Posted by Megan Baugh on Sun, Aug 29, 2010 @ 04:16 AM
September 2010 marks the 10th anniversary for US Wellness Meats! It's been quite the ride and we've enjoyed talking to and meeting our customers over the years! In that time the knowledge and popularity of sustainable, grass-fed meat has grown substantially. As a thank you to all of our great customers we're having specials and giveaways all month! If you're not already signed up for the newsletter, be sure to do that right away so you don't miss out!
Our first giveaway is a package of our 10 favorite products for our 10th anniversary! The package includes:
Now that's a great package of grass-fed goodness! Do you want it? If so, post a comment below. You can say anything...what you like about grass-fed products, how they've changed your life, share your favorite product...anything! The winner will be randomly chosen on Friday, September 3rd, so the comment cutoff is midnight CST on September 2nd, 2010. The winner will be announced in the newsletter on Sunday, September 5th. Also in that newsletter will be the announcement for the next giveaway.
The prize can only be shipped within the United States and Puerto Rico (Alaska and Hawaii included!).
Don't forget that the whole month of September is packed full of giveaways. It'll be something different every week!
Thank you for being a vital part of growing our family business!
Posted by Megan Baugh on Wed, Aug 25, 2010 @ 03:07 PM
It's about time to pack up the grill for the season and move the cooking indoors. Oh, who am I kidding? We grill ALL year long! Since we grill so much we're always coming up with new recipes! Try this simple twist for delicious bbq burgers!
1 lb. grass-fed ground beef
1 free-range egg
3 Tbsp. BBQ sauce
1/4 cup cheddar cheese, grated
1/4 cup onion, diced
Mix all ingredients together. Form into 3 or 4 patties. Preheat grill to medium high. Place patties on grill until done, turning only once.
Enjoy these tangy, moist and delicious burgers!
Posted by Megan Baugh on Tue, Aug 10, 2010 @ 10:39 AM
Do you have a great recipe that you want to share? If so, enter our Blue Ribbon Recipe Contest! The recipe needs to contain at least one US Wellness Meats ingredient, which can be any product we offer...nuts, olive oil, tallow, dried fruit, meat....anything! The contest ends at midnight CST on August 24th, so enter today! Click here for full details and to enter the contest! Good luck!
UPDATE: The winner has been chosen! Congratulations to Mark C. who takes the top prize for his Mustard-Garlic Grilled Beef Skewers! Also, an honorable mention goes to Sarah D. for her Oatmeal Gogi Berry Cookies!
Posted by Megan Baugh on Mon, Aug 02, 2010 @ 12:00 PM
Pemmican is a concentrated mixture of fat and protein used as a nutritious food. The word comes from the Cree word pimîhkân, "pemmican", which itself is derived from the word pimî, "fat, grease". It’s a recipe that was developed by North American Indians in which lean meat from large game, such as buffalo, elk, or moose, was sliced and dried in the sun or in the smoke of a fire, then ground into powder using rocks. The meat powder was sometimes mixed with available berries and then put into a rawhide bag. After that, melted fat was added to the mixture to complete the recipe. During the fur trade of the 18th and 19th centuries, pemmican was dietary mainstay. It was also heavily relied upon by European explorers as they ventured through North America.
General information:
Pemmican does not need to be cooked or heated. Some prefer the firmer consistency when the bars are pulled directly from the freezer and allowed to thaw for 5-15 minutes. Other customers eat the bars at room temperature. It just comes down to individual preference. Pemmican consists of a blend of tallow (40%) and beef jerky (60%). Our pemmican is offered with or without dried cherries and raw honey. Dried cherries are added as a natural preservative and additional energy is obtained from honey. Pemmican was--and still is--a wonder food.
John’s thoughts on Pemmican:
I consume one pemmican bar nearly every morning to start the day. I pull it from the freezer and score the package on 3 sides with a sharp knife. After 15 minutes at room temperature it is perfect for consumption. The bars will get quite soft at 80 degrees and a bit mushy but may be re-frozen. Consuming one before workouts is a good method of adding fuel for workouts. One bar post-workout is also good nutrition management for tissue repair.
General thoughts on Pemmican:
For some of our customers, pemmican is a novelty to try. For others, the Pemmican becomes a staple of their everyday diet for a natural, healthy source of energy. If your palate is ready to enjoy real, unprocessed flavors, we think you will find the pemmican satisfying. Many of our customers, especially trainers and athletes, absolutely love our pemmican to the brink of addiction.
Bars vs. Pails:
The bulk Pemmican packs contain 40 bars. Another option is the Pemmican pails. Some customers buy the pails and make their own "bars" by forming the pemmican in various sizes on wax paper. Then, the Pemmican is re-frozen and a variety of sizes are available (even snack size pemmican bars!) when quick energy boosts are needed.
Pemmican Storage:
Your preference for storage will determine the pemmican's shelf life. We suggest the following storage guidelines to our customers: store in the freezer for years, store in the refrigerator for months and keep it out on a 10-day hiking trip un-refrigerated without any concern. Keep in mind the Indians had no refrigeration. The “keep frozen” label is a requirement by the USDA since they are unfamiliar with pemmican and we do not use additives or preservatives. Also, pemmican pails will keep in the fridge for a month or more and by continuing to peel the top layer off, it will last much longer.
