The Truth About Eating Fat

The Truth About Eating Fat: More Butter Please!

It's time that you know the truth about eating fat and join the awakening that has recently emerged about the quality of the fat we eat and how it affects our body's ability to function. Fat is good and our bodies need it.

I remember the first time my husband, Ironman and athletic nutrition guru, told me that I needed more fat in my diet. I was 15 pounds overweight and thinking, "Are you crazy? I'm trying to lose weight, not gain it!" My entire life, I have been surrounded by the idea that "low fat" meant less fat on my body and therefore, better for me. I, along with the majority of the population in America, have been tricked by marketing.  Here is the truth:

"Low Fat" labels do not make those items healthy.

Read the ingredients, not the nutrition facts. In order to keep the food tasty when the fat is removed, manufacturers add sugars, high fructose corn syrup, maltodextrin and a variety of other processed sweeteners. These sweeteners are usually far less healthy than the fat they removed to begin with.

Eating foods that are high in fat does not mean you will gain weight.

Your body needs fat to burn fat. If you consistently feed your body high quality fats, your body becomes more efficient at burning fat and eventually fat becomes its preferred fuel source. YESSSSSS!! Imagine what will happen to that extra annoying fat when your body finally decides to use it up for fuel?!? The truth is, your brain NEEDS essential fats to function well. Your brain controls everything. Feed it.

Which fats are "good" fats and where can I find them?

Omega 3, Omega 6 in moderation, Docosahexaenoic Acid, and Conjugated Linoleic Acid are examples of quality fats. Don't worry, you don't have to memorize those. Before you get too excited though, fried foods are NOT quality fats. Think avocado, nuts, seeds, high quality oils: coconut oil, olive oil, almond oil, and hemp seed oil, salmon, grass-fed butter, grass-fed dairy, and most importantly grass-fed meats.

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We have said it before and will continue to say it: our BF Farms family believes in good nutrition. We want the very best for you! That's why we work hard to offer the highest quality grass-fed beef and lamb. Our meat contains Omega 3s, an essential fatty acid. Your body needs it and we are happy to provide it!

www.BF-Farms.com

BF-Farms, LLC, Oklahoma's source for 100% grass-fed beef and lamb

The Well-Traveled Steak

Is Your Steak Well-Traveled?

In our area, a stocker calf operator buys small calves, 300 to 400 pounds, and grows them on grass or wheat pasture until they reach a weight of 700 to 800 pounds and ready for the feedlot – then they become well-traveled! Many of these calves come from Mississippi, about 500 miles away. Due to the long distance, these calves arrive stressed.

The calves are given antibiotics and growth steroids and are watched carefully for 30 days. Any that are sick will be given another round of antibiotics. Sometimes the calves will be given another round of growth steroids when they reach 500 – 600 pounds. These steroids add muscle. It’s just like an athlete who takes steroids to enhance their strength and performance.

When the calves reach that 700 – 800 pound marker, they are prepared for their second road trip, this time to a feedlot. In our area, most major feedlots are about 200 miles away. Once at the feedlot, the process starts all over. Due to the stress of travel, they are given another round of antibiotics along with more growth steroids. A ration of grain is introduced at the feedlot and is continued until they are ready to go to the processor. An average time at the feedlot and on this grain ration is approximately 150 days when the calves will be weighing 1,200 – 1,400 pounds.

There is yet another road trip in store for these calves. They are now loaded out of the feedlot and hauled to a processor who may be 100 to 200 miles away. Once the processor finishes the processing and the meat is cut into steaks, roasts, ground meat, etc., a food service company picks it up and distributes it to restaurants and grocery stores throughout the United States. Then the last trip is the one you make to the grocery store and take it home for your next meal.

It is entirely possible that the steak or hamburger you purchased at the store or ate at a restaurant has traveled more miles in the last year than you have! This is the society we live in. It is a way of life that most people have accepted – that is until now.

Purchasing your live animal directly from BF Farms, where it has lived its entire life, fed no grain, given no antibiotics or steroids, and where you have control over how that animal is processed for your family’s enjoyment, is a blessing. This is such a simple concept, but it is not new. This is exactly how the “Family Farm” operated years ago - before big industry took over. Our family believes in this simple, natural, healthy way of raising animals, and we want to share it with you!

www.BF-Farms.com

BF-Farms, LLC, Oklahoma's source for 100% grass-fed beef and lamb

Slow Cooker Grass-Fed Meals

Slow Cooker Grass-Fed Meals for every lifestyle!

