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I hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving. Now that that's over, you know what's next -- the holiday craziness! I do love the holidays - spending time with loved ones, eating amazing food, and giving special gifts. But…
Yup, I'm that weird person. As much as possible, I try to buy experience gifts or non-consumerist gifts for the holidays. Because, gee, do we really need more junk in the world!?
I break down non-consumerist gifts into two basic categories: experience and food. Here are a bunch of suggestions for each:
Give the gift of learning or doing something. Whether you do this with the giftee or not is up to you.
Whether a favorite food or a food that expands the culinary palate, give the gift of deliciousness and good health.
I’d love to hear from you. Comment below (no account required) or contact us.
Although its exact lineage is debated amongst historians, there is general consensus that it originated from the early Medieval drink called posset, somewhere around the 13th century.
Posset is a drink made with hot milk curdled with wine or beer flavored with spices. It was served in a two-handled pot and was used as a cold and flu remedy. The warmth calmed your shivers, the nutrition from the milk gave your body sustenance, and the alcohol and spices helped fight disease.
Eggnog is a rich, chilled, sweet dairy-based beverage. It’s made with milk, cream, sugar, egg yolks, and spices. Yum! You most likely drink eggnog in a short 2-3 week window surrounding the Christmas holiday.
Eggnog was eventually brought to the Thirteen Colonies. As the world modernized and access to food improved, it was adopted by the masses as a treasured holiday drink.
Store-bought eggnog is engineered to be delicious and consistent. But, it’s loaded with additives, contains a ridiculous amount of sugar, and has less than 2% egg yolks. It really should be called milknog. And don’t get me started about the confusing greenwashed labels, regulations, etc.
Since Miller’s isn't selling eggnog, the latter is the best option for me this year. Thankfully, this isn’t a big deal, since eggnog is quick and easy to make with simple ingredients:
You can make it raw or cooked and flat or frothy.
If you’re reading this, then you likely provide your family with the healthiest, most nutritious foods you can… and that should include the furry members of your family, too!
Cats are carnivores, and dogs are omnivores. But, both are mammals. This means that, just like humans, they started their lives drinking raw milk.
Ever have your pet (at least try to) lap milk up from your glass? I have! And, it seems that there’s a good reason for that innate desire.
You see, cats and dogs have shorter, more acidic digestive tracts. This makes the chance of getting a foodborne illness very low, almost nonexistent. That’s why pets can eat raw meat (and all kinds of other things) with little worry.
It should be noted that, just like humans, not all pets can tolerate dairy. Food allergies/sensitivities or negative consequences from too much fat exist in our furry friends, too.
Here are 7 benefits of feeding your furry family fermented raw milk (in moderation):
Nothing is destroyed during pasteurization. This promotes general well-being and good health on a bone-deep level.
As with any diet, rotating protein sources and offering a variety of foods is a good idea. That way, your cats and dogs can get well-rounded nutrition from real food.
Live enzymes may help remove toxins, reduce inflammation, regulate hormones, and slow the effects of aging. At some point, our pets’ bodies will stop making these enzymes themselves and will need them provided through diet.
This, in turn, boosts the immune system. You do not want a microbiological imbalance, which can create an unhealthy environment where harmful bacteria can thrive.
Amino acids like glutathione and cysteine and taurine reduce damage to cells and help organs function optimally.
These may include liver disease, kidney disease, diabetes, poor digestion, diarrhea, pancreatitis, allergies, arthritis, and yeast. Additionally, raw dairy is a bland food which can be excellent for pets healing from stomach issues.
This is where A2/A2 comes in. All mammals, including dogs and cats, produce 100% A2/A2 milk naturally. It’s what they were designed to digest. Cows are the only species that mutated and started producing A1/A2 milk thousands of years ago. The most natural dairy to feed a pet is 100% A2/A2.
PS: We’re adding to our amazing product selection for pets. Now, in addition to raw ground meat, bones, and treats, we are also offering fermented A2/A2 dairy products for pets! Shop all Miller’s pet food here.
It’s that time of year when cookies are abundant. What a yummy holiday treat! But… cookies can be tricky, and it’s such a disappointment when a cookie doesn’t come out as expected.
I’ve come to realize that a huge part of cookie success comes down to butter! The quality and handling of butter can make or break a cookie recipe, even one that’s tried and true.
