According to a Mother Earth News story, “Supermarket beef is an unnatural, industrial product. The good news is there are better and safer options.” Okay, so if you shouldn’t eat industrialized meat, what should you do?
Healthy Meats: What to Buy
When I was a child, red meat was demonized. Everyone knew that eating well meant eating chicken — lots of chicken. “Heart healthy” cookbooks cropped up everywhere, each one full of the same advice. Of course, these days, science has shown us that the original lipid hypothesis — the idea that eating saturated fat and cholesterol leads to heart disease — is simply false.
Healthy Foods: What to Buy
Navigating the world of grocery stores, natural foods stores, co-ops, farmers markets, and farm stands can be intimidating. I’ve written on choosing the healthiest eggs, milk, cheese, and meats.
WINNER: Sausage Sampler PLUS COUPON
Thank you to everyone who entered last week’s giveaway for a sampler of all grass-fed beef sausages from U.S. Wellness Meats. More than 400 of you entered, plus there were an additional 200+ extra entries! So, if you didn’t win, don’t feel too bad. This was a HUGE contest. Apparently you folks are as addicted to sausage as I am.
GIVEAWAY: Grass-fed Sausage Sampler
Sausage is popular with my kids. To be honest, it’s one of my favorites as well. When I first made the switch to eating grass-fed beef and pastured pork, I was saddened to have so few sources of quality sausage. I could buy nitrate-free smoked pork sausage from the same local meat processor that butchered my cow every year, but that was about it.
Where was the Italian sausage? The liverwurst? Polish kielbasa? Salami? Heck, even hot dogs would have been nice for an occasional super-easy, kid-friendly meal.
Enter U.S. Wellness Meats. They, thankfully have it all. And to help you get familiar with their extensive line-up of sausages, they are giving away a sample pack of their sausages this week.
Decoding Supermarket Beef Labels
I buy my beef in bulk directly from a local rancher. But I remember the days before I lucked into my current freezer, the days when I had to buy beef at the supermarket. Reading and understanding the labels drove me batty.
Labels can make all sorts of vague claims — even claims that don’t seem vague. For nearly an entire year I periodically bought an “all-natural beef” that promised “no antibiotics EVER*” and “no growth hormones EVER*.” Then one day I got curious about those asterisks. I looked on the rest of the packaging to see what the asterisk referred to, but couldn’t find anything. So I asked the guy behind the butcher counter, and he found a pamphlet that comes with the pre-packaged beef. It turns out they were claiming they didn’t use antibiotics or hormones in the processing of the meat. You know, the process of butchering, cutting up, and packaging the meat for retail. What???!!!
I would have killed for a beef label decoder. That’s why I’m presenting you all with this one.
Burger Central Opens in Leander
Leander, TX has officially arrived. This Saturday, Burger Central celebrated its grand opening. What makes Burger Central so special? Quality.
All their burgers come from grass-fed cows that have been certified Animal Welfare Approved. The patties are hand-shaped and seasoned in the Burger Central kitchen, where they’re grilled to order. What’s not to love?
The Price of Real Food
The farmers I buy my pastured chickens from charges $3.25/lb for a whole chicken. The rancher I buy my pastured beef from charges around $3.80/lb for a butchered, processed, and packaged side of cattle.
To some, this seems expensive. Afterall, supermarket sales regularly sell chicken or beef for as little as a dollar per pound.
Yet, these are the same people who are willing to pay almost $10/lb for a box of breakfast cereal.
Saturday Morning Leander Farmer’s Market
Leander is not hip or trendy like our neighboring city Austin. The Texas capital city is a green, funky college town and home to celebrities like Sandra Bullock, Matthew McConaughey, and Lance Armstrong. We, on the other hand, are still mostly rural. Until two years ago, we didn’t even have our own grocery store.
But Leander, the place I call home, has officially moved up in the world. We now have a farmer’s market.
Organic Is Not Enough
Organic food. It sounds so safe. So wholesome. So good for the environment. So good for our health. Doesn’t it? At least until you realize that the Texas and Georgia peanut plants that were sending out salmonella riddled peanut butter also had federal organic certification.