Posted on Fri, Sep 07, 2012 @ 10:16 AM
Over the years our understanding of fats has definitely changed. At US Wellness Meats we know that not all fats are created equal and our beef tallow and other "fatty" selections have plenty of CLA- "the good, natural trans fat.”
Back in the day, our grandparents regularly cooked in animal fats - pork lard and beef tallow were staples in most kitchens. Several popular restaurants used to fry all of their french fries in lard. Sadly, these natural fats have now been replaced with margarine and partially hydrogenated vegetable oils in most homes. For more heart healthy options, we are also big fans of butter, coconut oil or olive oil.
Some restauraunts now using our grass-fed beef tallow:
- Sliders Gourmet
- Taste of Belgium
- Legend Bar & Restaurant
Unfortunately, the Standard American Diet continues the "fat is bad" notion, and most Americans do not get enough healthy fats in their diet! With grass-fed meats, the fat is where the good stuff is. Heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids and cancer-fighting CLA are both found in the fat. Unlike most grocers, our 75% lean ground beef sells much faster than the 85% lean, because it has more fat! Along with the extra fat is more flavor, and more nutrients.
Here are a few links to some great articles with more details on the good, trans fat:
Nourished Kitchen: http://nourishedkitchen.com/cla-the-good-trans-fat/
Truth About Abs: http://www.truthaboutabs.com/trans-fats.html
More interesting articles on fat:
Mark’s Daily Apple guide to fats: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/fats/#axzz246YaFHlI
Mark’s Daily Apple guide to oils: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/healthy-oils/#axzz246YxgubR
Some of our most popular fatty selections include:
- 75% Ground Beef
- Beef Snack Sticks
- Beef Tallow, Lamb Tallow and Pork Lard
The USDA has a database of the nutritional information for the conventional meat and poultry products, however there is very limited data available for grass-fed and free-range products. Therefore, we have paid to have testing done on some of our products, because we want accurate nutritional data for our specialty grass-fed products, not just information from the conventional database.
Nutritional information breakdown for beef tallow:
Please leave a comment on this post telling us your favorite USWM “fatty” selection, or share your favorite book/blog/article that changed your views on fat.
One lucky winner will receive a prize package including:
- Small Beef Tallow
- Pork Lard
- Salted and Unsalted Butter
- Ribeye Steak
- 75% Ground Beef
- Olive Oil
Winner will be selected at random on Thursday, September 13th. We appreciate your help in spreading the word that fat can be a good thing.
Posted on Thu, May 12, 2011 @ 06:48 AM
Meet Hayley and Bill from The Food Lovers' Primal Palate! They are a unique and interesting pair with a knack for creating delicious meals, primal-worthy meals of course!
"Primal" and "paleo" are hot topics right now and with good reason. These words encompass the healthy lifestyle. And who doesn't want to live a healthy lifestyle through natural means? According to The Food Lovers' Primal Palate, there are foods you want to include in your diet and others that should be avoided. On the list of foods to include are: fruits, veggies, lean meats, seafood, nuts and seeds, and healthy fats. Among the things that are best avoided are: grains, processed foods, processed sugars, legumes, starches, and alcohol.
Hayley and Bill are our Featured Chefs this month and have shared some amazing grilling recipes with us. They've also shared the recipe below with a funny experience dealing with a very large meat delivery (must read!).
Grilled Sirloin with Goat Cheese
Ingredients:
Process:
- 1. Rinse steaks under cold water and pat dry with a paper towel.
- 2. Allow steaks to come to room temperature.
- 3. Preheat the grill to high heat.
- 4. In a non stick frying pan, heat tallow on medium heat.
- 5. Sautee mushrooms and onion, seasoning with salt and pepper, until onions are translucent, and mushrooms have softened.
- 6. Grill steaks 6 minutes a side.
- 7. Place cheese on steaks after the initial flip to allow melting during the remaining time.
- 8. Top with sauteed mushrooms and onions, and serve.
Recipe and photo are courtesy of The Food Lovers' Primal Palate.
For more information about Hayley, Bill, and the primal lifestyle, check out their blog! They're also on twitter and facebook!
Posted on Sat, Nov 20, 2010 @ 02:30 PM
This is the time of year when people are getting into the holiday spirit and figuring out who's been naughty and who's been nice! In our Ultimate Gift-Buying Guide, we've compiled a few gift ideas for those on your "nice list"!