I am a firm believer in slow cooker grass-fed meals for EVERY lifestyle.

I am a mother of 2 beautiful, wild, hyper little girls. Their activities and potty schedules take up the majority of my day. When I worked full time, I envisioned my life as a stay at home mom to be full of creative projects, cooking together, and lots of naps. I chuckled to myself as I just wrote that sentence. I also had grand plans to cook or bake everything I had pinned on Pinterest...LOL!!! Lucky for me, there are ways to NOT have to spend your entire day in the kitchen with munchkins who do not want to help with a 4 hour meal prep.

I have decided that the crockpot is my best friend and I've noticed that it is very useful for pretty much every lifestyle, especially the busy one. Did you know you can cook steak in a crockpot?!? I did it for the first time a couple weeks ago as an experiment and yes, it was amazing. From steak to meatballs, from roast to chops, the slow cooker works for everything and it is so easy!

There is a noticeable difference between grass-fed and grain-fed meat though, even when slow cooking.

When I have cooked grain-fed meat in the past, it was always very bland tasting unless I added some kind of sauce. With grass-fed meat, you can forget the sauces, rubs, and seasonings you think you need to make an excellent meal! All you need is butter and maybe a little salt. The best kind of butter is also grass-fed. I recommend Kerrigold.

So go on and enjoy your jobs, families, and life without fretting over your meals! Throw that delicious grass-fed goodness in with butter in the morning and forget it until dinner!

Ingredients:

BF Farms grass-fed beef or lamb

Grass-fed butter

Salt

Preparation:

Open package of grass-fed meat and place in slow cooker.

Place grass-fed butter on top of your meat (as desired).

Add salt (as desired).

Cooking:

Set your slow cooker to it's low setting to cook your meat for 8 hours, or use it's high setting to cook your meat for 4 hours.

(Refer to your particular model's user's manual for more details on cooking times.)

www.BF-Farms.com

BF-Farms, LLC, Oklahoma's source for 100% grass-fed beef and lamb.

A Great, Grass-Fed Steak

How to Prepare a Great, Grass-Fed Steak

Did you know that what it takes to prepare a great grass-fed steak is different than any other? If you want a tender, melt in your mouth steak, thawing it out on the morning of your meal is not going to cut it. Planning and patience is key and here's why: Your grass-fed beef was not raised as a couch potato in some feedlot, but rather it was able to roam and get plenty of exercise. It is this lifestyle that produces a leaner and more healthful meat. With this leaner beef comes more toned muscle tissue with connecting fibers. These connecting fibers need to relax and soften in order for your steak to take on great, grass-fed steak status.

So, here we go. This is what we do …

 

Step 1

Take a steak out of the freezer and put it in the refrigerator. Leave it there for a minimum of 2 days, but not more than 4 days.

Step 2

Take the steak from the refrigerator and put it on the counter for a minimum of 2 hours. (I leave my steak on the counter all day.) Your steak will now be at room temperature and will relax.

Step 3

This is the time when you determine how relaxed your steak is. To do this, simply take your finger and press down on the steak in various places. A relaxed steak will feel soft, whereas a less relaxed steak will feel firm. Your goal is for the entire steak to feel soft. Put it on a flat surface and lightly sprinkle with salt. (I use Pink Himalayan Sea Salt.) Rub the salt into the steak. Do this to both sides. Next, use a Jaccard tenderizer to poke tiny holes into the meat. This allows the salt to be dispersed all the way through the meat, and these tiny holes will allow cooking time to be reduced by about 40%. After this step is completed, allow the steak to mellow at room temperature for a minimum of 30 minutes. 

Step 4

Prepare your grill or skillet. When using a skillet, it should be medium hot. Add a generous amount of real butter. Heat until it bubbles. Add steak and sear for approximately 1 minute on each side. Turn off heat, cover and let set for 1 more minute. Remove cover and move skillet from burner. Let your steak set for about 30 seconds. It is now ready to enjoy!

Please note: This amount of cook-time is for a medium rare steak. Remember that each stove or grill is different. Have patience with the cooking time. You will quickly learn what is best for your appliance.

If you prefer to flavor your steak add this flavoring with the salt and then use the Jaccard tenderizer. Just remember that grass-fed beef has its own natural flavor so don’t think you have to add a flavor enhancer like you would grain-fed beef.

If you don’t have a Jaccard tenderizer, these can be purchased at Academy Sports for around $20.

www.BF-Farms.com

BF-Farms, LLC, Oklahoma's source for 100% grass-fed beef and lamb.