Just Local Foods... An Excellent Resource for Locally Raised Meats

Now that the sun has remembered how to shine again, and the glaciers have receded from our garden beds, some of you might also be ready to transfer your meat from the crock-pot to the grill.  Burgers, brats, beer-can chicken anyone?

 

One of the pleasures of the Chippewa Valley for me is the ever-ready supply of sustainably-raised meat.  As the meat buyer for Just Local Food Cooperative, it is a privilege to work with so many thoughtful, intelligent, and passionate farmers--people who understand their land and resources, who allow their livestock to eat and be for the sake of the water, the soil, the herds and muddies, and for all of us omnivores who enjoy real food and food culture.  Knowing our producers, processors, and distributors, provides me peace of mind to make my own educated decisions and to select the finest (and sometimes most eccentric and traditional) cuts for our ever-expanding customer base--customers who want to make their own healthy and delicious decisions for themselves and their loved ones.

 

With this in mind, you can feel confident that the meat you buy at Just Local Food is of excellent quality.  No antibiotics or synthetic hormones, just access to pasture, sunshine, and necessary forages all the year round.  You name the cut, we probably have it in stock (although sometimes it is buried or I set it in a special place because I know who wants it) or, if we don't, just ask for Nik and I'll get you what you need when the next animal comes in.  Pastured chicken and turkey, grass-fed beef, buffalo, lamb, piles of heirloom pastured pork, elk, rabbit, wild sockeye, scallops, cod, trout, Lake Superior whitefish...fresh, smoked, or fermented--you name it, we sell it

 

Stop by today and ask about nose-to-tail eating in the Chippewa Valley.

 

 Just Local Food Cooperative

 

1117 South Farwell

Eau Claire, Wisconsin 54701

 

715.552.3366

 

Better yet, stop in and then go home with these delicious grilling recipes:

 

Marinated Beef (Buffalo, Lamb, or Venison) Steak

 

For your more economical (but more flavorful) steak selections, procure a sirloin, chuck-eye, flank, or skirt steak.  My personal favorite is the skirt (or diaphragm muscle) done up in a coconut-lime satay.

 

Marinade ingredients:

 

1 lime

 

¼ cup coconut milk

 

4 tablespoons soy sauce

 

3 cloves minced garlic

 

1 tablespoon grated ginger

 

1 teaspoon grated turmeric

 

Pepper (to taste)

 

Rinse meat and place in a glass dish.  Mix all marinade ingredients.  Pour marinade over meat.  Let rest two to three days in the refrigerator, turning daily.  One hour before cooking, remove dish from the refrigerator and bring to room temperature.  Sear meat in a greased cast-iron pan, or grill over an open fire.  Serve rare on a bed of your favorite salad.

 

Serbian Bacon Burgers

 

Ingredients:

 

1 pound ground beef

 

1 pound ground pork

 

3-4 strips uncooked bacon (coarsely chopped)

 

Your favorite aged cheese (coarsely chopped)

 

4-6 cloves garlic (minced)

 

Hungarian paprika (to taste)

 

Salt (to taste)

 

Pepper (to taste)

 

Mix meat, cheese, and garlic in a bowl, form patties and season liberally.  Sear in a greased cast-iron pan or grill over an open fire.  Serve with cabbage salad, pickled peppers, and beer.

Leave the RDA of Most Vitamins and Minerals Far Behind

All nutrients have been assigned an RDA, or recommended daily amount, by the government.  Many heavily processed foods will advertise that they contain 100% the amount of this vitamin or that mineral, which is really pretty silly since it comes from fortified nutrients which have much less bioavailability in the body. What most people don’t know is that the RDA is not a hard and fast number validated by science.  It is essentially an educated guess on the amount of a nutrient the body needs to avoid clear and obvious disease.

 

ENOUGH TO PREVENT OBVIOUS DISEASE

 

That does not mean anything even close top optimal levels of nutrients.  To compound matters, the average American’s diet is horribly nutrient deficient due to mass consumption of processed foods, fast foods and so called “health foods” like protein bars.  Optimal amounts of nutrients are often several times higher than the RDA.  Similar to the RDA the optimal range of a given nutrient is not the same from person to person but as a whole people are much healthier when they have higher levels of nutrients obtained from real foods.

 

EATING FOR CALORIES VS. EATING FOR NUTRIENTS

 

Much of the focus on diet is on calories in foods.  While this is certainly useful in some cases emphasis on eating for nutrient value tends to result in much higher consumption of healthy foods.  For example, if I were trying to eat a meal that is 800 calories I could accomplish this in one fell swoop by eating pretty much any fast food sandwich.  That 800 calories would consist of mostly refined carbohydrate (bun), sodium and numerous other preservatives (meat and bun), and fat from the meat and left over from the cooking process.  There may be some nutrient value in any fresh veggies on the sandwich but overall the amounts will be fairly insignificant.  With that same 800 calories I could also consume a mixed green salad with extra virgin olive oil, sea salt, ground black pepper, oregano and some chopped free range and nitrate free turkey deli meat.  Add in a hand full of mixed raw nuts and an apple and you are looking at about the same amount of calories but look at the difference in nutrient value.  You don’t need a doctor to tell you the second meal is a much better one for you in terms of eating for nutrient value. 

