A prepper who relied on takeaways and shop-bought frozen meals now grows and preserves enough food to feed her family for four months - saving $2k-a-year.<br /><br />Cara Jones, 27, started researching about homesteading after feeling “out of control” during the pandemic.<br /><br />She slowly taught herself about methods to preserve food - such as canning - by watching YouTube videos.<br /><br />Now the mum-of-two has stocked up her pantry with canned fresh vegetables, flour and pre-made meals and says her stocks could last for up to four months.<br /><br />Cara estimates she saves $2k-a-year by prepping and now cooks meals from scratch for her husband Devon, 28, a truck driver, and their two children, aged two and three.<br /><br />Cara, a content creator, who lives near Chicago, Illinois, US, said: “In 2020 when everything was going on, everything felt out of control.<br /><br />“I’d rely on the stores.<br /><br />“We used to live a normal conventional life – eating fast food and frozen food.<br /><br />“I started watching YouTube videos and teaching myself about canning.<br /><br />“Now I can control what goes into our body. <br /><br />“I have enough food to last three to four months.”<br /><br />Cara used to go to the shops at least once a week and often relied on takeaways and fast food to feed her family.<br /><br />She used to think you could only become a homesteader if you owned acres of land and kept animals.<br /><br />But the mum started looking up canning tutorials and realised she could create a pantry in her basement and start growing some vegetables in her small garden in summer 2022.<br /><br />Cara said: “The first thing I canned was blueberry jam.<br /><br />“I realised I could can and buy stuff from local farmers.”<br /><br />Cara now mills her own flour, cans fresh vegetables and beans and stores it all in her basement.<br /><br />She said: “I have six shelves. I rotate the food out and use the oldest first.<br /><br />“I have juices, jams, flour and more.<br /><br />“My goal is to have enough for a year.”<br /><br />Cara grows tomatoes, green beans, strawberries, peppers and cucumbers in her small garden and gets her other fruit and vegetables from local friends.<br /><br />She buys half a cow for $600 from local farmers and said it lasts the family six months to a year.<br /><br />She also makes her own bread – instead of buying from the store.<br /><br />Cara said: “I save so much money.<br /><br />“It’s a lot cheaper.<br /><br />“I save a few thousand.”<br /><br />Cara “really enjoys” the process of cooking and canning and says her life is “so different” from before.<br /><br />She said: “I think a lot of people are scare to make the change.<br /><br />“I can show people what you can do in your situation. <br /><br />“I feel like in 2020 I felt I had no control. I’ve taken control back.”<br /><br />Cara now feels prepared for any situation – and knows she can always grab a pre-made meal in a can if she is ever stretched for time.<br /><br />She said: “People say I’m crazy.<br /><br />“But if something does happen everyone is rushing to the store.”<br /><br />Cara also said the change in diet and lifestyle has improved her children’s behaviour.<br /><br />She said: “It’s made a difference in my kids' behaviour.<br /><br />“Their behaviour is so much better."
