What You Need to Know About Buying Grass Fed Beef

Paleo Diet:

More consumers are now questioning about the origin of the foods they're consuming. As the public becomes more aware about the special feed given to the beef they are buying, the old fashioned grass fed beef is becoming more popular. The American Grassfed Association standards say that cattle should be fed only with their mother's milk and grass.

What You Need to Know About Buying Grass Fed Beef

When buying, look for "grass-finished" or "grass-fed" on the package. However, they are not easily available in big meat shops and most grocery stores in the United States. Usually, beef that has been grass-fed is produced by small farms and are directly offering their products to the consumers. A good place to start your search will be your local farmer's market. Due to high demand of grass fed beef, the price is quite inflated. To save money, buy it in wholesale price - box of assorted cuts, a big share of the animal or the whole animal itself and divide it with like-minded friends.

Sometimes, you can also find it in specialty meat and natural-foods markets. If you are in Alabama, you have Boutwell Farms that produces pastured pork and grass fed beef. Their products are revealed to have high amounts of DHA, CLA, Omega 3, vitamins and minerals. Restaurants operating in Georgia, Alabama and North Florida areas are clinging on their products. You can also opt for Happy Chappy Ranch, another known grass fed beef producer in the state.In Arizona, there is Date Creek Ranch. This is one of the oldest farms that offer directly to the consumers. They have strict adherence to feeding the cattle with grass.

Another source is the 14,000-acre Double Check Ranch. The ranch produces high-grade grass-fed meat. In Mississippi, Blackwater Farms is definitely a well-known name when it comes to producing grass fed cows. It is relatively a small farm but is capable of producing A-Grade grass fed beef. It also produces pastured turkey and chicken and grass fed lamb. Another top producer in Mississippi is Gloryland Farms. The farm also supplies pastured chicken turkey, pork, chevron, and real free-range brown eggs. Virginians can also take pleasure in steady source of grass fed beef. On top of the list is the Autumn Grove Farm. In the 90-acre farm, cattle are raised naturally. There is also Briarmead Farm. Still a new player in this area, it has produced a steady supply of naturally fed beef. There are still other farms that are committed in raising and harvesting cattle the right way.

To fasten your search, you always have the internet for more information. Websites including eatwild.com, localharvest.org, eatwellguide.org and americangrassfed.org provide helpful directories for you to locate grass fed beef in your area. If you can't find it locally, then opt for mail-order or online stores. You may try any of the following: Hardwick Beef, Lasater Grasslands Beef, La Cense Beef, Mercola, or Tallgrass Beef. A growing number of people now are going natural in terms of beef consumption. With many more farms offering grass fed beef and more consumers becoming interested, the price is going down and it is becoming more available to consumers across the US.

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How Easy Is It to Make a Paleo Meal?

Paleo Diet:

Paleo meals are very easy to make which is why shifting to this diet is not an extraordinary transformation. Preparing a Paleo meal is not far from preparing a regular meal, the only difference is in the ingredients that you use but once you already have Paleo foods and have gotten rid of what is not allowed in the diet, you will have a much easier time.

How Easy Is It to Make a Paleo Meal?

One of the things making the Paleo diet so easy is that there is no need to count or measure anything. Just as long as your pantry is stocked with Paleo foods and ingredients, it will be just like preparing a usual, traditional meal. Stocking your pantry with Paleo approved foods and getting rid of those that aren't allowed is one way to keep yourself on the track of a Paleo diet. This means that you won't have to resist temptations nor commit the mistake of eating what is not allowed in the diet.

Here are some tips when preparing Paleo meals:

Salads - salads are very easy to make, they do not require much skill and they are really fast to prepare, too. If you want a fresh garden salad, you don't need to cook anything. All you have to do is chop up vegetables, whip up a dressing, toss them together and you've already got yourself a healthy meal.

If you want a meal but you don't feel like a salad is enough; you can grill, bake or sauté some white chicken meat to make your meal heavier. If you want some extra crunch, you can even add some nuts to your salad to add some texture.

Entrees - The possibilities of a Paleo entrée are just as diverse as your usual non-diet entrée. As we have discussed, just as long as you have a Paleo-proof pantry, your culinary imagination can take you everywhere. One of the easiest entrees to prepare that doesn't need chef skills is vegetables with meat, chicken or fish. You can bake, pan-fry, grill; or in the case of fish, steam these sources of protein with some herbs and spices to taste. Then all you need to add are steamed or sautéed vegetables and you've got yourself a meal good enough to be served in restaurants.

Paleo entrees are not limited to only these. You can do as much in the Paleo diet as you can in the traditional culinary world.

