The Nourishing Gourmet

Nourishing. Satisfying. Gourmet.

Beef

5 reasons to buy grassfed beef (and where to buy it for less)

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Benefits of grassfed beef

Grassfed beef isn’t just for hipsters; It’s for anyone who values health. As one of the steps to a healthy diet, I recommend switching to grassfed beef if possible. Yes, any beef is going to be a good source of protein, and important minerals and vitamins, but grassfed beef has some really important advantages (and I’ll tell you how to buy it for a good price too).

After you read these benefits, you may want to cook some beef right away! Check out this recipe for Mini Meatloaves with links to other beef-centered recipes that are wonderful with grassfed beef.

Grassfed beef has more omega-3 fatty acids

We hear a lot about omega-3 fatty acids, and for good reason! It’s an essential nutrient that our bodies can’t make, so we need to get it from our food. Research has shown that this important nutrient is helpful for preventing depression (including post-partum), schizorenia, hyperactivity, and even Alzheimer’s disease. It reduces inflammation and may lower your risk for everything from heart disease, cancer, and arthritis. Because omega 3 fatty acids are highly concentrated in the brain, it is also likely that getting enough omega-3 fatty acids are crucial for memory and proper brain function. Babies who do not get enough in the womb are more at risk for developing vision and nerve problems, and a rat study suggested that diets high in omega 6 fatty acids during pregnancies could leave to higher risks of breast cancer for several generations after (even when on a healthy diet after born).

Common symptoms of an omega-3 deficiency include fatigue, poor memory and/or circulation, heart problem, depression, poor growth in children and infants, getting infections easily, poor wound healing, and mood swings.

All to say, omega-3 fatty acids are very important for our health, and I think one of the greatest benefits to grassfed beef is the fact that it has such a higher amount of omega 3-fatty acids. Grassfed beef can have anywhere from double to quadruple the amount of omega-3 fatty acids in comparison to feedlot or grain finished beef. The more days a cow spends eating grain and not grass, the more omega-3 content it will lose. The reason is simple; cows turn the chloroplasts of green grass into omega-3’s. Take them away from it, and they won’t be producing it anymore.

Grassfed beef is a good source of vitamin E

A vitamin we don’t always hear as much about is vitamin E, but it’s also an important, vital vitamin we all need. It has been linked to helping memory for moderately severe Alzheimer’s disease patients, helping alleviate painful menstruation and PMS in some women, and it could also help some types of liver disease, male infertility, Rheumatoid arthritis, and many other ailments.

As always, getting our vitamins in food form is the best, and grassfed beef is a good source of vitamin E, with a significantly higher amount of vitamin E than grain finished beef.

Grassfed beef is an excellent source of CLA

CLA (Conjugated linoleic acid) is a PUFA that has been linked to helping prevent diabetes, cancer, and heart disease. And while beef is a good source, grassfed beef is one of the best sources of it; with double or triple the amount of CLA in comparison to grain fed beef. Dairy is also a source – including butter! Just another reason to buy butter from pastured cows! I loved this tidbit that Jo Robinson shared on her website Eatwild.com,

“Researcher Tilak Dhiman from Utah State University estimates that you may be able to lower your risk of cancer simply by eating the following grassfed products each day: one glass of whole milk, one ounce of cheese, and one serving of meat. You would have to eat five times that amount of grain-fed meat and dairy products to get the same level of protection.”

That’s pretty amazing!

Don’t be fooled though – some studies have shown that supplements of CLA had a negative impact on health, instead of a positive. Once again, getting what we need from our food is the best way to go.

Grassfed beef is more nutritious overall

A good general rule with grassfed beef is that it’s simply higher in most nutrients, whether you look at zinc, vitamin A, potassium, or many other nutrients. That’s pretty exciting to me. Whenever I can put the same dish in front of my family and know that there is a higher amount of bodybuilding, health-promoting nutrients on their plate, I am thrilled. I find I feel that even more when feeding children, as their bodies need good nutrition to grow, but they tend to be a little picky. I love it that each bite of meat counts for more when I fed them grassfed beef.

