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Raising and Preserving your food can be done on even the smaller scales. 

Dehydrating, Fermenting, Canning, Freezing, Vacuum Sealing, and even just moving boxed foods to glass are great ways to start your journey. 

When we garden, pick, clean and preserve our harvest, we are taking back what our great grandparents once had. A bit of self sufficiency! I remember one of my first ways on being frugal was buying all of the brown bananas in the discount section of the grocery store. I would stay up and bake lots of banana muffins and breads. Then I would freeze them for days to come. There was no greater feeling at the time, than when I would be running late, in yet still able to yell out “pull muffins out of the freezer. 

Cutting down on food waste has many advantages: It’s better for both the environment and our budgets. According to a recent study Americans lose as much as $1,300 on spoiled food, which then makes up 24 percent of landfill waste.

Have you ever considered raising smaller but nutritious animals? Rabbits are one of the leanest meats, and are also very quick to grow, the turn around is a great one. Another benefit to rabbits is their manure for gardening, and their ability to be fed with forage, and grow out on the ground in proper housing tractors. They are overall very versatile animals. You can raise them in colonies with bucks separated, or you can raise them in side by side cages. With all things keep a close eye on the needs of your animals.  Chickens, Ducks and Turkeys keep bugs, and grass down while producing delicious eggs, and a hardy meat. Muscovy ducks actually eat an incredible amount of pest insects, and forage, along with giving an almost beefy tasting meat, and medium size eggs, which are amazing for baking. Once you begin the processing process, it seems to get easier each time. I highly recommend the cone method, and investing in the biggest stock pot you can find, and a plucker! They help tremendously.For most animals, once we process, we either break them down and vacuum seal or use the sealer bags that you dip in the boiling water. We freeze the meet and they stay fresh and ready for our future dinners.We've also made Jerky, out of the rabbit tummy flaps, and lots of broth from the animal extras like bones, carcass, and feet.Whatever and however you decide to take on your self sufficiency goals, always remember to do it in prayer. Even if you aren’t in a place or on a land to raise animals always remember that buying local meat from small farms and the local butcher is always a better option! 

Drying and preserving your medicinal herbs, and flowers is ESSENTIAL! We have dabbled in making herb salts, teas, salves, oils, and tinctures. There is so much information readily available to help you if you are interested in any of these. Mixing the herbs with salt even helps to preserve the flavor better than simply just drying the herbs.

You can start by hanging the bunches in a dry place with good ventilation or even laying on a screen!

I've used my dehydrator a few times, but hanging in bunches has been my all time favorite way.

Did you know that people can set their clean rinsed herbs in baggies or even ice trays to preserve them? Fill a baggy and stick them in the freezer, or crush the herbs into an ice tray and add olive oil, then freeze! Perfect for cooking.

There are two approaches to safe canning: water bath and pressure canning. 

Water bath canning in my opinion is the simplest and most beginner friendly method. With water bath canning, you are able to can High Acid foods and know that they will be shelf stable and safe. 

The combination of time and temperature destroys bacteria while the heat creates a vacuum seal. Foods such as fruit, jams, jellies, salsa, tomatoes, pickles, sauces, pie fillings, and condiments can be safely water bath canned! 

Pressure canning is the only safe method of preserving low-acid foods. Low-acid foods include vegetables, meats, fish, and poultry. Pressurized steam creates the needed temperature of 240 degrees Fahrenheit or higher that will destroy the bacterial spores naturally present in these foods. 

Vacuum sealing is the act of removing oxygen from bags or containers, creating an airtight seal that protects food from freezer burn and bacteria growth. By limiting exposure to oxygen, which causes spoilage, vacuum sealing helps extend your food’s shelf life, be it vegetables in the crisper drawer, snacks in the pantry, or proteins in the freezer.

For a basic Vacuum sealer you can spend about $40-$60! But trust me it's well worth it. 

We've vaccuum sealed fish, meat, veggies, fruit, and even dry goods. It's literally a really simple way to keep food compact in the freezer too!