Desserts - A Paleo dessert definitely consists of some or a kind of fruit. It can even be as simple as serving mixed fruits with some sauce like berries with wine reduction. Fruits alone are already desserts because they are sweet and can cleanse the palette after every meal. If you find this boring, you don't have to worry because Paleo desserts are just as interesting as the desserts that you find in pastry shops. There are more interesting and complex desserts that you can find in Paleo cookbooks or on the internet.

Paleo recipes are not limited to the ones discussed above. There are recipes all over the internet and in Paleo books as well. As I have said, the possibilities are endless so enjoy exploring the culinary world of the Paleo diet.

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Lose Weight With a Paleo Diet

Paleo Diet:

It's no secret that American waistlines continue to expand, despite regular headlines about the dire health consequences of excess body fat. We eat too much sugar, refined carbohydrates, junk food, fast food and hydrogenated trans fats. Compare our modern diet to that of our evolutionary ancestors and you'll quickly see why we're putting our lives in peril every time we eat.

Lose Weight With a Paleo Diet

Cave Men Set Our Dietary Genes in Stone

The food we eat every day sends powerful chemical messages throughout our body which directly influence our genes. This happens with every meal, as we switch our genes either toward health or disease with every bite of food. We were never intended to eat massive quantities of processed foods laced with sugar, salt and fat that many people consume throughout the day.

Like it or not, we are a product of evolution and our genes are switched toward health and natural weight loss when we eat a diet similar to our Paleolithic brethren. Information reported in the Chicago Tribune reveals the importance of eating closer to the way nature intended to significantly reduce the risk of disease and drop the excess weight which packs on as a consequence of our poor culinary habits.

It's important to understand the reasons behind the obesity epidemic which keep us from losing weight. Once we understand the powerful genetic influence our diet exerts over fat storage and mobilization in our body, we can make simple dietary changes to achieve our healthy weight loss goal.

Reason 1 - Too Much Sugar and Fructose

As the genes we carry today were being coded thousands of generations ago, sugar was virtually nonexistent, and fructose from fruit was a rare treat which bore little resemblance to the highly cultivated sweet fruit we buy on store shelves today. From a metabolic perspective, our body has difficulty processing the great amounts of sugar we consume, and most is converted into triglycerides (blood fat) and then stored as fat.

Research demonstrates that fructose, and especially high fructose corn syrup used in so many sweetened beverages, has an even more disruptive effect on fat metabolism. Reading nutritional labels is the best way to avoid added sugar. Cut out desserts, sugary soft drinks and sweet snacks, and be mindful of condiments like ketchup which are loaded with sugar.

Reason 2 - Refined Carbohydrates and Wheat

In between meal snacks and junk food can account for up to 40% of our daily calories, and these are typically high calorie foods with no nutritional value. Chips, fries and breads are immediately broken down by our efficient digestive system into glucose which hits our blood stream hard, and ultimately leads to metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance and diabetes. Wheat has only been in our food supply for the last 5,000 years, and genetically we haven't yet evolved to eat wheat based foods.

Wheat is foreign to the body, and causes our immune system to spring into action every time we dine on breads or pasta, resulting in systemic inflammation which leads to heart disease and certain forms of cancer. Replace wheat with fresh vegetables, nuts and healthy monounsaturated fats which promote health and natural weight loss.

Reason 3 - Hydrogenated and Trans Fats

Hydrogenated and trans fats are artificially produced substances designed to boost the shelf life of many foods and appeal to our natural taste for fat. Fat is essential to our health, and one of the biggest mistakes many people make is trying to eliminate it from their diet. Our cells use fat to construct membranes which allow nutrients and oxygen to pass freely. Fake fats don't have the same properties, and encourage disease and weight gain.

Avoid synthesized fats by reading all ingredient labels carefully, and don't fry anything, as this cooking method produces trans fats from overheated oil. Use healthy fats from extra virgin olive oil and flax seed sources, adding them onto your food after cooking to preserve their natural qualities.

Following our evolutionary counterparts may provide an important insight into how we have evolved to eat, and why our present day diet is largely responsible for our declining health and excess weight gain. Our food has a significant impact on our genes, and by cutting unhealthy dietary options we can regain control of our health destiny and lose weight as a natural consequence.

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How to Lose Weight With the God-Given Plan

Paleo Diet:

I've struggled with my weight since I was about 14 years old. At 14, I was 5 feet 7 inches tall (the height I am now) and when I weighed in at the varsity sports physical (held in the library in front of everyone), I was 150 lbs. I've never been a skinny waif, but I was never considered "fat" either. I was athletic and muscular and well, big-boned! Nevertheless, the shock on the athletic director's face when she saw how much I weighed was enough to make me cry!

