of water next to the stove while I’m sautéing and just add water as I go. Check out my “fried” veggies and rice HERE.

I use water instead of oil in so many other ways too. I use it in Hummus and bean spreads, I use to make salad dressings and sauces like in this Tofu Teryaki, it’s a must-have main ingredient in my kitchen. 

3. Smoothies

This one might surprise you. About 4 years ago I started using water in my smoothies rather than plant-based milks. Not always but quite regularly. 

The reason? I moved to Taiwan and couldn’t find any nut-milks! So I used water instead. 

Again, using water saves money and time. And if you add nuts, seeds or their butters to your smoothie, you’ve already created a nut milk by blending it with water anyways.

Four years later, there are plant-based milks all over Taipei! There’s even more variety here than back home (Newfoundland), but I still opt for water.