Pemmican Nutritional Information (per bar):
Serving size: 3.2 oz (92g) bar
Calories: 380
Protein: 20g
Total Fat: 34g
Carbs: 4 grams for the honey and cherry
(very minimal carb content for honey/cherry free and honey/cherry/salt free varieties)
Even if you don't fall in love with eating the pemmican as a stand alone product, it is a wonderful addition to stir-frying vegetables or frying eggs as suggested on our website. We have also received feedback from customers that gradually became accustomed to the deeper, more subtle, natural flavors of grass-fed meats. Thus, they tried the pemmican again and had a better experience.
We appreciate your interest in our pemmican. Let us know what you think, we always like to hear customer feedback about our products!
Posted by Megan Baugh on Thu, Jul 29, 2010 @ 11:04 AM
Alison Lewis is a nationally-known Recipe Developer, Television and Media Spokesperson, Food Educator, Nutritionist and President and Owner of Ingredients, Inc., a Food Consulting company in Birmingham, Alabama. She is known for creating healthy family-friendly recipes that are easy to prepare, and she offers great entertaining ideas on her blog http://ingredientsinc.net. In advance of her appearance as the U.S. Wellness Meats featured chef, Alison has offered up some of her best advice for the home chef, those cooking for families and for the gourmet on a budget.
Alison’s advice for the home chef…
Here are some of my favorite tips:
-Use the freshest ingredients possible.
-Use fresh herbs instead of dried.
-Season to taste.
-Have a good set of knives that you feel comfortable with.
-Try to maximize ingredients in multiple dishes to save money.
-Plan ahead and be organized.
-Get the kids to pitch in and help.
-Search for recipes on the internet.
-Relax and have fun in the kitchen. Cooking can be very therapeutic.
For families…
As a working mom with 3 children, here are some of my tips:
-Buy extra chicken or steak to grill to use in a main-dish salad or tacos the next day.
-Cook together as a family and get children involved in the kitchen.
-Sit down as a family, if at all possible. With 3 kids and busy activities, this is a challenge for us.
-Try to cook extra on the weekend for the week.
-Make a grocery list and plan menus ahead of time for the week.
-Give everyone a task and trade off who cooks dinner each night.
-Prep for mealtime in advance if possible.
-Use ready-made pizza crusts.
-Purchase beef, fish or chicken and cook extra to freeze or for other meals during the week.
-Purchase thinner cuts for busy weeknights. They take less time to cook.
For the gourmet on a budget…
-Purchasing the freshest ingredients possible.
-Grown your own herb garden and use fresh herbs in cooking.
-Purchase convenience products at Wal-Mart or discount stores or buy in bulk.
-Purchase frozen shrimp. It’s cheaper and it is almost as good as fresh.
-Shop at local farmer’s markets.
-Freeze leftover bread or buns.
-Grill more.
-Plan ahead and only purchase ingredients on your shopping list.
Thanks to Alison for her tips and a great recipe for Balsamic Marinated Kabobs.
Posted by Megan Baugh on Thu, Jul 29, 2010 @ 10:53 AM
Balsamic Marinated Kabobs - Alison Lewis
Makes 4 servings
4 (8 inch) wooden or metal skewers
1 pound package New York Strip or Tenderloin kabob meat
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, divided
1 small green bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 small red bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 small purple onion, sliced into 1-inch pieces
1 (8-ounce) package whole button mushrooms
1. If using wooden skewers, soak in water to cover 30 minutes.
2. In a medium bowl, combine 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, salt and pepper. Place beef in a resealable plastic bag or large shallow dish. Pour balsamic mixture over steak, tossing gently. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours (up to 8 hours or overnight).
3. Preheat grill to medium-high heat (350F to 400F).
4. Remove beef from marinade and thread steak, bell peppers, onions and mushrooms alternately onto skewers, leaving a 1/4-inch between pieces. Drizzle kabobs with remaining 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar.
5. Grill kabobs, covered with grill lid, 4 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Serve immediately.
Posted by Megan Baugh on Tue, Jul 20, 2010 @ 10:23 AM
It's hot, it's steamy, it's sticky...there's no use in denying it! So instead, let's fight back with ice cream. Yum! Try this warm peach topping on cold ice cream for a cool treat.
1 Peach, peeled and sliced
1 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
1/8 tsp. cinnamon
dash nutmeg
Melt butter and brown sugar in a castiron skillet. Add the remaining ingredients and heat, stirring often. Heat just long enough to warm the peaches. Top your favorite ice cream! Enjoy!
1/2 - 1 peach is needed per person.
Posted by Megan Baugh on Fri, Jul 16, 2010 @ 09:51 AM
The competition has begun! Click here to read about the weeks leading up to the competition.