How to Lose Weight With the God-Given Plan

Since then, I've dieted and exercised and over-dieted and over-exercised. I've had seven babies and been pregnant with two others (for a brief shining moment), and so have had the hormonal and weight changes that go along with that. I've never been extremely happy with my body, but I've never been so unhappy either that I'm willing to starve or have some kind of eating disorder.

I've recently lost two pants sizes. I have no idea how much weight I've lost because I don't own a scale. But I definitely needed to lose some, because I was wearing a pants size that I've never had to wear before! Rather than starve myself and sign up for a gym (I hate to spend money on stuff like that), I decided to take a more God-given approach.

First, I really hate to exercise. I don't mean that I like to sit around all day, but I like my exercise to have a purpose. When we lived in Vermont, I used to stack wood and carry wood into the house and haul water down to animals. I lived on the side of the hill, so even getting to the mailbox was exercise. I live in the city now and still have a large garden that needs hoeing and weeding, but the other activity simply isn't there. So I had to adjust.

Since I'm still not going to join a gym and I still hate taking a walk just for the point of taking a walk, I've tried to add activity and exercise to everything (well, not everything) I do. Since we live in the middle of a wonderful downtown area, we walk everywhere. I love to walk with a purpose. We walk to Jack's soccer games. We walk to one of the three playgrounds near us. We walk to the pool. We walk along the trail to the bike shop, the boat launch or the ice cream shop (where I very patiently only eat the last couple of bites of Kiara or Seamus' ice cream and forego a treat for myself!).

I've also started instituting a little exercise routine into more boring parts of my day. I still dry my hair with a blow dryer. No, it's not very frugal or green. I know that. But I'm growing it out and until it grows out, I have to dry it or I'm frizz central. Which I just hate. So there. You caught me! But while I'm drying my hair and brushing my teeth, I raise up and down on my toes 30 times. Sounds silly, I know. But I haven't had a defined calf muscle in probably ten years and after doing this for two months, I do. I also do 20 leg lifts on both sides while I'm blow drying. Silly? Sure. But something has to account for those pant size drops because I still eat ice cream before bed two or three times a week!

If I'm feeling really energetic, I'll lay down and do a bunch of stomach crunches and weight lift with some 8 lb weights that came with our house for about 10 minutes. I probably do this 3-4 times a week. And while I'm waiting for the coffee to brew in the morning, if Seamus isn't too grouchy, I'll do 20-30 deep squats right there in the kitchen. It's usually about 5 am so no one else sees me.

I try to do these things in little spurts because the idea of "working out" for 30 or 60 minutes at a time not only sounds mind-numbingly boring to me, but is virtually impossible because someone is always needing something!

I've also changed the way I look at food. I was always a pleasure and comfort eater. Now I try and look at things in a more centered way. I figure that God and Mother Nature came up with a plan for what humans should eat and they provided us with it - as well as the tools and knowledge to grow more. If it doesn't grow in the ground or doesn't eat what grows in the ground, I try not to eat it. By looking at our food as what it is, simple fuel, and not as a reward, punishment, comfort or anything else, I have found that I eat a lot less and eat much more of the things that are good for me.

I eat much less refined sugar now than I used to. I used to not be able to pass by a plate of cookies or brownies and now I have no trouble. By simple changing my perception of food and being happy with what is provided, I find that I have fewer cravings and fewer "needs" for what really are "bad" foods.

I also found that my nature is to not be wasteful. I was hollered at forever as a child to "clear my plate" and "eat all I take." What I started doing as a grown-up was eating everything my kids left on their plates too, so it wouldn't go to waste! Ugh! They were perfectly healthy, eating what they needed, and here was their vacuum cleaner mom, still trying to please her parents with perfect plates. Once I realized just how many crusts of PB&J I was eating, I realized that it's OK to be a little wasteful sometimes.

Now, I am not perfect! I do not eat salad three times a day! But I've cut out all refined flour from our diets except for pasta once a week and I've tried to eliminate refined sugar from everything I eat and drink. I only drink coffee and water during the day - no more soda (especially diet soda which I'm convinced makes you fatter) and I have a glass of wine or two with my hubby on a date night once a month or on a weekend. I do put lemon juice in my water occasionally, just for something different.

Why do I call this a God-Given diet? Because I believe God has given us all the tools we need to be healthy and the weight we need to be. We just have to embrace real food and take our exercise opportunities when we can, as often as we can.

"For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living" - 2 Thessalonians 3:10-12

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The Paleo Diet - How to Lose Weight Eating Like a Caveman

Paleo Diet:

Throughout the evolution of man, our diet has changed as we encountered new foods and migrated to new areas. However, not all changes are good. In recent years we've changed our diet to be heavy in grains, sugar and processed foods. Paleo diet proponents suggest that we've deviated from the diet we were eating. Proof of our deviation shows up in ill health, food allergies ans intolerances, and the numerous health conditions that plague many people today. Perhaps the most notable proof of all is the rising rate of obese and overweight individuals.