Turning land back into pasture (for raising grassfed cattle and other ruminants) can heal our soil

A huge problem in our country is the health of our soil. If our health starts in our gut, our environment’s health starts in the soil. But land can be revived and healed again, just like the body can. And turning land back into pastures of perennial grasses is a great way to do it. While common crops like wheat and corn strip the soil of nutrients, grasses actually build up the healthy organic matter in our soil. Buying grassfed beef helps ensure that our soil is getting renewed for a better future.

Where to buy grassfed beef

Cheapest way I’ve found to buy grassfed beef is buying it from a local farmer in bulk. I love that I get all of my cuts of beef for such an amazing prize! (Generally around 3-4 dollars in our area).

Getting in touch with your local Weston A Price Chapter group often gives you great resources, as one of the main goals for the groups is resource sharing. They will be able to give you information on where to find food items like grassfed beef in your local area, and some groups even organize buying shares of cows together.

In my area, I often see grassfed meat being sold at farmers markets. This will generally be much more expensive than when buying in bulk, but works out great for those without much freezer space. It’s also a great place to make connections to local farmers and see if they offer quarter shares of cows for less. Check for local farmers markets here.

But even using Craig’s List can help you make connection with local farmers. I checked there while writing this post, and was pleased to find a nearby farmer selling 100% grassfed beef for a little over $3 a pound when bought in bulk. (Please use common sense and due diligence when using public forums such as Craig’s list).

And finally, there are several online stores where you can purchase grassfed beef. I know that not everyone is surrounded by nearby farms where you can buy grassfed beef, so this is a great resource for some. I asked some of my real food blogging friends what companies they recommended, and my affiliate Tendergrass Farms was a top recommendation. They bring together many farmers to able to offer not only grassfed beef, but pastured chicken and “better than organic” pork. Check them out!

Sources: 

http://www.mnn.com/food/healthy-eating/blogs/did-your-grandmothers-diet-increase-your-risk-for-cancer

Why Grass-Fed Trumps Grain-Fed


http://www.eatwild.com/healthbenefits.htm
http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/othernuts/omega3fa/
http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-954-VITAMIN%20E.aspx?activeIngredientId=954&activeIngredientName=VITAMIN+E

How to Make Mini Meatloaves (healthy, paleo, and allergen-friendly)

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Mini Meatloaves that are grain, dairy, and egg-free and super simple to make! Kids love them.

Moist and flavorful, these uber simple mini meatloaves are a quick and easy dinner that is greatly enjoyed around here – especially when served with baked fries and homemade ketchup!

Using coconut flour instead of bread crumbs make this meatloaf recipe grain-free (and egg and dairy-free!) and even easier to make than the typical version. I love having easy dinner recipes, and this is definitely one of them. I am a firm believer in having a list of simple dinners that you can easily make, but are nutritious and welcomed by your family. It’s a great way to keep on track in feeding your family well, a help in keeping within your food budget, and important for making  real food realistic.

When buying meat from the store, and not in bulk directly from a farmer, grassfed beef can get really expensive. (Look for an upcoming post on the benefits of grassfed beef.) Ground beef is almost always the most frugal choice, and so I like recipes, – like this one – to help keep our food budget low. Meatloaf is known as a frugal main dish, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t delicious!

Here are a couple other easy and inexpensive dinners using beef:

When grassfed beef is bought directly from farmers, it is generally very lean, and thus, is very easy to use in recipes like this. We’ve eaten up our ¼ of a cow from a local farmer, so I’ve been buying my meat from a local store. Their grassfed beef is 20% fat (I assume because they process some of the fat with the meat when making it). If you use fatty ground beef, you will have a lot of drainage during the cooking process, but that’s okay. It’s very easy to simply leave all the drained fat behind, as once cooked, you can lift the mini meatloaves right out of the pan, and the fat is left behind. Just be forewarned that your mini meatloaves will shrink a lot!

To make this even more nutritious, you can hide some ground liver in the meat for the meatloaf. (It sounds gross to some, but is hardly noticeable in taste). I also have a planned post on that topic in the upcoming weeks!