 

Getting significantly more nutrients out of your diet is not hard but it does require you being to turn away from packaged and fast foods. It also requires eating fresh food, especially greens, other veggies (not potatoes), fruits and raw nuts.  Good, high quality meats are a great protein source.  Free range, grass fed animals provide the most nutrient dense meat.  Shifting your diet towards this style of eating will significantly raise the amount of health promoting nutrients entering your body and leave the RDA’s for most nutrients far behind.

 

Anti-Depressants Capable of Causing Instant Death?

New research in the British Medical Journal has added a new anti-depressant drug to a list of anti-depressants known to cause sudden death in patients.  The research indicates that it causes an increase in the length of the Q-T interval of the heart beat. 

The Drugs Change The Heart Rhythm!

Possibly the worst part of all this is that so far there are no indicators of being susceptible to this phenomenon.  An apparently healthy person could increase their dosage of any of these drugs and just drop over dead.  This is scary and the list of drugs is growing.  For more on the list of drugs that can cause sudden death go here...

http://www.naturalnews.com/040433_antidepressants_sudden_death_drug_list.html


Larger The Dose, Larger The Risk

It appears that the larger the dose the more risk a patient assumes.  It is also apparent that a sudden increase in dosage can also trigger the change in heart rhythm.  It should be noted that although it does not happen in a large number of people, it happens enough that people should know it is a possible side effect of a drug they may be taking.

Ouch!! Zing Subway!!

Just found this article and it validates what I have been yapping about for the last 2 years that fast food is fast food.  None of its good for you and Jared and Subway are pulling your leg (and the dollars from your wallet) by telling you Subway is any better than any other restaurant.

Click this link  http://news.yahoo.com/breaking-subway-just-unhealthy-mcdonald-185710202.html  to read all about it.  Yes its one study but you know the numbers are the same across the board at these restaurants.  The think I found most sickening was the "health halo" comment.  Basically that means if you think you are at a healthy restaurant you will pay less attention to what you are ordering and end up eating more bad stuff. 

The simple fix?  Don't eat fast food.

Maca Smoothie

Maca Smoothie

1 cup blueberries

¼ cup cranberries

2 tablespoon chia seeds, soaked

1 tablespoon red maca powder

1 tablespoon spirulina powder

½ cup chocolate almond milk

1 cup filtered water

 

Blend all ingredients in blender until smooth.

 

*for more healthy, tasty recipes please join the e-updates list in the box to the right of this post.

Hamburger Skillet with Leeks

This meal served me well last night when, in a time crunch, I needed something good and I needed it quick!  I suggest cutting the veggies first so the garlic and onion get some air exposure and then adding the meat to the pan and browning it completely before adding the veggies for a short while before serving.  Enjoy!

 

1lb ground beef or venison

1 large onion, chopped

1 large leek, chopped

1 large garlic clove, chopped

1 tablespoon turmeric powder

1 table spoon REAL salt

1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

3 tablespoons butter or coconut oil

 

In a large pan add butter or oil and heat to medium.  Add meat and cook until no pink remains.  Add veggies and cook, stirring continuously, for 3-4 minutes.  Veggies should still be crisp when done cooking.  Add turmeric, salt and pepper and stir to blend.  Serve over a mixed green salad.

 

 

Did you like this post? Share it with a friend! Friends love good food.

 

Why Would a Chiropractor Care About Cooking?

A common first reaction I get to the cooking chiropractor is curiosity over why a chiropractor would care about cooking.  I can’t tell you how many people have looked at a flyer or recipe card and said something like “I never really thought about a doctor teaching people how to cook.”  Honestly it makes perfect sense. Let me explain.

 

Chiropractic care focuses primarily on restoring proper function of the joints and muscles of the spine.  When muscles are injured they get tight and sore.  This prevents the joints that the muscles are attached to through tendons from moving normally which leads to pain and stiffness.  If normal movement of the joints is impeded enough then pressure on the nerves exiting the spine occurs which can lead to weakness, numbness, tingling and burning pain as well as shooting pain in the legs or arms.

 

Part of injury to any area of the body is inflammation.  When the muscles in the spine are inflamed due to injury they take time to heal and your chiropractic treatment plan is designed to cover this time of healing.  However, what if your body is unable to heal properly because of underlying inflammation caused by your diet?  In that case it is unlikely your body will be able to fully recover until you fix the problems in your diet no matter how often you are adjusted.

 

I have seen people who cut wheat out of their diet see arthritis and other chronic back pain suddenly respond much better to chiropractic care that before had only helped them feel somewhat better when they came in consistently over a period of weeks.  Diet influences overall inflammation levels of the body and inflammation levels of the body determine how effective our natural healing process works.

 

Chiropractic care is great for taking care of headaches, backaches, numbness, tingling and other injuries.  Changing your diet can also help dramatically reduce headaches, general achiness, joint problems and much more.  Imagine how the two combined could influence your health.