Homesteading for Gut Health: Ancestral Eating in the Modern World

Homesteading is making a major comeback. As more people embrace slow living, sustainability, and nutrient-dense foods, they’re looking to ancestral diets for clean food ideas that have supported optimal health for generations. While most of us aren’t heading out to churn butter or raise chickens, there’s a lot we can learn from homesteading traditions, especially when it comes to gut health.

Before ultra-processed foods and mass manufacturing took over, homesteading was the way of life. Our ancestors thrived on whole, unprocessed foods like organ meats, bone broth, and fermented vegetables. These timeless staples not only fueled their bodies but also supported their gut health in ways modern diets often miss.

Let’s explore how we can take the best homesteading practices and apply them in a modern way – no farm necessary.

What Does Homesteading Look Like in the 21st Century?

Homesteading isn’t just about owning land or growing food. It’s a mindset of self-sufficiency, traditional food preparation, and prioritizing real, whole foods over processed alternatives. In today’s fast-paced environment, it’s not realistic for most people to make everything from scratch, but you can embrace homesteading principles by choosing foods that nourish your gut the way nature intended.

Homesteading is all about simplicity and going back to basics, choosing foods rich in probiotics, healthy fats, and micronutrients. Think whole, unprocessed ingredients free from harmful additives, dyes, and chemicals. These foods work with your body, providing the nutrients you need without any of the junk you don’t.

Ancestral diets, the way our grandparents and great-grandparents ate, are a perfect example. Before processed snacks and fast food took over, meals were built around whole foods like fresh vegetables, meats, and fermented staples. These traditional eating habits offer a wealth of inspiration for modern clean eating.

Gut-Healthy Staples of a Homesteading Diet

Homesteading meals were simple but packed with powerful nutrients. Here are three foods from the ancestral diet that align with modern gut health needs:

1. Organ Meats: Nutrient-Dense Powerhouse

Liver, heart, and other organ meats were once prized parts of a homesteading diet. They’re packed with B vitamins, iron, and essential amino acids – nutrients that support digestion, energy levels, and brain function.

How to Add It

Mix ground liver into meatballs or burgers for an easy, mild introduction to organ meats. Looking for recipe inspo? Try our Nose-to-Tail Mini Meatloafs with Giardiniera

2. Bone Broth: Gut-Healing Gold

Homesteading households never wasted an animal. Bones were simmered for hours, creating a rich, collagen-filled broth that supports gut lining repair and reduces inflammation. It’s also packed with protein and healthy fats. Pro tip – the more gelatinous the better!

How to Add It

Sip on bone broth in the morning or use it as a base for soups and stews.

3. Fermented Vegetables: Nature’s Multivitamin

Fermentation was a homesteading necessity before refrigeration. People relied on fermenting veggies to keep food fresh, and lucky for them (and us), it has some pretty impressive gut-health benefits.

At Olive My Pickle we refer to ferments as nature’s multivitamin because they’re loaded with probiotics, enzymes, electrolytes, and vitamins that support digestion and boost immunity. Unlike pill and powder supplements, these living foods come with built-in good bacteria that helps your gut absorb nutrients better.

More on the health benefits of fermented foods: Are Dietary Supplements Better Than Fermented Foods and Top 7 Health Benefits of Fermented Foods

How to Add It

This can be as easy as taking a shot of LiveBrine Probiotic Pickle Juice, adding a forkful of sauerkraut to your meals, or enjoying a fermented pickle as a snack. With eight categories and 40+ options to choose from at Olive My Pickle, we promise you won’t get tired of eating ferments!

If you want more creative recipes and ideas check out our recipe library.

Homesteading and the Modern Gut-Health Movement

Our modern diets are often loaded with ultra-processed foods, artificial ingredients, and added sugars, contributing to a chronic disease epidemic. Homesteading principles offer a way to remove harmful toxins from your diet and replace them with nutrient-rich options. By focusing on real food, we can nourish our microbiome and restore balance in the gut.

Think of your gut as a garden: nutrient-dense foods are the rich soil and water that help it bloom, while processed foods are like weeds that choke its growth. By embracing an ancestral diet, you can reclaim your health from the inside out.

Simple Ways to Embrace Homesteading Without a Farm

Let’s be real for a second – the homesteading trend on social media can be triggering. It’s great that some people have the privilege and ability to embrace slow living, but for the vast majority it’s just not realistic. It doesn’t mean the rest of us can’t benefit from the wisdom and health benefits of ancestral diets.

Here’s 5 ways to bring homesteading into modern living:

Buy Local & Seasonal: Homesteading was all about using what was in season. Shop at farmers’ markets or join a CSA for fresh, nutrient-dense product.
Eat Nose-to-Tail: Waste not, want not! Using the whole animal may have been something our ancestors did for economic reasons, but organ meats and drinking bone broth are two of the most nutrient-dense foods on the planet!
Ditch Processed Foods: Stick to whole, minimally processed ingredients. Since processed foods started gaining popularity in the 1950’s, there has also been a rise in chronic disease.
Batch Cooking: The result of removing processed, convenience foods is preparing your own food at home. Prep meals in advance using these nutrient-dense foods, so clean eating feels easier throughout the week.
Incorporate Ferments: We could talk about this one for days! It can be something simple like a scoop of kimchi or a tablespoon of probiotic hot sauce with your meals. While we have several recipe roundups on our blog, we recommend starting with Creative Ways to Eat Fermented Foods with Every Meal.

When you prioritize probiotic-rich fermented foods, mineral-packed bone broth, and vitamin-dense organ meats, you’re feeding your microbiome exactly what it needs. These homesteading staples help restore balance, reduce inflammation, and improve digestion – without relying on synthetic supplements or processed health foods.

Homesteading for the Modern Gut

You don’t have to go off the grid or grow all your own food to embrace homesteading. The key is making small, intentional choices that bring ancestral diet principles into the way you eat. Every time you choose fermented pickles over store-bought probiotics, sip on bone broth instead of a sugary drink, or add liver to your meal, you’re taking a step toward better gut health.

So, while homesteading may be trending, its benefits are timeless. Your gut (and your taste buds) will thank you for getting back to basics!

Want to start incorporating these homesteading foods into your diet? Check out Olive My Pickle’s selection of fermented vegetables, probiotic-rich pickle juice, and gut-healthy snacks!

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