A word about coconut flour: They can absorb moisture differently. I’ve been using Let’s Do Organic’s coconut flour lately, just because it’s widely available. (They are also available here at my affiliates Amazon and Vitacost. If you aren’t up to making your own ketchup, you can also find organic and corn syrup-free ketchups there – Vitacost has a lot of options.) You may need to adjust the recipe slightly when using other brands of coconut flour. If it seems too dry, just add a little milk, or more ketchup. If it seems a little too wet, add a bit more coconut flour. Meatloaf is very forgivable, thankfully, so any little adjusting you need to do should be fine.

How to Make Mini Meatloaves (healthy, paleo, and allergen-friendly)
 
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I’ve made this a couple different ways. Sometimes I’ll grate about ½ a small onion and add it to the mix. That’s delicious too, and adds a bit more moisture.
Ingredients
  • 1 ¼ pounds ground beef (grassfed, lean beef preferred)
  • 2 teaspoon prepared yellow mustard
  • ½ cup homemade ketchup (or best quality you can find/buy)
  • 1 teaspoon unrefined salt
  • 2 tablespoons coconut flour
  • ½ teaspoon each dried thyme, oregano, and basil (or 1 ½ teaspoon of Italian Seasoning)
  • 1 large garlic clove, peeled and finely minced or put through a garlic press
Instructions
  1. Put rack in middle of oven and preheat oven to 425F.
  2. Put aside half the ketchup, and dump ¼ cup of it, and the rest of the ingredients in a medium bowl, and mash together with your hands. Divide into 12 balls and press into a muffin tin (if you are working with very lean meat, oil the pan before, but with most ground beef you don’t need to worry about it sticking because of the fat content).
  3. Divide the rest of the ketchup over the top of the meatloaves, and spread evenly.
  4. Place in the oven and cook for 20- 25 minutes, or until no longer pink in the middle. Remove from pan and serve.
  5. Serve 2 to 3 per person.

 

7 Layer Mexican Dip (Healthy, Paleo, and Dairy-free)

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7 layer mexican dip (grain-free, dairy-free)

“Mmmmmmmmmm”, my three year old, intones while dipping into her 7 layer dip. With flavorful Mexican beef, salsa, olives, homemade guacamole, and a smokey bacon, mushroom, and red pepper layer, our children hardly felt deprived while they enjoyed their meal. In fact, they thanked me many times for making this Mexican layered dip! They could have cared less that it was healthy – they just knew they liked it. (We love Mexican inspired dishes, including Mexican Quinoa Bowls, Mexican Roasted Potatoes, and tacos too!)

This dip is lovely for a casual meal, party food, or for enjoying during the Superbowl.

I wanted to share this recipe as part of the 21 steps to a nourishing diet series as I think it’s an excellent example of how a nourishing diet isn’t at all about what you take out, but instead what you put in. When we make meals such as above, we leave feeling satisfied in every way. We feel well nourished, our delight in food was satisfied, and we feel that proper boost of energy that comes from enjoying good food. This is the goal for our eating habits. Yes, there may be some struggle to retrain our taste-buds in certain recipes (at first, I didn’t always enjoy unrefined sweeteners, for example, now I don’t really like “normal desserts”), but many times, our main dish meals are just so great, that it’s no adjustment at all.

The great thing about a dip like this, is that you can make as many layers as you want, and vary it to desire. For example, while this one is a “paleo” version, you certainly can make homemade refried beans, add some cooked Mexican flavored black beans, use a good quality sour cream, or shredded cheese, or make it simpler with only 3-4 layers of your favorite layers. The point is, it’s as flexible as you need it to be.

There is also a give and take with how much time you are willing to invest into making it. This took me about 45 minutes to make. If I didn’t make the lovely bacon/vegetable layer, it would have been shorter. If I was really wanting to go all out, I could have made dairy-free sour cream, and homemade salsa too.

A word about what to use to dip with: The rest of my family used organic blue chips. I was amused to see my children eat less chips than normal as they were so focused on eating the delicious 7 layer dip.  I used crisp endive leaves (just gently rinse and pat dry before serving), and it was delightful. If you have a little extra time, you can always make some paleo chips (examples: Almond flour chips , vegetable chips, or Plantain Chips ).

