The “Bean Balance”

A very hungry hunter has his bow pulled back tightly. He focuses on his target with narrowed eyes and adrenaline courses through his veins making his heart beat rapidly.  Did you see a scenario like this on the way home from work, or the grocery store today?  Of course not!  Modern food hunting is more like stopping to ask, “Where would I find the fresh meat?,” while pushing our slippery wheeled carts along slick floors. 

At the meat counter you notice right away that all cuts of grass fed beef cost twice as much, so you look elsewhere for a better deal. Let me give you one reason to “hunt” grass fed verses grain fed beef this week when making your choices.

2-4 TIMES MORE OMEGA-3
“Meat from grass-fed animals has two to four times more omega-3 fatty acids than meat from grain- fed animals.” (1)  Wondering why? Let’s take a look.

COWS DESIGNED FOR GRASS
If you’ve had the chance to watch the documentary Food, Inc., then you might remember that half of the corn and most of the soy raised in this country goes to feed livestock.  But cows are naturally ruminants, meaning they have a second “stomach” which is fertile ground for essential biological transformations, much like a compost pile.  They are designed to eat fresh grass, not GM corn and soy. Also, “grass is a low-starch, high-protein fibrous food, in contrast to carbohydrate-rich, low-fiber corn and soybeans.” (2) The consequence for changing their natural diet is more discomfort for the animals, and a significant loss in nutrients like omega 3 oil, vitamin E, and CLA (conjugated linoleic acid), a newly discovered fatty acid which seems to have potent anti-cancer properties. (3)  The old saying is true, “you are what you eat!”

HOW TO AFFORD BETTER MEAT
To overcome the cost obstacle of eating grass fed beef, here at Orange Tree Lane we’ve come up with what I call the Bean Balance.  I spend $8.00 lb.. to buy a more nutrient dense, hormone and antibiotic free meat from a cow raised in (hopefully) more humane conditions, and then another night that week we eat our $1.36 worth of beans wrapped in something like delicious burritos with all the fixings.  It all balances out in the end, and we are all the better for it because beans are also extremely nutrient dense.

Next week we’ll look at the benefits of meat as our only source of vitamin B12, and how that vitamin supports life itself.  Enjoy the bean balance this week between Sirloin Salad and Black Bean Burgers.  I’ve also done my best to copy the Apple Essence Chicken Salad at a favorite local restaurant, and you can use my this to serve with the leftover sirloin instead of the Quinoa and Greens. For that matter, you could make the home made lunch meat chicken which I have included a recipe for, and just use some of that to top the salad. So many choices!

Happy Hunting, and come leave a comment on the side.

I would love to hear your thoughts about the The Bean Balance,

Molly

PS- I found out later that I wasn’t supposed to be so close to the guy above when I took his picture. Do you think he minded?

For a very good and thorough article: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1200759-2,00.html

(1)& (3) http://www.eatwild.com/healthbenefits.htm
(2) http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1200759-2,00.html

This information is solely for informational purposes. IT IS NOT INTENDED TO PROVIDE MEDICAL ADVICE. Neither Orange Tree Lane or any of its affiliates take responsibility for any possible consequences from any treatment, procedure, exercise, dietary modification, action or application of medication which results from reading or following the information contained in this information. The publication of this information does not constitute the practice of medicine, and this information does not replace the advice of your physician or other health care provider. Before undertaking any course of treatment, the reader must seek the advice of their physician or other health care provider.