The Paleo Diet - How to Lose Weight Eating Like a Caveman

One of the most significant changes in our diet occurred around 10,000 years ago. It was around this time that we began transitioning from a hunter-gatherer diet, to one that reflected our movement into agriculture. Agriculture brought a variety of grains and legumes, as well as dairy products. Today, these foods are widely consumed, and are even staple foods for many.

Before our switch to agriculture, we lived on a hunter-gatherer diet for around 2.5 million years. For 2.5 million years we foraged and hunted for a variety of wild plants and animals. Our diets consisted of animals, nuts, seeds and plants. It's only been in the last 10,000 years that we have begun to eat grains, legumes, and dairy. Paleo diet experts argue that 10,000 years hasn't been enough time for our digestive systems to adapt to these foods.

Over the 2.5 million year time period when we ate a hunter-gatherer diet, not only did our bodies adapt to the lifestyle, but our digestive system adapted to the foods we predominately ate. The Paleo solution is to eat foods that our ancestors ate during the Paleolithic era.

To eat the Paleolithic way, you must stop eating all grains, dairy, legumes, salt, refined sugar, processed oils and processed foods in general. If it's not something you can catch or pick in the wild, you can't eat it.

The foods that can be eaten include lean meats, plants, nuts, and seeds. For protein, fish and other lean meats can be consumed. Many purists suggest eating grass fed beef, wild game and additive-free meats. Grass fed beef is promoted because grass is the natural food source for cattle, instead of the grains that cows are fattened on today. Nuts and seeds serve as an additional source of protein. Eggs can also be eaten for protein.

A variety of plants can be eaten. Vegetables and fruits provide sources of vitamins and carbohydrates. Other foods that could have been gathered by a hunter-gatherer include mushrooms, and all sorts of herbs and spices. Healthy oils such as extra virgin olive oil, and unrefined olive oil are allowed.

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Information About the Paleo Diet

Paleo Diet:

The genetic foundations of the metabolisms of modern humans were laid down millions of years ago, long before the agricultural revolution caused us to begin eating grains, dairy products such as milk and cheese, or sugar. The Paleo diet - short for "Paleolithic" - aims to return you to the eating habits that your body, and the body of every other human on Earth, is designed for, thus banishing the allergies, metabolic diseases, and tooth decay that our poorly chosen modern foods inflict.

Information About the Paleo Diet

Farming and domestication of animals (other than, perhaps, hunting dogs) has taken place only during the most recent years of humanity's long history, a matter of nine or ten thousand at most, and probably less. Unfortunately, these food products became very common - but the fact is that our physiology is still adapted to pre-agricultural dietary patterns. In effect, many supposedly "wholesome" foods we eat today are actually mildly poisonous to us, or react negatively with our body chemistry.

The Paleo diet returns control over your metabolic health to you by focusing on the food groups that the cavemen ate: lean meats, both mammalian and avian, eggs, fish and shellfish, nuts, fresh fruits, and a range of vegetables, including a few root vegetables (but not potatoes, which many diets make the error of including, though at the time of the cavemen these plants grew wild only in remote areas of the Andes and thus were not adapted to by most people).

By limiting your intake to these foods, you will be eating the nourishment Nature intended us to consume, which is readily metabolized and healthy for us. Lean meats as well as organ meats and even tongue will form the backbone of any good diet that follows this innovative, scientifically grounded program. Half a dozen eggs a week will be a good representation of the eggs occasionally found in nests or raided from seabird rookeries.

Nuts are a great source of healthy Paleolithic protein, with monosaturated fats that feed your body while actually lowering your cholesterol. Nuts contain compounds that probably inhibit breast cancer and a few other cancers from developing, and strengthen the heart, reducing the chance of heart disease. Start off slowly eating nuts because they are very nutritious and calorie rich. As you get deeper into the Paleo diet, however, your metabolic rate will rise and you can eat more and still stay (or get) slim.

Though you can get a good grasp of many foods you should avoid simply by eschewing everything that comes in a box, you should also not eat foods that contain sugar, which includes maple syrup or artificial syrup. All kinds of grain products, from bread to pizza crust to pancakes, should be stricken from your list of acceptable foods. Your menu should likewise eliminate butter, cheese, milk, cream, ice cream, and anything else derived from cows.

The Paleo diet may seem a bit restrictive at first, but the lack of allergies, reduced chance of diabetes, and general feeling of energy and well being that you will experience on it will more than compensate for this. There are many superb recipes you can make for variety and gustatory enjoyment, and with the high protein focus of the diet, you will lose excess weight even without much exercise. Exercise regularly and you will be as lean and hardy as one of your Paleolithic forebears in no time!

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