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Old news butt….
….still worth repeating. Studies show that “processed” meats are bad for you. Processed, in this case, is any meat that has preservatives or flavoring or coloring added. Bacon and sausage, the kind you generally buy in a supermarket or eat at a restaurant, are the prime offenders, of course. Here’s the report on the British study: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-21682779 We do love that British term, “fry up”. So well, in fact, that I plan to have one for lunch. Needless to say, but we’ll say it anyway, there are no additives of any kind in Thistle Hill sausages and bacon. For the observant, yes, the two “t’s” in the heading was intentional. …
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A Whole Foods spa….
….is in the works at a location somewhere in the Austin, Texas area. Whole Foods continues to try to find ways to extend its “brand” and now has decided to build a competitor to places like Canyon Ranch. Earlier, the company dabbled in wellness centers, but that didn’t work. Here’s a report on its latest marketing effort: http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/03/13/whole-foods-health-resort-canyon-ranch-pritikin/1985281/
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How many Paleo diet blogs are there….
….well, I’m old enough to remember when there were none. Of course, I’m old enough to remember just about everything. But there are a sufficient number, I see, that some organization even lists the Top 50 of the year. Here’s a new one and, just in time for the holiday, even features O’Cave Girl’s Irish stew. http://cavegirlcuisine.net/
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You’ll have to decide…
…whom to believe. The government and scientific establishment, of course, says “eat less red meat”. There are many dissenters though, and we’re in that camp, who think we should eat all the red meat we can. And all the fat, too! What’s strange is that just about all the research demonstrates that it’s sugar, which is linked to most of our health problems. And nothing pumps sugar into our cells more efficiently than carbohydrates. We worry constantly about air quality but reducing pollution has had no appreciable effect on cancer rates and heart disease. Sugar consumption, meanwhile, has soared in recent decades while the FDA and its pals in Big Food keep pointing our…
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A victory for the pure food movement….
….and unexpectedly. Whole Foods has just announced it will begin labeling all its products that are genetically modified. With four-fifths of the worlds corn and soybeans now GMO, we trust the company has budgeted enough for new labels. Just about any box on the shelf will need the alert, as well as most of the produce. We wonder if they’ll go so far as to put notices on their meat, too. The biggest consumers of genetically modified corn are cows. There’s a lot of Big Ag propaganda in the article (Monsanto never sleeps) but still the basic story is a major setback for the “don’t ask what it is, just…
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Roundtable: Can I make money selling grass fed beef (continued)….
We could call this Exhibit A in our discussion. Someone who is making money with a small grass fed beef farm. If you want to begin at the beginning, scroll down to the roundtable that featured four men with wide experience in all phases of grass fed beef marketing….local to national…operating solely or in combination with others. But, to see what a “practioner of the trade” would say about all this, we sought out Guille Yearwood of Ellett Valley Beef Company in southwest Virginia. Guille is both a pure bred Devon breeder and commercial cattleman and is a member of the board of the American Devon Cattle Association. Whether you’re…
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Look mom, no cavities!
One more “it’s good for you post”, then I’m taking the day off! Turns out grain not only has caused most of our health problems, it also is to blame for our bad teeth! http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/02/24/172688806/ancient-chompers-were-healthier-than-ours?ft=1&f=1001&buffer_share=e819f&utm_source=buffer
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A treat instead of a treatment….
….wasn’t that the old Camel slogan? In any event, that thought came to mind as I read the latest posting about the health benefits of grass fed beef. I sometimes wonder if we don’t overdo this wellness stuff to the detriment of consumer acceptance. After all, spinach has never been able to overcome the stigma of “eat it, it’s good for you” even with the help of Popeye! As always happens when we put out a new offering of meat, we get a spate of rave reviews. Everything from “my husband said that was the best roast we’ve ever had” to “my husband and I agree that was the best…
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Are food hubs part of the answer….
….we recently hosted a roundtable on the problems smaller producers face in marketing their grass fed beef. (see below, “Roundtable: Can I make money selling grass fed beef”) We were a bit surprised that farmers markets didn’t come up. Several cattlemen we know have tried them and generally found them useful in building a customer base. Eventually, they tired of the commitment, of being tied-down every weekend, and settled for marketing from their farm. A better solution might be so-called “Food Hubs”, which are really a higher octane version of farmers markets. They have legal structure, and financial underpinning, but again require a real commitment from the participants. By coincidence the USDA…
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From the kitchen….
….from time to time we try to bring you recipes that have stood the test of time. And this is a classic from Gracie Allen. Sorry, if you’re under the age of 60 you may not have heard of her but she was one of the great cooks of all time. Here is her classic recipe for roast beef: Gracie Allen Recipe for Roast Beef 1 large Roast of beef 1 small Roast of beef Take the two roasts and put them in the oven. When the little one burns, the big one is done. The man in the picture of course was her sous chef, George Burns.