The Affiliate Cup competition kicked off today with a horrible workout of 2 rounds of:
70 155/105# thrusters
50 chest to bar pull-ups
180 meter firemans carry
We went with our smallest and biggest athletes. The firemans carry went better then expected but the 140 thrusters probably did us in. We were in 55th out of 69 team after the first workout.
Workout two was a two part workout with 1 minute efforts of 265/175# deadlifts, alternating one legged squats, and rowing followed by max effort overhead lift. Six athletes totaled 1100# overhead in six minutes. Tim put up one of the bigger lifts of the day with 275# and only had about 30 seconds to load the bar and get it overhead. Our effort was good enough to move us up 15 places and make the cut to come back and compete on Saturday. It will be interesting to see what tomorrows workouts will be.
The competition continues...
The Gam
es are over. Six months of anticipation and training came to a head last Sunday as Graham Holmberg and Kristen Clever captured the individual men and women’s title. CrossFit Fort Vancouver won the Affiliate Cup.
Flatirons CrossFit finished 43rd out of 69 teams. Honestly not what we hoped for but that’s the way it goes. The workouts didn’t suit us and we didn’t execute them quite the way we should have. Someone once told me “You learn more when you lose then when you win”. This years Games were a great learning experience and very motivating. Everyone on the team was inspired by the athletes there to train harder and to try to improve and come back stronger next year. There are still several competitio
ns still to come in the second half of the year. Up next for our athletes is the Colorado Open which is basically the Colorado CrossFit Games. This will be the third year for the Open and it has become good test to find the fittest athletes in Colorado.
Good luck next year!
Posted by Megan Baugh on Tue, Jul 06, 2010 @ 01:23 AM
We continue to follow Team Flatirons CrossFit through their journey to the 2010 CrossFit Games. Click here to meet the team and check out previous weeks. This week, they train with the competition.
In any sport, training harder and pushing the envelope is how you get better and prepare for competition. CrossFit is a sport. Our workouts are competitive events. Athletes at Flatirons Crossfit constantly push each other through that competition to get better, be stronger, and go harder. We constantly challenge each other in the workouts. In preparation for the CrossFit Games we took that to the next level last weekend when Front Range CrossFit invited us and several other CrossFit affiliates that also qualified for the games to come down for a couple workouts.
The workout
4 person team (2 men, 2 women)
Row eight 500 meter sprints (2 per athlete)
50 muscle ups
50 squat cleans 185/115#
50 Handstand push-ups
Each athlete had to row two 500 meter sprints. The rest of the reps could be done in any order.
There is a lot of strategy and communication that goes into these team workouts. Team members must communicate with each other as the complete their reps or exercises in order to minimize transition time. Pick the best two men and women for the workout is an even tough task. Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses and maximizing them for the workout can be tough. In this workout we chose Tim, Sid, Elizabeth, and Rosanne.
Sid is a whiz at muscle ups and despite his size is a good at heavy squat cleans. Elizabeth is strong and is good at handstand push ups and rowing. Tim rows well and is a good O-lifter. Rosanne is a good at handstand push ups and lifts well but she is not a very good rower. Karen would have been a much better choice for this workout. Training as a team like this allows us to see who really has what strengths and weaknesses and plan good strategies for the workout. It’s better to make the mistake now then at the Games. After that workout we divided in to teams of men vs. women and did some tire flipping races to finish of the day.
Check out the entries from previous weeks.
Posted by Megan Baugh on Wed, Jun 30, 2010 @ 08:25 AM
Our tallow candles were introduced at the end of 2008 and have continued to be a hit! The combination of clean burning palm wax and traditional tallow make for a truly unique candle! We would like to add two new scents to the candle line. Unfortunately, we just can't decide which scents we like the best! That's where you come in! Let us know, by posting a comment, which two scents you like the best, first and second choice! We will randomly choose someone who has left a comment to receive a candle made with their first choice scent!
Black Currant and Nectarine: Sun ripened nectarines infused with the crisp tanginess of black currant berries. This fragrance oil is infused with natural essential oils, including Grapefruit and Orange.
Coconut Lime: The ultimate Summer refresher - zesty lime and creamy coconut make this classic scent irresistible. This fragrance oil is infused with natural essential oils, including Lime.
Dragon's Blood: A potent and earthy fragrance infused with cedarwood, orange and patchouli essential oils. The scent combines sweet and spicy notes to form a sophisticated complex blend.
Lavender Vanilla: A well-balanced blend of herbal lavender and calming vanilla. A great addition to any aromatherapy line. This fragrance oil is infused with natural essential oils, including Lavender.
White Tea and Berries: A tantalizing tincture of herbal tea and dew covered raspberries, blackberries, and elderberries. This fragrance oil contains natural essential oils, including Bergamot, Lavender, Thyme and Ylang Ylang.
Sage and Pomegranate: A vibrant green floral with botanical sage, sweet pomegranate and tropical ferns. This fragrance oil is infused with natural essential oils.
Just let us know your first and second scent choices and you could receive a candle of your first choice! Please leave your comment by July 14th, 2010, as the winner will be randomly chosen on July 15th. The winner must be in the United States (for shipping purposes). Comment today to be entered into the candle giveaway!