I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend. This was a particularly exciting weekend for me. Nick and I are officially in contract for our house! We put an offer in and it was counter-offered, then we counter offered the owner’s counter offer, they counter offered again, and we accepted! We are moving in on April 23rd. I may take a couple weeks off from blogging while we get settled. But BOY are we excited!
Now I’m diving right into today’s blog post topic:
Grass-Fed Beef
If you’ve read any of the posts by Evan at “Food Makes Fun Fuel”, you have at least heard of grass- fed beef. Heck, you have probably heard of it anyway. Truth be told, I’ve never tried it.
A couple weeks ago The New York Times’ “Well Blog” posted a great article about the benefits of grass-fed beef, compared to grain-fed beef.
Pros
- Lower levels of unhealthy saturated and trans fat
- Higher levels of Omega-3 (EPA/DHA)
- More vitamins A, and E
- Twice the levels of Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA), which may have chemoprotective properties and also may help prevent other chronic diseases.
- May be better for the environment, compared to grain-fed beef.
- 100-percent grass-fed beef is typically free of antibiotics and hormones (not always…).
Cons
- Regarding the “lower levels of saturated fat and trans fat”, well, you can buy lean grain-fed beef (90 percent lean and 10 percent fat), which also has incredibly low levels of unhealthy fat.
- The levels of Omega-3 found in grass-fed beef are still far lower than that found in salmon and tuna.
- Some grass-fed beef mayhave a “grassy taste”. I don’t think Nick would like that a whole lot….
- It’s almost three times as expensive as regular, grain-fed beef.
- When the label says “grass fed” it may not mean the cattle were fed grass their entire life. It could mean they were fed grass just at the beginning of their life. The article said to look for the label from the American Grassfed Associationfor assurance that your beef was likely on a 100% grass diet, throughout their life.
** Check out this fantastic article about the difference between grass-fed and grain fed beef; CNN.com (article) **
Quick, Cheap, and Healthy Recipe #17
Bean Burgers
Ingredients
1/2 diced onion
1 can drained black beans
1/2 cup wheat flour
1 slice cubed whole wheat bread
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. salt
Canola oil for frying the onions and the burgers
Possible Modifications
- Use any spices you wish
- Use any type of bean (pinto, red, etc.)
- Use any type of flour or bread
Instructions
Sautee the onions until they are soft to your liking. Puree the beans in a blender, or mash them with a fork in a medium (don’t make them too smooth, chunks are good!). Add all of the ingredients to the mashed/pureed beans.
Form the mixture into 6 medium sized (~1/2-3/4 inches thick) patties (or you can make them larger and make 4 or 5 patties). Add a bit of canola oil to a pan and heat the oil on medium. Disperse the oil throughout the surface area of the pan, and then fry away! Cook until they are slightly brown on both sides. Cut through to the middle to make sure they are hot inside. Then enjoy.
I served Nick’s burger with some cheese and pickles, with extra pepper on top.
Nick’s Rating: 9 out of 10
I didn’t try one because they contained wheat, plus I don’t really eat beans because they give me awful gas (I would have to take about 5 expensive Beano in order to prevent the gas…..). So Nick had the pleasure of enjoying these babies. He loved them.
Nutrition Information
Coming Up
Tonight I am heading over to Urban Active for a couple hours, to market our services some more. As for tomorrow’s post, well, I’m fairly certain it will be focusing on body composition. What is a healthy weight and body fat? What are the factors that effect our weight status?
Have a great evening!