For the Survivalist:
Is a hiker, camper, or maybe just someone that likes to be prepared for any emergency on your gift list? We come prepared with the answer - our Survivalist gift pack suggestions! These items are shelf-stable and can be stored in an emergency pack, vehicle trunk or pantry without refrigeration.
• Nuts and Berries
• Trail Mixes, Love Bites, Nutrition Bars
• Canned Salmon, Tuna, Mackerel, and Sardines
• Pouched Salmon
• Tallow Soap and Candles
For the Sentimentalist:
Do you know someone that fondly speaks of growing up on a farm? Do they passionately describe how "real food" used to taste? These items will bring back memories from simpler times. Naturally full of flavor, our picks will help them remember what they have been missing.
• Free-Range Chicken
• Pork Chops
• Grass-Fed Ground Beef
• Salted and Unsalted Butter
For those new to grass-fed:
If you have been trying to encourage a friend or loved one to give grass-fed a try, this is your ally. A careful collection of our best grass-fed beef sellers may be all the help you need. Please feel free to email us and we will gladly include our grass-fed cooking tips in the cooler too. Helpful pointers combined with our most popular products ensure the best experience possible for anyone new to the wonderful world of grass-fed!
• Beef Snack Sticks
• Butter
• Ground Beef and Patties
• Shredded Beef
• Shredded BBQ Beef
• Steaks
• Gift Certificate
For the Weston A. Price follower:
This gift package was specially compiled of our most popular Weston A. Price-friendly items. Gluten free, soy free, 100% grass-fed choices that will bring slow, traditional, nourishing foods back to the table.
• Butter
• Beef Tallow, Marrow Bones, Beef Stock
• Liverwurst
• Braunschweiger
• Head Cheese
• Beef Organ Meats
• Lamb Organ Meats, Marrow Bones, Tallow
• Chicken Organ Meats
• Pemmican
• Tallow Soap
For the Primal or Paleo fan on your list:
We hunted down our best primal picks and here they are...
• Nuts
• Beef Jerky
• Steaks
• Beef and Pork Bacon
• Pemmican
• Beef Snack Sticks
• Tallow
For the adventure seeker:
An eclectic compilation of ideas for those with a more exotic taste. A sensory adventure awaits with some of our most unique products. Explore something different and something new.
• Organ Sausages
• Alaskan Sablefish
• Lamb Osso Bucco
• Goat Cheese
• Rabbit
• Olive Oil
For the simple and easy seeker:
These suggestions ship right to your lucky recipient's door and are ready to heat and serve! Perfect surprises for a grandparent, college student, new parents or anyone on your gift list wanting to eat healthier, but may be limited on time.
• Shredded Beef
• Shredded BBQ Beef
• Beef Franks
• Pre-Cooked Pot Roast
• Hickory Smoked Brisket
• Pre-Cooked BBQ Short Ribs
• Pork Brats
• Pork Italian or Polish Sausages
If you need any help with placing an order or would like more ideas, just give us a call!
Posted 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 pemmican bars and pails in the freezer for 2 years
- Store pemmican bars in the refrigerator for up to ten days
- Store pemmican pails in the refrigerator for up to 7 days
- Pemmican bars with sea salt are ok for weekend camping trip without refrigeration
- Keep in mind the label plainly states keep frozen for best practice
We are using a Cherokee recipe but the reason we have limited shelf life is our processor is unable to grind air dry pemmican with his equipment. The processor is leaving more moisture than the Native Americans in order to grind the jerky without damage to the grinding equipment. The Native Americans removed all the moisture and their product was shelf stable. We have a test batch dated October 10, 2009 and it is still ok in December 2010. Many have asked for shelf stable pemmican, and we have encouraged our processor to update to a better grinder soon.
Pemmican Nutritional Information (per bar):
Serving size: 3.2 oz (92g) bar
Calories: 360
Protein: 17g
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 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!
Posted on Wed, Nov 18, 2009 @ 01:10 PM
Traditional fats are good medicine!
By Vicki Poulter, Nourishing Australia
We have a health crisis today. Our children are suffering from allergies, asthma, learning and behavioral problems. Obesity, diabetes, degenerative diseases and infertility are increasing and our medical systems and hospitals are in chaos.