Butter gives flavor, tenderness, and flaky layers to baked goods. It has a little liquid, which contributes to structure and rise. And, butter can enhance or inhibit gluten development, which in turn affects the shape, spread and texture of a cookie.
Here are some top cookie/butter questions answered:
You may have heard the saying, “Fat is flavor.” It’s true!
When you get a high quality butter from 100% grass fed cows, you not only see the difference with the deep golden color but you also taste the difference with a boost of earthy, nutty flavor. You may not notice the complex flavor profile in cookies with strong flavors like cinnamon or coffee. However, quality butter does make a simple shortbread or sugar cookie shine.
Higher butterfat makes better cookies.
An average conventional American butter has an 80% butterfat content. Miller’s butter is more of a European-style butter with 82-86% butterfat. 2% may seem small, but it makes a BIG difference in quality, flavor, and texture. More butterfat means less water, and lower moisture makes cookies that rise higher, crisp more evenly, and have a nice flakiness.
Always use unsalted butter in baking.
You see, baking is chemistry. And, since different companies add different amounts of salt to their butter, there’s really no way to accurately control the salt when you use salted butter. Salt is a flavor enhancer and is always a good addition to almost any food in moderation. But, when you have too much salt, it can affect the tenderness of the final product and mask delicate flavors, which is not good.
For incorporating air and creating the perfect cookie texture.
When butter is 70-72 F, it’s the perfect softness for beating and incorporating air but not soft enough that it will melt in the oven and result in flat cookies. This semi-soft butter also inhibits gluten development by the fat coating the proteins. The result is a cookie with a finer texture that’s not too chewy.
For soft and chewy cookies.
When you melt butter for cookies, be sure to do it slowly. You don’t want to lose any moisture. Melted butter develops more gluten, which is why the end result is a chewy cookie. On the flip side, it can be hard to scoop cookie dough made with melted butter. For best results, scoop into rounds and chill before baking.
For thicker, flakier cookies.
It’s not common, but In some cases, cold butter is best. It’s typically cubed and cut into dry ingredients. Cold butter is great for creating thick, flaky layers and stopping gluten development. Then, there’s the other situation like a sugar cookie, where you make a dough with room temperature butter and then chill the dough before baking, which prevents spreading and makes a nice shape.
It’s that time of year. I’m happy to share the farm’s 2022 intentions. After all, it all wouldn’t be possible without your amazing support!
This was also an intention of 2021. Although we made good progress, we’re certainly not 100% there yet. And, pandemic-related supply chain issues are adding an extra challenge.
You can look forward to butter wrapped in paper, labels that can be easily removed to make reusing jars more enjoyable, more products offered in glass, and other sustainable packaging options.
This may include products like salami, soppressata, pepperoni, and kielbasa. And, they’ll all be made with transparent and natural ingredients. You know, the kind of ingredients that you can pronounce and know exactly what they are.
This is such a tough thing to find in a store (in some places it’s nonexistent), and we’re so happy to have finally found a processor to work with on this.
I know, you may be thinking, “Wait, don’t you support raw dairy!?” Well, yes, we absolutely do! But, even more important is that we support our customers’ choices.
The fact is that not everyone is comfortable with or is able to consume raw dairy. Since we support optimal nutrition for all, we will also be offering the highest quality, minimally processed, pasteurized A2 milk and more pasteurized dairy products, too.
Miller’s pasteurized A2 dairy will be made with the same amazing 100% grass-fed and 100% A2 milk from happy, naturally healthy animals… just heated 145-180F to kill any potentially harmful pathogens. We’ll make sure to make the difference between raw and pasteurized very obvious on the store.
Inflation is real and is definitely affecting the farm. Prices of boxes, jars, bags, fuel… just about everything… has gone up significantly, and we expect it to continue to do so. Unfortunately, this means price increases. We never like to do this, but it’s our unfortunate reality.
Farmer Aaron has made a plan for 2022 for gradual price increases, in different categories, spaced throughout the year. He will keep a close watch on his numbers and only continue to increase prices if necessary.
We thank you so much for your support. The Miller’s team knows how very important its mission is and is honored to inspire healthy generations with farm direct food.
You turn on the heat, the pot heats up, and it’s not long before all that whitish, greyish, or brownish foamy “scum” rises to the top of the pot just as it starts to simmer. What is that stuff, anyway?
