Review: Perfect!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 05 20, 2014
When I was young, my mother was always a big advocate for freshly made, self-canned goods and always preached to my siblings and I that factory-canned and preserved foods are terrible, evil things that should be avoided at all costs. That being said, I didn't take her advice very seriously once I got my first apartment in my twenties. Who has time to make their own freaking jelly every month when you can grab it in five seconds at the grocery store? After a few years of living off of the typical crap that twenty-somethings live off of, I began feeling sluggish, bloated, and all around terrible, especially when I became pregnant. After a bit of convincing from my mom and eventually realizing how many unnecessary chemicals I was feeding to my baby, I decided to buy this book and began learning myself how the process of making and canning your own HEALTHY goods works, and let me tell you, I started feeling better right away!If you are considering learning how to can and preserve your own foods, let me just give you a few reasons why you absolutely should take it up!1.) Canned goods from the store contain tons of extra sugars, salts, and random chemicals that most of us have never even heard of. Just a tip, if you can't pronounce it, DO NOT eat it! By canning foods yourself, you can control EXACTLY what and how much goes into it.2.) Freshly made and canned goods just taste so much better! There really is an amazing difference between foods made in a factory and foods made with love in your own home.and the most important in my opinion,3.) Since my children were little, they have always loved jumping into the kitchen while I am preparing foods to be canned. It gives them something to look forward to every week and is an amazing activity for family bonding time. When they eventually move out on their own, not only will they have amazing childhood memories of being in the kitchen with their parents, but they will have a new life skill to pass on to their own children. (warning: the actual canning process is NOT safe for children. Let them help out in the process of preparing the food, but keep the hard stuff to the grown ups)Overall, this book was extremely helpful in teaching me how to can and preserve almost as well as my own mother did! The instructions were clear and simple, and made learning this valuable life skill a breeze! I would definitely recommend it to anyone and everyone!