There is much agonizing and discussion about what is causing these problems but a large part of the answer is blindingly obvious and there is a great body of research already done! In the 1930s, Dr. Weston A. Price, a dentist from Ohio, traveled the world to study the diets of indigenous peoples who exclusively ate local traditional foods. He compared the glowing good health, freedom from tooth decay, excellent bone structure and mental stability of these indigenous peoples to the Americans of his day who were suffering from dental problems, mental illness, allergies, arthritis, asthma, heart disease and cancer. His book, Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, documents his research and has become a classic work in the field of nutrition. It is still published by the Price-Pottenger Nutrition Foundation.
He found that when indigenous people adopted diets consisting of processed and denatured foods such as white flour, sugar, canned foods, vegetable oils and pasteurized and reduced-fat dairy products, they developed the same chronic diseases that plague us today.
Dr Price analyzed the foods that the healthy people he found were eating. He discovered that traditional diets contained an abundance of minerals & vitamins, especially vitamins A and D found in seafood, eggs and the fat and organ meats of grass-fed animals. Traditional diets varied tremendously throughout the world - however all traditional diets contained at least four times the minerals and water-soluble vitamins and ten times the amount of fat-soluble vitamins as the ‘modern' diet of his day. It is these fat soluble vitamins that are missing in our diets today.
And why is this so? Because fear of saturated fat and cholesterol underpins most nutritional advice and makes us afraid to eat traditional foods rich in natural fat and cholesterol such as butter, cream, full-fat natural milk in addition to organ meats, tallow (beef and lamb fat) and lard (pork fat). Many traditional cultures valued foods high in animal fat and rich in nutrients. Our bodies require these nutrient-dense foods to function properly at a cellular level and for reproduction.
These fats do not cause obesity or heart disease and cholesterol is needed for many vital processes in the body. However we are told to avoid these foods and ‘low fat' and ‘cholesterol free' are promoted - even for children just 2 years old!
Fear of fat is making us sick - and fat! Think back to our grandparents' day. Children did not have masses of allergies and learning problems or get fat when they were eating eggs and butter for breakfast instead of dry processed breakfast cereals, processed fruit juices and toast with margarine and jam! They also ate plenty of grass fed meat - chops with the fat on them and roasts with all the fat in the gravy. Nor did they eat foods cooked in unstable polyunsaturated vegetable oils and trans-fats.
We are becoming malnourished by over-eating the wrong foods. Generation after generation, we are depleting ourselves and reducing our ability to reproduce. Our reliance on synthetic substitutes is dangerous: foods labeled ‘health foods' - soy infant formula, highly processed breakfast cereals and health food bars for example are often nutrient-poor foods, high in sugar, additives, fillers, artificial sweeteners and trans-fats. We are literally ‘starving' ourselves of essential nutrients whilst becoming overweight.
A huge amount of the food in our supermarkets is based on sugar, refined carbohydrates, refined vegetable oils, soy additives and trans fats - all produced for shelf life and profit. Next time you are in a supermarket, look at the relative shelf space of butter and margarines! When was the last time you saw a TV ad telling you how good butter is?
Modern science is confirming that butter from grass fed cows is one of the healthiest whole foods you can include in your diet. Despite unjustified warnings about saturated fat from well-meaning, but misinformed nutrition and health "experts", the list of butter's benefits is impressive indeed.
It is a rich source of easily-absorbed vitamin A - needed for a wide range of functions in the body from maintaining good vision to keeping the endocrine system in top shape. Butter also contains all the other fat-soluble vitamins (E, K, and D). It is rich in trace minerals and also contains butyric acid and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) both of which are known to help protect against cancer. Only grass-fed cows produce good levels of CLA in their milk and tallow (meat fat) so avoid "grain fed"!
Butter from grass fed cows also has small, but equal, amounts of omega 3 and 6 fatty acids, the so-called essential fatty acids. Margarine on the other hand is an imitation food full of synthetic additives and colors and made from highly processed omega 6 rich vegetable oils which distort the omega 3/omega 6 balance and generate many health problems!
So enjoy your butter! We can be happier and healthier and maintain normal weight by eating the nutrient-rich foods we have avoided for so long!
Published with permission from FromTheSoilUp.com