Broth scum is simply denatured congealed protein. It comes from the meat, not the bones. It’s not gelatin, which dissolves. It’s mostly the same proteins that make up egg whites.
Some people think it looks gross and just need to get rid of it. Some people do it because of tradition - it’s what their mother and grandmother did. Some people do it because basically every recipe on the internet tells you to do it. And some people do it to achieve a “refined” culinary dish.
If you leave the scum, it will break up into microscopic particles and disperse in your stock, making it cloudy. Straining later, even through layers of cheesecloth, won’t remove it. Once it boils, the scum is there to stay. Cloudy broth is the worst case scenario, and, in my opinion, it really isn’t that bad.
If you skim the scum, you need to do so with a while the broth is simmering, before it boils. The boiling is what breaks up the particles and mixes it up in the pot. If you skim the scum, the end result is a clear broth.
For darker, heartier dishes like beef bourguignon or minestrone soup, clear broth won’t make a difference. But, for lighter dishes like Vietnamese pho or a chicken noodle soup, clear broth can make a nicer looking bowl.
If you like making broth at home, Miller’s has a good selection of bones. Or, if you don’t like making broth, Miller’s offers beef, chicken, and turkey bone broth.
Milk is not a single substance. It’s a mixture (or emulsion) of butterfat, proteins, water, and other microscopic things.
When fresh, the casein proteins look like tiny pom poms under a microscope. Each has an electrical charge, which makes them repel each other, suspended in liquid. But, if an outside factor changes that, then they will cling together and form clumps, also known as curds.
When milk is fresh from the cow, it typically has a pH of about 6.6. This is a little more acidic than a neutral pH of 7.
If the milk’s pH drops to 5.0, the electrical charge on each protein molecule reverses, and it coagulates or curdles. This is why, when you add enough of an acidic ingredient like lemon juice or vinegar, milk separates so you can make ricotta cheese.
When you heat milk a lot, like bring it to a bubbling boil, the lactose breaks down into a non-digestible sugar called lactulose (among other compounds). This might be a good thing if you’re lactose intolerant or making cheese, but this is not a good thing if you’re making hot chocolate or pasteurized milk to drink.
You see, as the amount of lactose drops during boiling, so does the pH. This is why when you heat milk, there is a greater chance of splitting. It speeds up the souring process. The milk proteins may coagulate and separate from the water. The proteins are the solid clumps in curdled milk.
Nope, the milk isn’t necessarily bad. You’ve just heated it too rambunctiously.
LAB bacteria (short for a variety of probiotic and harmless Lactobacillus bacteria strains) are naturally present in raw milk.
When milk is left in its raw state, LAB bacteria slowly and naturally ferment the milk. The warmer the milk, the more quickly this will happen. And, yes, it does continue to ferment in the fridge, albeit slowly.
There are two ways to stop this fermentation - freezing and pasteurizing. When you freeze raw milk, LAB bacteria become inactive and preserved. When you pasteurize milk, all living microorganisms, harmful and beneficial, are destroyed.
As the LAB bacteria feed on lactose, milk sugar, and create lactic acid as a byproduct. The more lactic acid is in your milk, the more sour it will taste, and the more acidic the milk will be.
In other words, natural fermentation of raw milk lowers the pH and makes it more acidic. This is why Miller’s raw milk is given a 2 week shelf life. At about 2 weeks, it becomes too sour (or too acidic) to palate.
The effect of acidity in milk is accentuated by heat.
The more acidic the milk, the more fermented it is, the higher the temp, the faster the temp goes up… the more likely it will be to curdle when heated. This is why pasteurization or heating or boiling is recommended within the first week, ideally within 5 days of receiving it.
1- Pasteurize milk at home within the first week, ideally within the first 5 days of receiving it. This makes sure you avoid the milk being too acidic and separating. Once boiled, all LAB bacteria will be destroyed, and the milk’s pH should remain relatively stable and can be reheated later.
2- Heat milk slowly and do NOT let it boil. Heat milk gently over medium-low heat. Heat it until it simmers, not a full boil. This helps keep the lactose intact and the pH higher.
3- Test heat a small amount first. This is recommended if you have milk that’s more than a week old. Making a small test batch helps you avoid wasting a whole gallon of raw milk that could be used for cooking or baking.
