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Thursday, July 29, 2010

Dehydrating and canning

We finally got our water bath canner and kit from amazon a week or so ago. I have not yet been able to play with it, Since my oldest daughter is loving canning!!! She has canned spaghetti sauce, applesauce, peaches and nectarines. We are loving these so much we are now saving up our swagbucks for the pressure canner. The water bath canner is really simple, Not much to it and what you get is awesome. For a great site to learn canning and with great picture tutorials go to www.pickyourown.org and go to the canning section. It has the greatest detail and information I could find. We are hitting the farmers market on Saturday morning to find more canning items. We are hooked. The great thing about having the canner and the dehydrator is nothing gets wasted and you control the ingredients. For the applesauce we used our blender and used everything except the core for the applesauce...even the skins. The cores we coated with lemon juice and saturated in cinnamon and are dehydrating for potpourri!!!! We also added the peach and nectarine pits to dehydrate for the potpourri. Our little minds are zooming with ideas and possibilites for Christmas and possibly making some extra money. Everyone starts somewhere right???
Getting into canning or dehydrating can seem expensive, There are alot of gadgets out there. You could invest a small fortune. But there are lots of things you can use from your own kitchen that can cut costs. Our goal for right now is just to get the pressure canner and the vacuum seal system. And of course the jars. Although I have a large stockpile of jars that I used the coupons from the last year in the newspapers, I can still use more I can see. I would love to can enough to get through the entire fall, winter and spring of the coming year. That would drastically reduce the grocery budget.
We recieved our vacuum sealer today in the mail from amazon.com. We had some fun today vacuum sealing our dehydrated squash and some rice. I see that this is going to be really useful for not wasting things making freezer meals and our dehydrated foods. We also found out that you can chip bags. I am having issues with my camera right now but hope to post pics soon.
I wanted to mention a site before I forget that I found a few days ago called www.vigilantcitizen.com It has some great info for those trying to get away from bad foods. You would be looking for the posts called Dumbing down society parts 1,2,3. It is very informative and a bit scary. We have been diligent in trying to rid our house and diets of Bad dyes, high fructose corn syrup, aspartame, msg and many other bad additives that contribute to my twins ADHD. I have noticed a huge difference in their behavior in just one month. We are hoping to make the drive to Tulsa Oklahoma (70 miles) at the end of this month to visit Whole Foods. Although I have not been doing too bad around our little town. Making our own foods with locally grown non gmo foods has been great, That will end soon with fall fast approaching and I would like to build my stockpile for the winter with good natural organic items.
Have a great week all and happy healthy eating, Michelle

6 comments:

ohiomom said...

If you have access to a produce auction in your area or close by, you should check it out. You can get amazing deals on large quantities of produce to can or freeze for later use.

frugalredneck said...

wow I have never heard of a produce auction, But I like the sound of it lol I am definetly going to check it out!!! Thanks michelle

Anonymous said...

I just love all the new, wonderful things you are doing. I love my dehydrator, the possibilities are endless. Canning, now I've tried it, but I dont have all the supplies and it is so much easier with the right equipment. You are definitely going about it the right way. I have found that there are great bushel buys at the farmers market towards the end of the season, great time to stock up for the winter months. Makes August busy but so worth it. Plus think of all the yummy, healthy baby food you can make!!!! I would (many years ago lol) freeze the vegetables after I processed them for my daughter and she had fresh, organic veggies all winter long. You are doing great Michelle, an inspiration to all.

-Jayce

frugalredneck said...

AWWWW you all make me feel so great and just when I need it too, I hope you all know I think the world of you and wish you all the best. TYTYTYTY Jayce and I might add that I used the coupon from last Sunday for ball or kerr canning equipt. and got the absolutleeeeeee cutest little jars ( just 4 to a pack) but only cost $1.97 for 4 after Q, to use for the baby food we will be making. I can't wait!!!! Thanks again Michelle

Jenn said...

I'm a firm believer that a balanced diet can certainly help or agitate a health condition...especially ADHD. My two step-son's are ADHD. Their mom has them on Ridlin but when they're with us in the summer, we restrict their diet, eliminate un-natural sugar, encourage healthy eating habits and they don't even need the meds.

BTW-Congrats on the canning & dehydrating projects. I've wanted to try dehydrating food for a while but never thought about making potpourri! ;D

frugalredneck said...

Jennifer, I totally agree about the diet, I can see it happening before my eyes.
Honestly when we first started dehydrating only a few months ago I had no idea all the things that you could dehydrate and make. Everyday I find new things. It really is amazing. In my next post I will give some links to some great blogs that have a ton of recipes and ideas!!! Michelle