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Five Reasons to Raise your Own Meat

04.15.2021 by hope // Leave a Comment

The idea of raising your own meat may sound crazy to some. “How can you eat an animal that you raised?” It’s a question I get often. I definitely don’t take offense to it. It’s completely appropriate and understandable. So, I would love to share just five reasons we have made the decision over the past year to begin raising a good portion of our own meat.

1. Raising your own meat is provides a good quality of life for the animals.

Have you ever heard the term CAFO? Probably not. In fact, I had already begun raising our first pigs when I heard it for the first time. CAFO stands for ‘concentrated animal feeding operation’. It is the industry’s method of growing out pigs (or other animals) in an enclosed area with concrete floors where the maximum number of animals spend their days. I won’t even show an image of it because it just feels wrong to see animals raised in confinement where they never see daylight or enjoy fresh air. Factory farmers choose this method of raising animals because it is efficient and yields a nice profit for the investor.

Three little pigs eating grass. Raising your own meat.

Our animals, however, live in very different conditions. Living in small groups, they are free to enjoy the sun, the wind, the ground.With the option to go into a shelter or remain completely outside, they have fresh water at all times and are feed by humans who talk to them, pet them and scratch them. Animals make messes and we clean them up, but that is a small price to pay for what they bring us.

2. Raising your own meat provides dense nutritional value.

It’s difficult to know how nutritionally dense your meat is when you have no idea what the animals have been feed. Most all of the meat found in supermarkets in the U.S. is from animals raised on corn, soy and other grains along with being mixed with parts of other animals. You can do the research, so I won’t share any more here.

four small pigs eating grain. Raising your own meat.

Here on our homestead, we feed our animals non-GMO, no soy and no corn feed, milled in a nearby town. We want to support local as much as possible and believe this is a win-win. Our animals are not only provided this nutritious feed, they are also able to access grass and insects that would be part of their normal diet long ago. They are healthier and rarely have health issues related to the overcrowding of CAFO’s. For this reason, it is not common to need antibiotics. We do not use hormones to speed up their growth or maximize their size. Instead, we allow our animals to grow out at the rate God intended.

3. Raising your own meat is better environmentally.

Many people are surprised to learn about the benefits to the land from raising animals. Not only do animals till the land and eat pests, they also deposit natural fertilizer in the form of manure. This improves land for crops. Additionally, many animals can provide weed control.

Animals are incredible recycling machines for food scraps. We rarely have any food going into our kitchen trash can because there is always an animal that will eat those leftover food pieces Everything from salad bits to egg shells to chicken bones; it is all consumed and turned into more chicken or bacon. Not bad for reduce, reuse and recycle. Eh?

small pig eating food scraps. Raising your own meat.

4. Raising your own meat helps to keep things local.

It just doesn’t get any more local than walking out the front door to gather your groceries. Those eggs at the super market have traveled much further and for far longer. Our eggs are sometimes still warm when we crack them for an omelette.

eggs in a wooden bowl. Raising your own meat.

We also either process our animals on our property or at a local processor just 30 minutes away. We know our processor by his first name. He calls when the meat is ready to be picked up. He cuts the pork chops to suit our taste and makes recommendations for how to prepare certain cuts of meat. Do you know your butcher?

5. Raising your own meat provides a boost for our mental and physical health.

Studies show that having a cat or a dog can reduce stress, anxiety, depression and loneliness. Raising livestock can have those same effects. the interaction between caregiver and animals is mutually beneficial. Not only are animals entertaining and enjoyable, they also require physical activity on our part. We haul food and water, mend fences and build shelters. Because they live outdoors, we are also soaking up additional vitamin D that is lacking from the average office job environment.

piglet peering through a fence. Raising your own meat.

And finally…I’m not even counting it as one of the five reasons, but there is one more psychological reason for raising our own meat. When we sit down to nourish my body with chicken or pork, we are always aware of the life that has been taken. Realizing that an animal gave its life for my nutritional gain, keeps me from over indulging and from taking for granted that sacrifice. Yes, there is an emotional connection that can be hard sometimes. It needs to be. If I am going to eat a pork chop, I need to be connected to it.

If you are considering raising your own meat, go for it. It is good that we meet our meat.

Categories // Chickens, Homesteading, Pigs

Easy Hack to Save Time and Money in the Kitchen

04.13.2021 by hope // Leave a Comment

ONE chicken and FOUR meals

Looking for an easy hack to spend less time and money in the kitchen and more time outdoors? Make this approach to meal planning part of your spring schedule.