And, no judgment here. Seriously. You can drink raw milk or diet soda… whatever makes you feel good. Everyone is at a different point on their food journey.
Here’s the short version of my story. There was a time when I really didn’t know much about my food. I trusted “the system”. Ignorance is bliss, right?
But then, I started to learn and question… which of course led to more learning and questioning. I came to my own conclusions about what diet was right for my family. Then, I had to figure out where to find the foods that aligned with my values.
You can read the story about my interaction with Trader Joe’s about free-range chicken here.
Greenwashed labels, companies that protect their recipes, policies that deem certain foods “unsafe” or “unfit for human consumption”, lab-produced ingredients, etc… I felt like the food world was like an eerie sci-fi story come to life.
I didn’t give up, because I knew what I was looking for must exist. I mean, clean nutrient-dense foods have been around for thousands of years. I needed to find companies that value transparency and aligned with my beliefs. Otherwise, how would I be able to feel confident in my choices?
Another term for this is informed consent. In other words, anytime you eat food, you are granting yourself permission with the knowledge of the possible consequences. This term is typically used in medical decisions, but food affects your health, right?
We have so much information on our website and in our product descriptions. And, we’re always happy to help answer any questions our amazing customers have.
I'd love to hear from you. Comment below or contact us.
I mean, meat needs to cool and age. And, when you go to a butcher or a grocery store, the fresh cuts behind the glass or wrapped in plastic may have been sitting there for days… or even a week. I wouldn’t call that “fresh”. But, since the meat has never been frozen, it’s sold as “fresh”.
On the flip side, there’s frozen meat. I don’t know exactly why, but there’s a definite cultural bias against frozen meat. I’ve done a good amount of research on this and have come to the conclusion that frozen meat is superior. Here’s 5 reasons why you want frozen meat.
You might be thinking, what about nutritional loss? Some people think that frozen meat has less nutritional value compared to fresh meat. Not true! When packaged and frozen properly, frozen meat can have greater nutritional value compared to fresh meat.
But, I digress. Let’s get to the “meat” of the answers here….
“Fresh when frozen” means that the meat was put in the freezer ASAP, definitely within 24 hours of butchering. It was frozen when it was as fresh as possible.
The size of the cut affects how long it takes to freeze completely. The bigger the cut, the longer it takes.
After the animal is slaughtered and the carcass is clean, meat needs to cool thoroughly and/or hang. “Hanging” is a literal term. The carcass is attached to a hook and hung in a clean, sanitary, and very cold cooler.
No, absolutely not! Hanging meat is integral to producing the highest quality, best tasting meat. How “fresh” meat is starts just after it’s butchered.
When meat hangs, the enzymes naturally present in the meat do their magic and break down the fibers of the muscles, making them softer and more elastic. This improves the flavor, texture, and tenderness of meat.
The meat also loses water when hanging. Water loss concentrates the flavor, makes the meat more tender and juicy, and allows it to freeze better (ice crystals can cause damage when freezing meat).
The culinary result of hanging meat is tender and tasty meat. Believe me, you would not want to eat beef, pork, or lamb that wasn’t hung for an appropriate amount of time. It would be dry and tough and have less flavor.
This varies, depending on the type of animal:
These are both conditions that can make a body overreact to histamines or not be able to adequately control histamine levels. The typical result is allergy symptoms, which can make life pretty miserable.
People with these conditions are often advised to avoid foods high in histamines. Histamines in food are present due to many factors including the animal’s stress level, aging time, preparation and cooking methods… there are so many factors! Hanging time is certainly a big factor, too.
Since you really wouldn’t want to eat meat that wasn’t aged an appropriate amount of time, my recommendation to folks with these conditions is to simply avoid or limit your beef, pork, and lamb intake… especially beef, since it’s aged the longest. And, if you do eat beef, pork, or lamb, keep it frozen and cook immediately after thawing. Chicken and turkey will likely agree with you always.
How does the radio frequency radiation needed for wireless technology affect humans, animals, and the environment? How does vaccination affect our health? How does lab produced foods affect our bodies? Etc etc etc.
Well… we really don’t know. We’re lucky if safety studies are 5 years long. And, in that timeline, so many other variables can change. Because of this, it’s super hard to actually identify a cause and effect of one particular change.
