HAPPY FEBRUARY! Does anyone else feel like 2018 is flying by? Like what did I do in January besides drive my car into a pole? Not much. Great start to 2018, eh?
Despite dropping $900 on a side mirror for my car (should have just taped a hand mirror on there, let’s be real), I’ve been dropping some SERIOUS dough on meat this year. I’m doing this for two reasons, neither or which is excess money to spend on meat. I’ll get to why cost shouldn’t deter you.
In addition to washing my hair more often, one of my resolutions for 2018 is to shift much more of my food budget to only high quality meat. I’m a FIRM believer in the benefits of grass-fed, pastured, and free range meat for our health and the health of the environment. I shouldn’t even call myself a believer. It’s just science. But in the era of alternative facts and believe whatever you want, I guess I have to call myself a believer.
BUT real science has shown that grass-fed beef is higher in omega-3s, conjugated linoleic acid (or CLA as it’s more commonly known), precursors to Vitamin A and Vitamin E, and antioxidants like glutathione and superoxide dismutase (my favorite nutrient to say).
Additionally, grass-fed meat is known to be lower in fat. This is NOT something I look for in my meat (anymore), but I certainly wouldn’t eat conventional fatty cuts. Fat is a major storage area for toxins and YOU KNOW that conventional beef is full of toxins. Antibiotics, hormones, soy, bacteria, and who knows what else. Cows are raised in cramped environments and fed a diet they’re not evolved to eat or digest. In short, the cows are miserable. Some people take this as reason enough to go vegan or vegetarian. I did for years. No judgment. Choosing to avoid products that harm the environment or your health truly is an admirable task. And let me be very clear – we’re on the same side here.
But let’s not pretend like soy chicken nuggets are an appropriate replacement for pastured chicken. They’re not. You can’t ignore our physiological need for protein – high quality protein. We don’t need as much as the body builders would have us believe, but we need more than the standard vegetarian diet provides. Pretending like we don’t will only lead to more problems.
Also, properly raised animals have a LESSER impact on the environment. All of the studies I’ve seen on the environmental impacts of eating meat use data from conventionally raised meat, not grass-fed. And I’m not about that life. When animals are out on the pasture, eating grass, pooping, and stomping around, they’re actually contributing to the balanced fauna of their environment, not taking away from it. And don’t even get me started on cow farts.
And this may be one of my more woo-woo beliefs, but I really do believe that unhappiness manifests physiologically in all animals, not just humans. If the cows are mistreated and mentally unhealthy, how can you expect them to be physically healthy? How does a physically unhealthy animal support your health? It doesn’t.
I’ll get off my soapbox in a sec, but I just want to say that you truly are what you eat. Food is more than it’s macronutrient profile. But don’t take my word for it, here’s a study you can read.
ANYWAYS. Consider upping your meat standards. It matters.
Ok let’s talk money. I know a lot of people look at the cost of high quality meat and don’t see the benefit. I mean, grass-fed beef looks exactly the same as conventional beef, but with a higher price sticker. This is very short-sighted and I’m honestly so sick of people seeking instant gratification or quick fixes for health issues. IT DOESN’T WORK LIKE THAT. You’re not going to eat a grass-fed burger and immediately feel different or better or healthy. But the inundation of hormones, antibiotics, soy etc. that are present in conventional meats sure as shit make their way into your body, form your cells, and contribute to your hormonal (im)balance. Over time, the poor fatty acid ratio will affect your fatty acid status and potentially over-fuel the wrong inflammation pathways. I know this is getting science-y and I started this paragraph with an argument to spent an extra $30 on meat for the weak, but this is why. Conventional meat causes real problems and real imbalances that will (over the long haul) lead to real health problems. So here’s how I think about it. You can either pay for high quality food now and feel great in the long term, or feel like shit and pay for health care that won’t actually fix the problems you have later on. Up to you.
That concludes my daily rant on meat quality. MOVING ON.
One of my other resolutions this year is to try more new foods. Early in the month I tried kohlrabi and it was great! But you can’t imagine my excitement when I saw GROUND YAK on the “menu” at my favorite meat seller’s stand at the Farmer’s Market. I immediately asked the girl about the story with the yak. I’ve purchased from these guys for months now and haven’t once seen yak on the menu! I was told they offered yak as a one-off a while ago because that particular yak had become “a problem”, whatever that means. I took it to mean he was just a dick. But apparently it went over well so they killed some more. I was still slightly skeptical (even though I knew I’d buy it anyways), so I asked what it tasted like. She told me it was somewhere between beef and bison. My two favorite foods. I was sold.
But what to make??? Yak burgers? Yak chili? Yak tacos? Too many choices. So I went with the classic bolognese. You can’t go wrong with bolognese, unless you’re me and eat it over actual gluten filled noodles. I’m not super interested in clogging my colon for a week, so I opted for spaghetti squash. Then zoodles, then cauliflower mash, then sweet potato mash. Even though it’s not “traditional”, the sweet potato mash was my favorite. You do you.
If you live in LA and are interested in where I buy my meat, check out Diamond Mountain Ranch here.
Thank you for reading and supporting my blog. Make good choices.
| Prep Time | 20 minutes |
| Cook Time | 20 minutes |
| Servings |
servings
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- 1 pound ground yak
- 1 medium yellow onion
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2 medium carrots
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons dried Italian herb blend
- 1 Tablespoon fresh basil
- 2 teaspoons pink himalayan salt
- 1 teaspoon freshley ground black pepper
- 2 Tablespoons Fourth & Heart Garlic Ghee
- 1 cup strained or crushed tomatoes
- 1/2 cup full fat coconut milk
Ingredients
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|
- Heat the ghee in a large skillet over medium heat.
- Chop the onion and carrot. Add to the heated skillet. Stir occasionally, making sure the onions don't burn.
- Chop the garlic and add to the skillet once the onions become translucent (about 8 minutes). Stir in the garlic until fragrant (about 1 minute) and be careful to not let the garlic burn.
- Add the ground yak to the skillet and break up into small chunks.
- Add the seasonings when the meat is mostly brown, but there is still a little pink left.
- Once the meat has browned entirely, add the tomatoes and coconut milk. Combine, turn down the heat to low, and let simmer for another 10 minutes.
- Serve over spaghetti squash, zoodles, cauliflower mash, or sweet potato mash! Add fresh basil on top and enjoy!
1 Comment
Made this tonight and it was fantastic! Doubled the reciPe and it came out perfect. Kids loved it as well! Thanks for an amazing Recipe. It’s already in my binder to make again!!