Many of us are looking for ideas on how to save money and eat better. Not just better, but foods that are not super processed, full of GMOs, or Bio-engineered. Does that sound like you? Or are you intrigued about what I'm talking about? If you answered yes to either one of those questions , then read on!
Many years ago I dreamed of having a farm. Once upon a time I owned 3 horses and dreamt of a horse farm or a small hobby farm. That dream is hard to accomplish where I live in busy Southern New England, where the cost of land is incredibly high. We live in a home with a small amount of land and in 2020, having a small garden during COVID was a GODSEND. It literally kept me sane. And while we enjoyed the fruits of my labor, I didn't know a ton about preserving and often gave lots of produce away to friends and family.
Fast forward to 3 years later and with the price of some foods doubled what they were at the start of 2020. I began looking into ways to cut back on our grocery bill. I started meal planning. Stocking up during sales of our favorite ingredients and products and I began to take a closer look at what my garden could do for me. Instead of giving lots of produce away, I chopped and froze a ton, or I saved produce to process into things later like sauce. I started learning how to water bath can the simpler things and learn how to pressure can more difficult recipes and foods. I started researching how to make my own mixes and gravies. From complete scratch with pan drippings and how to make my own dry mixes that I could tweek to taste how we liked and make whenever we needed. This in turn lead me to learning about what is in our foods in America. All the processed ingredients. The bad seed oils. How so many foods aren't even real food! I realized that I grew up mostly eating processed junk. I was the generation that grew up eating out of cans, highly processed freezer meals and not much fruit and fresh veggies. It was all about convenience foods and not eating healthy.
I started watching homestead channels and I realized I could urban homestead on the land we live on. I wouldn't be raising animals to eat, but I could grow more veggies for my family. I could source ones I didn't grow. More importantly, I could take control of what we were consuming by cooking much more completely from scratch. Starting to lead a more sustainable life was what homesteading is all about.
I began learning to bake my own whole wheat sandwich bread, learned how to bake dinner rolls and rustic bread. I made a pumpkin pie with a sugar pumpkin and made the pie crust from scratch. I also made pumpkin pecan cookies with that same pumpkin. When my husband and daughter's granola bars were recalled, I made our own from scratch which we love much more. I swapped out sugary snacks for fresh fruit. We baked soft pretzels and homemade pancakes and muffins with blueberries from my mother in laws's bushes.
I make so many more meals from scratch. I cook from my freezer and pantry. I've kicked most cans from our pantry in favor of fresh foods frozen without preservatives in them that I can't spell or pronounce. It's also reduced the salt and sugar by not having those convenience items. I thought I would miss the ease of them, but I realize I don't miss them all that much.
Not only are we eating healthier, we are also saving money. By preserving more from the garden and from friend's farms gardens, and making more from scratch I'm saving on the grocery bill. We eat out usually once a week from a local mom and pop restaurant as a treat and most times it is to get pulled pork omlets from a friend's Breakfast place in town.
I'm sharing my journey on my You Tube Page.I'm sharing the things I have started making and preserving. I am not going through Be sure to check it out!
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