But, what we do know is that Americans are perhaps the unhealthiest they’ve ever been. I mean over 50% of us regularly take prescription medications. Over 40% of Americans are obese. And, 1 in 44 children are on the spectrum of autism.
We know that humans have been growing food and preparing it in their home kitchens for thousands of years. We are natural beings and generally do well with naturally produced, nourishing foods.
Miller’s does everything it can to avoid lab-produced ingredients. But, gee, that is tremendously difficult in today’s world.
I wouldn’t have the home technology to select and insert genes into a plant to produce a desired trait. That’s what labs do to create GMO seeds. I’ll stick with the heirloom seed varieties.
I wouldn’t have the equipment to pump milk through teeny tiny holes at high pressure to break down fat globules into smaller particles, creating a stable fat emulsion. High tech machines do that to homogenize milk. I’ll stick with my non-homogenized cream top milk.
And, I certainly don’t have a laboratory to successively run a solvent like hexane or ethanol over soybean flakes and make defatted soybean concentrate. This is how plant-based meat substitutes are made. Nope, I’ll stick with real meat from a real animal that eats a natural diet.
Flour falls into this category. Sure, I could de-hull and grind the grains myself. But, it just makes more sense for that to happen at a mill that stone grinds slowly.
Essential oils are another good example. I steam distill plants at home to extract their oils. I’ve done it once, and it took all day to produce a fraction of an ounce. It just makes more sense for this to be done on a larger scale.
Most of the ingredients in my kitchen fall into this category - milk, meat, honey, oils, vinegar, sugar, nut butters, and on and on. I just need to be vigilant in researching my sources, making sure the ingredients are coming from producers that align with my values.
There are certain things to look out for. Ingredients like “spice extractives” or “natural flavors” or any word you cannot pronounce is likely lab-produced. Most ingredients like this are proprietary. You don’t have the right to know.
But, then there are the little details - the ingredients in the ingredients. I’ll give you an example from our store - cheese!
At face value, the cheese ingredients look great - milk, culture, rennet, Celtic sea salt. But… what are the ingredients in the culture, and what are the ingredients in the rennet?
After doing some research, I recently found out that there’s maltodextrin in some cultures and there’s lab-produced salt in the rennet. Ugh! I mean, it’s such a very small amount, less than 0.1%, of the cheese. But still ugh!
I informed the cheesemakers, and now we are on the lookout for the most natural products available. As of now, it doesn’t look like what we’re looking for exists (the FDA and USDA can be tricky when it comes to “natural”), but I sure hope we make some headway soon.
That tiny 0.01% seems unavoidable right now. But, of course, we’re always working towards a better food future. Who knows. Maybe 5 years from now, we can be 99.99% real.
I like to know everything about where my food comes from and how it’s produced. Knowing the answer to this question is imperative for me to make an educated choice. Without an answer… well, I’ll just avoid that ingredient as much as I can.
Finally, I met a food scientist who knows the answer and could scientifically explain it to me. There are still some unknowns, but I do feel I have a much better grasp on this than ever before.
Let’s get to it…
The idea is that the taste of a fresh strawberry can be recreated. If not for “natural flavors”, strawberry-flavored products would have a jammy, cooked strawberry taste rather than a fresh strawberry taste.
According to market research and blind taste tests, it seems that the grand majority of people prefer a fresh strawberry taste over a cooked strawberry taste.
Maybe we’re supposed to be absolutely amazed by the taste of a fresh, absolutely ripe strawberry when they’re in season in June. You know what I mean. You bite into the juicy fruit, your eyes roll back, and you can’t stop the “mmmmmm” sound coming from your mouth. Isn’t that one of the best sensations ever?
Why do we expect or feel entitled to have that flavor all year long? We ship strawberries from halfway around the world. And, we use labs to recreate that flavor as closely as possible. Strawberries are amazing… but is it worth it?
Well, I ultimately have no idea! Really, we don’t have the right to know. It’s proprietary.
According to the FDA, “natural flavors” are created from compounds extracted from a really broad list of plant or animal sources:
This is different from “artificial flavors”, which are NOT derived from a kind of food.
The compounds are extracted by heating or roasting or with enzymes or who knows how else. In addition to the flavor compounds alone, synthetic solvents, preservatives, emulsifiers, carriers, and other additives can be added.
For “natural flavors” that are used in “certified organic” foods, the list of additives are restricted. They must use non-petroleum-based solvents, cannot be irradiated, and cannot use flavor extracts derived from genetically engineered crops.
