As we all know the cost of food is growing at a rapid pace and putting a strain on individuals and their families pocket books. Just like the cost of health insurance good quality food costs are reaching an all time high. Because we live in Wyoming we are blessed with many really good ranches that raise beef for their living. In Jackson Hole we are also blessed with quite a selection of boutique markets with top-notch butcher counters. We do not have markets like Whole Foods, or Bristol Farms but what we do have in terms of markets is quite nice!
Today’s post is about one small market which sits on the west bank of the Snake River called the Aspens Market. Recently they remodeled and put in a first class meat section. The guys that work behind the counter are skilled butchers and almost all of the beef they sell comes from ranches right here in Wyoming. Grass fed beef – perfect!
They hang and age their own beef and then cut it to either your specifications or to what they know to be the best cut for a particular part of the animal. Now I am sure not everyone who reads this post are meat eaters but if you are you will appreciate what I am saying. These animals are raised on large ranches, roam freely and eat the natural grasses available.
As you can see from the picture these two steaks were very large cuts and well over 1 1/2 inches thick. Fortunately for us our son Brock was here to prepare them as steaks like these take some real skill to prepare and cook to perfection. Brock did just that! In our family we are not huge meat eaters so we usually have smaller portions which we know is better for your overall health and we always pair our servings with salads, fresh vegetables and sometimes potatoes, which by the way come from over the hill in Idaho.
These two steaks provided enough of a bounty to allow us to enjoy this meat for many meals that followed. We had enough steak left over for sandwiches, steak for quesadillas, and even enough left over to make some tacos. Yes the cost for these two steaks was expensive when you compare them to other options in your local markets but when you consider the health benefits of meat of this quality and the fact we had several other meals from them the overall cost was more than reasonable.
Bottom line, good quality food is expensive, but then again so is the cost of being sick. One of the biggest things we face as a nation is a growing problem with obesity which directly affect ones overall health, the cost of insurance, the cost of healthcare and more importantly the quality of life. The next time you shop try to find a butcher who provides grass-fed beef products – I think you will be surprised at the overall value and not to mention just how good they will taste.
Great post but I think it’s tremendously important to emphasize exactly what, why and how grass fed beef is superior to grain fed beef. The following is a cut-n-paste from a website very knowledgeable in this area –
“Factory raised animals make no physical exercise, are stressed all the time and eat food they were not designed to eat. We feed them soy and corn instead of grass. Cows have four stomach for a reason! They’re made to eat grass. Even better, we can’t digest grass very well so cows eat the grass for energy and we then eat those cows for our own energy. It’s a beautiful synergy.
When cows eat corn and soy, they not only grow fat, but the wrong kind of fat.
You probably know about omega-3 and omega-6 fats, that they are essential fats that the body cannot make on his own and that there is an important balance to strive for with omega-3s and omega-6s.
Omega-3 fats are anti-inflammatory while omega-6 fats are pro-inflammatory. We need both fats. Too much omega-3s and your blood would be too thin and wouldn’t clot well and too much omega-6 and you start experiencing all kinds of problems related to inflammation in your body.
Inflammation is the cause of almost all modern diseases. Heart disease, digestive problems, obesity, stress and diabetes are all problems that start out with inflammation somewhere.
Healthy animals that were raised properly have a ratio of about 1:1 in their omega fats while animals raised in factories all stuck-up in closed environments and eating corn and soy develop much less omega-3 in their fat.
Those animals get sick from it, then you get sick from eating those animals.”