Spring is in the air and if you’re like me, you just want to be outside. I mean, like ALL THE TIME. Spending time outdoors doesn’t mean we have to sacrifice good food to be outdoors. We also don’t have to rely on the drive through for quick meals. We just need to practice planning out our time and our meals. Preaching to myself here!

Recently, I’ve taken full advantage of this easy hack for meal planning. It has freed up a lot of time plus it saves us money. That hack is taking advantage of an instant pot and a whole chicken. Preparing a whole chicken on Monday allows me to use that meat to create at least four evening meals. This lasts us throughout the week.

Prepare your chicken

Begin with preparing a whole chicken in your favorite way. This can be in an Instant Pot, slow cooker or roasting in the oven. Personally, I love the flavor of roasted chicken. But since we raise our own heritage breed chickens, they tend to have less fat on them. I’ve learned that the best method for our chicken is in the instant pot. My recommendation, though, is to use the cooking method that blesses you most. It may not sound like it, but this investment is truly going to save you time and money. You can check out my process for preparing a chicken here.

dish with cooked chicken next to a instant pot
A little time spent on preparing this one meat can save you time and money throughout the week.

I generally like to make the chicken versatile for other recipes. So I prepare my chicken by brushing with olive oil and sprinkling salt, pepper and garlic powder. Then I place it in the instant pot with half a cup of water in the bottom of the pot. I then set my instant pot on pressure cook mode and cook for two hours. Depending on the breed of chicken, you could probably lower your cooking time. However, I find that two hours gives me a well cooked chicken with meat that literally falls off the bones.

Allow the chicken to cool about twenty minutes so you don’t burn yourself while handling it. Once it is comfortable to the touch, start to pull the meat away from the bone and place it in a separate container. Generally, I begin with pulling the breast meat sections off first, then move on to the thighs, legs and wings.

Once you have all removed the meat, make a batch of bone broth with the leftover bones and chicken parts. Here you can find more about the benefits of bone broth and how to make it. This can be used to sip hot for a spring morning boost, as a base for soups or as a liquid for sauces.

One bird, four ways

Now that you’ve got your meat set aside, visually divide it into four sections. Typically, this will mean meat from legs and wings, thighs and then the two breast for four separate meals.

First night

square plate with bbq chicken and sides
Chicken with barbecue sauce served with deviled eggs, slaw and macaroni and cheese.

On the first night, my usual meal will be the chicken on it’s own and topped with barbecue sauce. I pair it with some veggies. Here I chose mac and cheese, slaw and deviled eggs. This is a bit more than I would typically make for a Monday night. I just happened to have some boiled eggs leftover from the weekend.

Second night

two bowls of chicken pot pie
Chicken pot pie is a great one pot dish.

The second night was a bit chilly. So I sautéed my chicken with some carrots, peas and mushrooms. Then I added a pie crust topper and created a chicken skillet pie.

Third night.

Night three had me longing for some pasta. I sautéed some carrots, mushrooms and peppers along with the chicken, created a sauce and then added spaghetti. Topped off with a sprinkle of parmesan, it was delicious.

Pasta salad with chicken is always a hit at our house.

Fourth night

On the last night, I used the remaining chicken breast. I chopped it along with some apple, celery and walnuts to make a chicken salad. I coupled it with a large green salad and crackers.

plate of salad and chicken salad
A scoop of chicken salad and green salad

More ideas

If those four dishes don’t seem to fit your taste, never fear. Here are some additional options for using that chicken and stretching your time and money.

  • chicken noodle soup
  • curry chicken and rice
  • chicken stir fry
  • quinoa salad with chicken
  • chicken and dumplings
  • tortilla soup
  • chicken casserole
  • chicken tacos
  • chicken sandwiches
  • chicken flat bread pizzas
  • baked potatoes topped with bbq chicken (load it up with peppers and cheddar)
  • chicken tetrazzini

No time to cook that chicken? No problem.

Are dealing with an already packed schedule and don’t even have the time to cook that chicken? No problem. There are always even more short cuts. Almost all grocery stores now have rotisserie chickens available in their deli section. This is a great way to get the benefit of multiplying that bird, but in even less time.

Now get out there and enjoy this gorgeous weather, knowing dinner is in the bag!

Categories // Recipes Tags // chicken, frugal, recipes, simple living

How God is at work with Technology and COVID

03.29.2021 by hope // Leave a Comment

Have you considered that God may actually be using technology and COVID to help us step out and try something new for His purposes?