Keep in mind that there are many different terms to describe these kinds of ingredients - “natural flavors”, “organic flavors”, or “organic natural flavors”
Since they can be derived from a wide variety of foods, people with allergies or intolerances should probably avoid them. And, if you strive to eat as clean and naturally as possible, you should probably avoid them as well.
None of the products at Miller’s Bio Farm contain “natural flavors”. The flavors are actually “natural” and come from real food.
Well… this is with the exception of when our processor makes a mistake. Instead of throwing that food away, we put those products in the Oops! It doesn’t meet our standards collection, note which mistake was made, and give you a discount.
The food world is shifting, and ordering groceries online is becoming increasingly more commonplace. Yup. You’re part of the movement.
It’s a food revolution filled with shopping on your phone anywhere and anytime, more information and choices, the ability to connect with farms, convenient delivery options… and the dreaded delivery fees.
Now, in my rational mind I know that there’s no such thing as “free” delivery. I mean, I have to pay for it one way or another, right? If it’s not added to my order, it’s definitely included in the product price. Regardless, I just can’t do it. I just can’t pay a delivery fee. I’ll do everything I can to avoid it.
So, this week I might order a 10-pack of butter, the next week 10lb of ground beef, then 6 dozen eggs, then a 5lb block of cheese, and on and on. You get the point.
By buying in bulk, I get a discount. This is because it’s easier for the farm to pick and pack 10lb of butter in one order than 1lb of butter in 10 orders.
Then, along with that one bulk item I include my regular weekly order of refrigerator perishables like milk, yogurt, kefir, and produce.
And of course I like to bring out the joy of cooking and eating in my house. So I always mix it up with some culinary delights like London broil, camembert cheese, sour cream, or some kefir soda to make or accompany my family's favorite dishes. And, hey, everyone should be able to enjoy an organic chocolate bar every so often.
You might be thinking, but I don’t have enough space. That can be a challenge. But, with some clever planning, it’s absolutely possible, even in a small kitchen like mine.
If you’d like to get started with bulk ordering and need some guidance, our Shelf Life Guide might be useful for you.
I’d love to hear from you. Contact us or click the button above to comment on the blog (no account required).
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PS: If you’re on my same wavelength, here’s a big list of ideas for bulk pantry items that are great for long term storage:
I get so inspired by the amazing customers at Miller’s Bio Farm.
More often than not, the customer is asking about a specific dairy item like milk, yogurt, or cheese. But, we get questions about the shelf life of eggs, meat, produce, and at least half of our 600+ products.
It’s important to note that the dates given are not for when a food is no longer safe to eat. They are a guide for how long a food will remain at optimal quality, before it starts to degrade.
There’s no way to magically predict when a food will no longer be “good”. It’s always an estimate. Food slowly changes and doesn’t have an on/off switch.
Plus, there are so many variables that can affect shelf life.
If it’s too warm or too humid or too bright, your food will spoil more quickly. These three variables speed up the process of decay. This is why fruit ripens more quickly on a windowsill and raw milk clabbers more quickly on the counter.
For example, when you open a container of yogurt, you need to take it out of the fridge. Now it’s at a warmer temperature. The longer it stays out, the more the shelf life is reduced. When you scoop some yogurt out, the spoon and the air let contaminants in. Contaminants also reduce the shelf life.
The tricky part is that it’s hard to say exactly how much the shelf life is reduced. There’s simply no way to calculate this precisely.
Far too much food is thrown away simply because the expiration date passes. Food waste is a big problem. In the United States, food waste is estimated at between 30-40 percent of the food supply. Wow!
Instead, your nose and mouth are the best way to know if a food is no longer good. This is, of course, a precariously subjective measure of quality. Everyone has a different palate.
I’ll give a personal anecdote. I’ve been drinking raw milk for years. My taste buds have become accustomed to the taste of souring milk. I simply don’t notice the difference as much as others. When I first started drinking raw milk, this was not the case. I would notice the sour undertones sooner.
I love being helpful, so… I gave our Shelf Life Guide a makeover! It has lots more information and tips. Plus, it now has charts that are visually easier to tell how long foods last in the pantry, fridge, or freezer. Here it is!!
