If you are brand new to our blog, I want to give you a little back story to preface the post. We started our marriage in a small apartment in the middle of town. We lived there for nine months before recently moving to our tiny home on 30 acres. However, we started our journey, and we established Almost Heaven Homesteading before we ever lived on our growing homestead. Every tip that we go over is something that we began implementing while still living in the apartment in town. We had no access to land, no farm animals, and no garden space. So, you may be wondering how we took steps toward self-sufficiency at all. But most of us can take steps toward self-sufficiency wherever we are. So Let’s get into my top 3 steps toward self-sufficiency you can start to implement TODAY whether you’re living in rural West Virginia, suburban California, or the heart of New York City.
1st Step Toward Self-Sufficiency – Cook at Home
The first of our 3 steps toward self-sufficiency is quite simply to cook at home. This might seem like a no brainer to some. But in the world of convenience that we live in, cooking at home is becoming more of a nostalgic pastime for the occasional Sunday dinner or holiday than it is a regular occurrence. In generations past, if you didn’t cook you didn’t eat. Life revolved around the preparation and preservation of food as this was needed for survival.
Cutting out the Middle Man
You may not be growing any of your own food yet. You may be sourcing it all elsewhere. But, you are still transitioning to a self-sufficient life simply by cooking at home. If you are cooking all your meals at home, you are cutting out restaurants and fast food chains. YOU are supplying for your family rather than depending on someone else to supply for them. This is also saving you time and travel expenses to and from the restaurants.
A Practical Solution
Cooking at home doesn’t have to be difficult. Learn how to make 5-10 easy meals really well. You will probably be able to pull these meals together in 30 minutes or less. That’s far less time than it takes to eat out at a restaurant. Learn to cook at home and how to make basic satiating nourishing foods. Learn to bake bread, protein rich dishes with eggs, and simple meals of meat and vegetables. By doing this, you are not only supplying for your family but you are supplying their bodies with the good foods that they need.
Some meals for us consist of eggs, toast, and fruit. Others are as simple as roasted chicken breast with potatoes and carrots. Soups focusing on root veggies and healthy bone broth are also staples. I can make meals like this for as little as a couple dollars.
The Downside of Eating Out
The old saying is a penny saved is a penny earned, and it’s so true. On the occasion that Brad and I go out to dinner, it’s nothing for us to spend $50 or more. This is probably low for a lot of other areas. When we think of how unhealthy most restaurant food is and when we think of how much money can be saved by cooking at home, it is a no brainer for us. Plus we can control exactly how the food is prepared, and we aren’t relying on someone else to prepare it for us.
Most restaurants are serving very low quality food. Not only does this leave you hungry much more quickly, but it also takes a toll on your health. By supplying your family with nourishing whole foods cooked at home you are likely cutting out some medications and doctor visits as well because your family will be healthier for it!
Focus on the outside perimeter of your grocery store buying things like fruits, vegetables, and meats. Your tummies will thank you and so will you wallet. Plus you can feel good knowing that you served your family a home cooked meal rather than relying on someone else to fill that role.
2nd Step Toward Self-Sufficiency – Use What You Have
The second of our 3 steps toward self-sufficiency is to use what you have. If you’re brand new to cooking at home, this might seem a little daunting. But you don’t always have to have exactly what a recipe calls for every time.
Learning to Make Substitutions
Let’s say you want to make a pot pie and you don’t have any peas but you do have frozen green beans. Try chopping the beans up and using those as a replacement. Let’s say you want to make your own granola and the recipe calls for pecans but you only have almonds – use the almonds! Or what if you already started a banana bread recipe and you forgot that you used the last egg the morning before. Try a substitute like applesauce or extra mashed banana. The point is, try to exhaust all options to use what you have before running to the grocery store for just one item. If you’re like me you never get just the one item and you’ll likely be spending way more money than needed.
Pushing Against the Convenience Mindset
This involves a bit of a mindset shift, but stop thinking of the grocery store as just a convenient stop. Make a game out of it and see how long you can go without going to the grocery store. You’ll probably find some unique ways to use up those sweet potatoes that have been in your potato basket for way too long or that cut of meat in the back of the freezer that you’ve been avoiding.
Of course an end goal for a lot of us trying to be self sufficient is to not depend on the grocery store. But for most of us, we aren’t set up to be producing all of our own food. Even if that is a goal it’s not going to happen overnight. Start by asking yourself every time you are thinking about going to the grocery store if it is really necessary. You will likely find that you have plenty of options already if you simply alter your menu slightly.
A Short Note on Seasonal Eating
Another way to practice this is by eating seasonally. If you grow your own food, simply eat what your garden is producing. If not, check out local farmers markets so see what they have available seasonally. This will likely save you money. Also, you will also be more likely to use up everything you have without letting anything go to waste. So before you run out to the store this afternoon to pick up the exact ingredients for a recipe take inventory of what you already have and see what you can make. Instead of rushing out to buy the perfect ingredients for a recipe you found, first see what you have now and find a recipe based on that.
3rd Step Toward Self-Sufficiency – Buy in Bulk
The third of our 3 steps toward self-sufficiency could come across as contradictory to tip number 2 but that is to buy in bulk. Of course this should only apply to things you know you will use and to things that won’t spoil. By buying in bulk, you’ll be less likely to run out of basic items resulting in fewer meals out because you have nothing to cook. When you go to the store don’t buy one bag of flour buy three or four. Buy foods like rice and beans in bulk. Buy cheeses in bulk as these can easily be frozen.
Items to Keep on Hand
Although I recommend being careful to read the ingredient label on all canned foods, buying things like canned tomatoes in bulk is a great way to be prepared. There are so many foods to be made from canned tomatoes including a variety of soups, pasta sauces, and pizza sauces.
Learn what kinds of vegetables keep well in the fridge and stock up on these. A couple examples are carrots and cabbage. These can keep for months and they are both hearty, satiating, and nutritious. Keep plenty of potatoes on hand and store them in a cool dark place – the floor of a pantry or a basement should suffice. Adding potatoes to basically any meal – breakfast, lunch, or dinner – is a great way to add bulk to a meal and keep your family full longer.
Keep oats on hand for easy healthy breakfasts. And don’t be afraid to stock up on eggs. Believe it or not eggs can keep for up to a month before going bad. Buy good healthy butter in bulk and freeze what you won’t use right away.
You can find links for some of the items I like to buy in bulk from online sources at the end of this post.
More Options at Home Means Fewer Meals Out
A lot of people today would look at this as storing up for the apocalypse, but this behavior -was anything but abnormal just a few generations ago. By keeping staples like this in your home on a regular basis, you will be more likely to pull a meal together each evening. There will be fewer “we have nothing to eat, let’s just go out moments.” Like I mentioned in tip # 1, come up with 5-10 meals that you can cook quickly and easily and always make sure to stock up on the ingredients for those meals. Something that I throw together all the time when I can’t think of something to make is Chicken Chili. By keeping canned tomatoes, beans, broth, frozen corn, onions, and chicken on hand at all times I know I can pull this meal together even when I didn’t plan ahead. By buying in bulk it will make it easier to accomplish all 3 steps towards self-sufficiency!
Which of these 3 steps toward self-sufficiency have you already taken, and which do you plan to implement? Let us know in the comments below!
If you enjoyed this post, and you want to remember it for later, be sure to pin to one of your Pinterest boards for inspiration!
Items to buy in bulk:
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