On most Tuesday afternoons, we see ingredients flying all about several different kitchens simultaneously and the conversation was the usual casual chat. Sometimes the talks are about what happened at school or over the weekend or maybe sharing about a friend in need of prayer. Other times it consists of questions about the recipe ingredients or how thick to slice the zucchini. Sometimes it’s just plain TRUTH. 

“Yeah, isn’t it cool that God takes things that we don’t like or want and uses them to get us to do something really good?” Words of a camper. 

The conversation on this particular day started off with talking about how cool it is that we can have a cooking workshop with friends who are thousands of miles apart and it’s like we are in the same room. Moms and Dads pop on screen to ask a question or greet each other. Pets jump on camera and siblings sneak in to snag a taste. It’s so much more than instructors and campers. It’s a community.

Is God actually using technology?

Technology can be so cool. Right? Don’t get me wrong. I know there is the potential for danger. But, if monitored well, technology can be an awesome tool. People are using virtual meeting spaces in incredible ways. 

iPad screen with faces of four participants

Earlier that day, I had had the privilege of listening (in a virtual meeting space) to a missionary in New York share about how they have been able to use these virtual spaces to establish discipleship communities. This is happening because of the limitations brought about by stay at home orders in response to the COVID pandemic. God has pushed missionaries and local believers to get creative in finding ways to meet, worship and disciple others. If missionaries were able to continue meeting in person, there would be no need to explore other ways. When something is working relatively well, we generally don’t make changes.

“We’ve never done it that way before”

Maybe you’ve heard this phrase or used it yourself. However, trying new ways didn’t just accomplish the same results or reach the same neighborhoods. Now there are members joining in from all around the world. Borders mean nothing! 

With that same need to find new ways to accomplish the tasks before us, we have all made changes and tried things that simply weren’t necessary before 2020. This is how The Steadfast Project came to be. 

The Steadfast Project meets new needs

Once upon the year 2020…there was this camp director who loved her campers and staff. When health restrictions took camp away from all of them, it broke her heart. God opened her eyes to the challenges families were now facing in this world of ‘new normals’ and ‘unprecedented’ restrictions. Many families were now homeschooling, doing virtual school or attempting to do school in person but outbreaks, exposures and quarantines have made life, well, really unpredictable and definitely complicated. 

Campers gain routine, community and mentorship

This director knows the three things that campers gain from summer camp are a dependable routine, community with believers and the mentorship provided by called and trained staff. Not being able to provide these in the traditional residential camp setting, Kaley Stephens was pushed by God to step out and try something new. Along with the talents of Maura Lyle and Spencer Martin, the group launched The Steadfast Project in the fall of 2020 in order to provide families the benefits of routine, community and mentorship during the school year by providing online workshops for their campers. When the schedule at school is increasingly unpredictable, The Steadfast Project offers security and routine through their workshops. Regardless of concerns about exposure to nasty pathogens, they are still able to meet.

Samples of workshops offered through The Steadfast Project

It was in one of these workshops, the cooking workshop, where this conversation was taking place. Light bulbs were going off and we were all realizing that just like those missionaries in New York, we were all experiencing God stretching us to do new things…things that were good for us and good for the Kingdom. We may not like what has brought us to this place and we may have chosen something different than our current circumstances, but God is doing a work in us all. It’s up to us to hear Him and be obedient to His voice. We wouldn’t want to miss out on what He has planned, right? 

Acts 13:41 tells us “Look, you scoffers, be astounded and perish; for I am doing a work in your days, a work that you will not believe, even if one tells it to you.” 

Could God be calling you to do something new?

What about you? Are you feeling God send you in a new direction or leading you to step out and try something new? Has He placed you in a situation that is not what you would have chosen yourself? Perhaps, He has a ‘new work’ for you…’a work that you will not believe, even if one tells it to you.’

inspirational text - God takes things we don't like or want and used them to get us to do something really good

I wonder what that could be??? I would definitely love to hear about it!

More about The Steadfast Project

The Steadfast Project is an online enrichment workshop and leadership development community birthed out of the unique needs and challenges presented parents and campers in 2020. I have have enjoyed being a participant and supporter of their Cooking Workshops both in the fall of 2020 and Spring of 2021. Leanstead will also be partnering with TSP in the near future for a fun weekend. More to come on that soon! To learn more about this group check them out by visiting The Steadfast Project.

Categories // Faith Tags // faith, the steadfast project

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Hi there! I’m Hope and the voice of this blog. I’m a Christ and coffee loving wife and mom to two great (and now grown) humans. Join me as my husband  Michael and I journey to leaning up life so that we can focus on the important. Read more here

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