I have it saved on my phone, so I have it handy no matter where I am. But, you could also print it and hang it on your fridge or put it on the shelf with your cookbooks.
I’d love to hear from you. Comment below (no account required) or contact us.
Last week, I shared our updated Shelf Life Guide for Farm Fresh Food with you. And, gee, that sparked some wonderful conversations with readers. Great feedback.
For example, some said that they freeze both yogurt and kefir with good results. Some said that they don’t notice a difference between fresh vs. frozen kefir, but freezing yogurt didn’t work well. Some said that freezing Greek yogurt works because it’s thick, but thinner yogurts get clumpy when thawed.
It’s not an issue of safety; it’s an issue of quality. Frozen foods are technically safe to eat indefinitely. But, they will degrade depending on the type of food, storage conditions, and time.
I looked closely at a few studies about probiotics and frozen yogurt and kefir (1) (2) (3) (4). I saw a trend. All the charts and graphs looked something like this:
The amount of probiotic decrease depends on a variety of factors. Here are a few:
So… if you want to freeze yogurt or kefir, you can certainly do so. Convenience and health benefits can be challenging to balance. This is a personal choice.
I’d love to hear from you.Comment below (no account required) or contact us.
Sausage often gets a bad rap and is labeled as “processed meat”. Sure, this might be true for conventional sausages, which often have fillers and additives and “natural flavors” and nitrates… and the list goes on.
But, not all sausage is bad (I mean, it’s been around for thousands of years). I recommend sourcing all-natural sausages, not only natural in how the animals were raised but also the ingredients added during sausage making. Always read ingredients carefully on sausages.
On average, one regular sized 2.6oz beef or pork sausage link contains:
That’s the data on conventional sausages. I can only imagine that the numbers would be better for sausages made from regeneratively farmed meat and with great recipes.
Let’s break it down with a bit more detail. Here are the top 5 health benefits of eating sausage.
Your body needs protein to make and repair cells. Protein also helps fight infection, build and contract muscles, keep body fluids balanced, clot blood and carry fats, vitamins, minerals and oxygen throughout the body.
Protein needs change from body to body, varying on age, activity level, and a number of factors. But, it’s generally recommended that 10-35% of your caloric intake should be protein.
To maintain optimal health, it’s best to eat protein throughout the day. How about some salt and pepper beef breakfast sausage with eggs for breakfast, chorizo sausage and veggie stir fry for lunch, and Italian sausage and peppers for dinner ;)
B vitamins are essential to your health. They help a variety of enzymes do their jobs, ranging from releasing energy from carbohydrates and fat to breaking down amino acids and transporting oxygen and energy-containing nutrients around the body. They can help prevent anemia, lower cholesterol, ease arthritis, boost brain function, improve your skin, hair, and eyes… B vitamins do so much!
B vitamins are generally not found in plant foods, unless they’re fortified. On the contrary, one link of sausage can naturally provide around 40% of the daily value of bioavailable vitamin B12.
Selenium is a nutrient which is vital to your health. It’s important for reproduction, thyroid function, DNA productions, and protecting the body from free radical damage. It can boost your immune system and can reduce your risk of heart disease.
Pork and beef contain plenty of selenium, especially when farmed on regenerative pastures. One serving of sausage contains at least 15 mcg of selenium, which is 27% of the recommended daily value.
Iron is an essential mineral. It’s important for hemoglobin production, which supports red blood cell function. Additionally, iron is a component of myoglobin, a protein your muscles use to store oxygen, which is necessary for all muscle function.
Sausage contains about 1.3 mg of iron, which is about 8% of the daily recommended value.
Fiber, vegetables, and fruit are commonly lacking in the modern American diet. Sausage is a great vehicle for getting more healthy foods into your family’s bodies.
Skewer kielbasa beef sausage grillers with vegetables and grill, make a tomato veggie sauce and cover some smoked beef sage sausages, or grill some Raging Brats and serve on a bun with fermented sauerkraut.
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PS: I created an amazing new sausage collection, so you can see our wide selection of beef and pork sausages all in one place. Click on the product to learn more and view the clean ingredients.
PPS: It’s worth noting that small farms like ours often have an overload of ground meat. People want steaks, roasts, and organs more than ground. Adding sausage to your order is an excellent way to help us manage our ground meat inventory and have a zero waste facility.
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A2/A2 Dairy
Meat & Seafood
