Sometimes I’m hesitant to share pictures or videos of hunting because in the back of my mind I feel somewhat guilty.  It has a different feel to me than fishing (which to most might sound silly) but, I LOVE animals.  I always have and I always will.  I have grown up with dogs, cats, birds, hamsters, a pet goat, pet squirrels, turtles, fish, and MORE!  When I was a kid, I dreamt of being a veterinarian or something involved with helping animals and being in nature.  My heart adores being outside in nature, exploring new places, creating adventures and being surrounded by animals.

But, another aspect of my life that I’m extremely passionate about is health and fitness.  I am always wanting to learn something new to benefit your health, cook a nutritious meal, learn new workouts and just overall treat my body with love.  That being said, I love harvesting our own meat whether that is from hunting or fishing. To be honest….and I mean this….I’ve probably only bought processed meat from the grocery store MAYBE 10-20 times in the last 4-5  years….not kidding.  BUT…another thing to be said about that was before I was fishing as much as I am now and before I hunted….I went over 2 years….almost 3 without eating meat and little seafood.  So, it’s different for me because I don’t feel the need to have meat that often.  I really don’t eat meat at all unless it’s meat that myself or Mack has harvested.  Unless we go out for a morning biscuit then I’ll splurge and if I’m heading over to grandmoms house…I’ll eat anything she makes without hesitation 🙂   It’s all about moderation and also about doing what makes you feel best when you’re in control of your meals at home.  If someone is cooking for us, I’ll eat anything they serve 🙂  When I’m in control is when I like to be super fresh, clean and all that jazz.

As y’all know, we LOVE fishing and hunting. And it’s not always just the sport that we love but really the whole experience. Being on the boat with the dogs in the warm sun (or sometimes freezing, windy, rainy storms 🙂 ) , exploring new places, meeting new people, catching fish, creating new recipes, and more.  We love it ALL.  And the same goes with hunting. 

I feel like people sometimes have a misconception over hunters. I won’t go too deep into this topic but I do think there is a lot to be said for this.  I would never hunt to just kill something. I have learned so so much about the food industry in the last 10 years of my studies and I am not a fan of the entire process.  Buying raw meat from the grocery store can have a lot of side effects.  It can be infected, filled with antibiotics, mislabeled, filled with chemicals and bacteria and a lot more.  And not to mention….how horrible the animals are treated at most of the factory farms.  If you know a little bit about it then you understand what I’m trying to say.  The way an animal is treated and lives its overall life will play a HUGE role in their body, meat, etc.  The food industry seems to pay as much money as possible to hide all their secrets to selling meat in all conditions.  I understand in our modern world today…it would be hard for feeding a family, working a full time job, and living our lives without buying meat from the grocery store….if you want to eat meat.  Times have changed and we aren’t farm to table anymore.

Ever since I started really hunting a lot more, I’ve learned a tremendous amount about the dangers of the overpopulation of certain species of animals and how it can truly effect our ecosystems. Animal overpopulation occurs when an ecosystem is unable to support the existing wildlife because there are too many of a given species.  This truly can be a problem for deer in our area and specific birds as well.  Also, hunters are limited on what species they can target, the sex of the animal, how many they can kill and more.  So it’s not like they are wiping out a population of something but more or less helping create a healthy number for the species due to a hunters regulation.  Fishing and Hunting is extremely extremely limited….especially these days!

So, enough on that. Everyone has their opinions and everyone has their way of life.  I love animals and I love health and fitness and I’d rather try to harvest my own meat as much as possible than support some of this big industry manufactures.  I also feel that my body feels nourished and lighter because I try my absolute best to feed it clean ingredients. That’s why I felt inclined to share with you a few recipes with the deer meat we harvested from my deer last December! We ate some super fresh and then froze the rest of it and it fed us so many wonderful meals throughout the year!  Like I said above….I truly don’t eat that much meat.  So for me, personally, being able to harvest our own meat is a lot more sustainable because I don’t eat that much “meat” in general.  Enjoy the recipes 🙂  Cheers!

Venison Sausage & White Bean Soup

Ingredients

• 1 pound Venison sausage
•  1 large vidalia onion, diced
• 3 carrots, chopped
•  2 garlic cloves, minced
•  1 tablespoon Italian Seasoning Blend
•  5 cups chicken stock
•  2 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes
•  1 15.5 ounce can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
•  1 cup small cut pasta
•  2 cups baby spinach
•  Grated parmesan cheese, for serving

Directions

• First, get your venison sausage sizzling up and cooking in a pan.
• Once the venison is cooked, take it off the pan and chop it into bite size pieces and set it aside.
• Grab a big pot for the soup and then add your onions. Cook the onions until translucent, approximately 4-5 minutes. Add the garlic, cooking for one minute until fragrant.
• Stir in the Italian seasoning, the tomatoes, beans, sausage and chicken stock. Add the pasta and bring the soup to a boil. Cook for 6-7 minute or until the pasta is al dente.
• Stir in the spinach. Serve immediately topped with parmesan cheese.

Fried Venison Biscuit

Fry you up some deer meat, make some biscuits, and cook up some eggs!  And yes, this is a homemade cheddar cheese biscuit 🙂 One of my momma’s fool proof recipes that is so simple but extremely delicious!  Let me know if y’all want that recipe! 🙂  

This could possibly be the best biscuit on the planet.  It especially felt that way when we made them one morning after a long and cold morning of Duck Hunting!  Between Mack and Brandon….I don’t think we had any leftovers, haha! Sooooo good!

Grilled Venison, Lemon Garlic Potatoes & Roasted Asparagus

Mack grilled up the venison with some montreal steak seasonings and it was extremely tender, juicy and delicious!  I made these homemade lemon garlic potatoes that are my favorite way to cook golden taters!  And who doesn’t love roasted asparagus with some meat and potatoes! Mmmmmmm 🙂 So good!

I’d love to hear from y’all on this topic and your thoughts on harvesting your own meat.  I know it might not be sustainable for everyone due to their busy filled lives but we absolutely try out best.  We aren’t perfect and we are blessed living on the water and fishing not only being one of our favorite hobbies but also part of the way we make a living.  So, it’s at our fingertips.  I eat a lot of fruit, vegetables and healthy grains and legumes to go alongside our meat and it makes me feel good.  If you love any of our recipes or are inspired by this post…please let me know!  Share it or tag me on instagram or Facebook!  I love to see y’all making everything! 🙂  Cheers!