I chose to put this in a fancy serving bowl, but using a glass casserole dish is also perfect for layering. I personally prefer to buy borosilicate glass pieces, as it generally breaks into large pieces, instead of shattering into millions of pieces, so I think it’s safer. Amazon carries several brands of, including Simax (#affiliate link) which fits the bill.

7 Layer Mexican Dip (Healthy, Paleo, and Dairy-free)
 
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Recipe type: Main Dish or Appetizer
Serves: 8
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Easily adaptable, fun, and loved by all ages, this is a favorite in our household.
Ingredients
  • Layer one: Mexican Ground Beef (see recipe card below)
  • Layer two: 1-2 cups thinly sliced Romaine heart (see video demonstration on easy way to wash)
  • Layer three: 1½ cups of salsa (can be homemade, but I used a sugar-free, organic store-bought brand)
  • Layer four: 6 ounces of olives, sliced or quartered
  • Layer five: Chunky Guacamole (see recipe card below)
  • Layer six: Smokey Bacon and Vegetables (see recipe card below)
  • Layer seven: Chopped Cilantro
Instructions
  1. In a large saucepan, make the Mexican ground beef according to directions below, Set aside beef, and put hot water in the pan to deglaze, Scrap off any browned bits, and rinse off.
  2. Make the Smokey Bacon and Vegetable layer next in the same pan, making the Guacamole while the vegetables are cooking.
  3. In a clean casserole dish, or dish of choice, layer the ingredients. We like this best when the beef and bacon layers are still a little warm. If chilling, make sure you have drained the beef and the vegetable/bacon layer of extra fat well (fat will congeal once chilled). Enjoy!

Chunky Mexican Guacamole
 
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This is my favorite method of making guacamole! Adjust the flavors at the end with salt and lime to make it just perfect.
Ingredients
  • 2 large or 4 small ripe Hass avocados
  • ¼ cup finely chopped red onion (for an especially mild guacamole, use 2 tablespoons)
  • 1 large garlic cloves, finely minced or put through a garlic press
  • ¼ bunch of cilantro, washed, and finely chopped
  • ½ teaspoon of unrefined salt, or to taste
  • 1 lime (I use one half, normally)
Instructions
  1. Cut the avocados in half, take out the pit, and scoop into a medium bowl. Smash with a fork or with a clean meat mallet.
  2. Stir in the onions, garlic, cilantro, salt, and the juice from half of a lime.
  3. Adjust flavors with salt or lime juice, as needed.
  4. Enjoy!

Smokey Bacon Mushrooms and Red Peppers
 
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Ingredients
  • 4 slices of smoked bacon
  • ⅓-1/2 pound white mushrooms
  • 1 large red pepper
Instructions
  1. Cook the bacon in a large pan over medium, to medium-high heat. Flip frequently to cook evenly, until crisp and well done. Remove from pan.
  2. Meanwhile, trim the stems of the washed mushrooms, and chopped into small pieces. Seed and chop the red pepper.
  3. Once the bacon is cooked, leave about 2 tablespoons of the hot grease in the pan, and add the peppers and mushrooms. Cook for about 7 minutes, stirring here and there, or until the vegetables are soft and starting to brown. Crumble the bacon back in. If there is any extra grease, drain, otherwise taste, and salt, if needed, and sprinkle with lime juice, if desired.

Mexican Ground Beef
 
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This simple recipe is flavorful and delicious without a specialty seasoning packet (which is often filled with unsavory ingredients).
Ingredients
  • 1 pound of ground beef, grassfed beef preferable
  • 3 medium garlic cloves, finely minced or put through a garlic press
  • 1 teaspoon each ground cumin and dried oregano
  • ½ teaspoon unrefined salt
  • 1 lime
Instructions
  1. In a large pan, over medium-high heat, cook the beef, garlic, cumin and oregano, stirring frequently, until cooked (the meat will no longer be pink). If using grassfed beef, it often will not have much fat drippings, but if it does, drain.
  2. Salt, and sprinkle the juice of half the lime. Taste-test, and adjust with more salt and lime juice, as needed.