Affordable, high-quality food: $1 a day is all it takes

Over the last couple of months, we've acquired our orders from Big Coulee Farms, our supplier of pastured beef, pork, chicken, and turkey. We were excited to have our turkeys in time for Thanksgiving, and just last week, we had our first meal of pork chops in many months. We only ordered chickens in bulk last year, so when Rusty and Agnes ran out of pork chops we were out of luck until our own order was ready this year. They tasted even better than I remember them. Sorry, there is no photo, we all ate them before I even thought of breaking out the camera or iPhone for a photo. Here is a shot of the freezer and the pork. I'll try to add a photo of the finished dinner product in a future post.

Freezer full of goodness.

Just yesterday I called BCF and spoke to Vicky to order some eggs for this coming week. It was then that she informed me our split side of beef would also be ready for pick-up. When I got off the telephone, I added up our total costs for the bulk orders that will last us until next fall (note: this is not counting bi-weekly eggs in this total). It breaks down like this:

• 8 chickens ~$250
• 3 turkeys ~ $280
• 1 pig $594
• beef, split side (1/4 beef) ~ $507
• total = ~ $1,630

I don't have the totals for the poultry close to hand, so include the "~" as a qualifier in my totals. Bear in mind that each of our chickens can easily last for two meals for our famiy of four, and then be turned into stock, the turkeys are 18-19 pounds, our pork was just shy of 99 pounds, and we will be getting more than 60 pounds of beef, I figure. Quite a few meals of humanely, naturally-raised, pasture-fed livestock. It can't get much better than that.

One criticism that people level against eating pasture-raised animals is that the costs are prohibitively expensive. Yes, I realize that not everyone has a large freezer. But given what I am about to describe, it may be worth the initial start-up expense. These simple calculations show that even our large order, when considered in a per day, per person manner, works out to be pretty darned cost effective. You be the judge.

For $1,630 this works out to about $135 per month, about $30 per week, or $1.11 per day, per person for our family of four. When I look at it this way, it makes me wonder why it took us so long to "see the light" and start feeding our family this way. The next time that you hear someone talking about how they can't afford to eat real, healthy food, ask yourself this: Do you spend $1 per day on what you consume? Of course you do. Shouldn't you get your money's worth?

UPDATE 17 November 2012: I just picked up our split side of beef - it came to 82.4 lbs! So we have we now have about 275 pounds of pasture-raised beef, pork, chicken, and turkey in our freezer. 

New Website for Big Coulee Farms!

My friends at Big Coulee Farms have a brand new website! Check it out, and order the most amazing pastured beef, pork, chicken, turkeys, and pastured eggs from them! You'll be happy you did. 

When it comes to nutrition, we're on our own

The Canadian government cancelled a program to verify nutritional and purported health benefits of products sold in grocery stores. What does this mean for us, the consuming public? My take of this news is that it is all the more reason to stick to real, whole food, rather than packaged, processed nonsense that comes in beautiful packaging covered in slogans reflecting the latest health craze (omega 3 enriched [insert crappy food here], for instance).


UPDATE: Apparently, the government is "scaling back" testing, not cancelling it outright, as was originally reported (see first link in this post). None-the-less, consumers would do well to not purchase "food" that is packaged and touted as "heart healthy" etc. If the product needs marketing to sell it, you probably shouldn't but it. You don't often see any health claims on whole food in the produce section.

21.4 minutes or 4 years - you decide

This is my 100th blog post and it may be one of the most important I have written (some might argue that none up until now were important, so at least I am marking the 100th milestone by upping my game). 


Many people feel that they don't have adequate time to eat properly (i.e., eat real, actual food, not the latest cure-all supplement or meal replacement) or to exercise (read: move your body). Well, in a new study reported on today, that 21.4 minutes per day that you save not exercising (they recommend a paltry 150 minutes a week or 21.4 minutes a day) will cost you 4 years that you could have lived. It's your choice: 21.4 minutes per day of some form of activity, or meet your maker 4 years sooner. Moreover, consuming 5 or more servings per day of fruits and vegetables can also add an extra 1.3 years on average to your life. The arithmetic is simple: a little investment now will pay dividends later.

St. Albert Deliveries: Big Coulee Farms

Here is the content of the new delivery leaflet from Big Coulee Farms (BCF).

Please call to order: (780) 675-9458

We are coming to St. Albert Centre parking lot near Hwy. #2 in front of the Bay on the following dates from 1:00 - 3:00 p.m. with orders only.

(Chicken, Turkey, Beef, Pork and Eggs)

October: 22
November: 5, 19
December: 4 & 17
January: 7, 21
February: 4, 18
March: 3, 17, 31
April: 14, 28
May: 5, 19
June: 2, 16, 30
July: 14, 28
August: 4, 18
September: 1, 15, 29
October: 6, 20
November: 3, 17
December 1, 15, 22

While product is available.

Please pay with cheque or exact cash. You will be contacted thre Friday before delivery with the amount of your order.

It's all about you

People are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of good nutrition as a part of good overall health and well being. This is good. The problem is that everyone wants a quick fix to their problems, whether it is carrying too much weight, hypertension, digestive issues, or whatever. And they want their quick fix to "fit into" or to "work" with their very busy lives. 

But at the end of the day, the only person responsible for your health and wellness is you. Not your spouse, children, friends, relatives, neighbours, colleagues, and certainly not spokespeople for the current "solution" du jour.

You. 

And while you may be busy, or busier than the next person whom you compare yourself with, you control your health choices. And if you make poor, or suboptimal decisions, do you know who is going to pay the price?

You.

Oh, your family, friends and the like will be saddened that you have to spend time with doctors, in hospital or whatever. But they'll get over it. Eventually. You may not. In fact, your choices may result in very serious consequences and even contribute in a very real way to your eventual demise.

Now I'm not claiming that I have always made excellent, or even mediocre decisions at some points, when it comes to my health and wellness. It has been a long, ever-evolving process. I have made plenty of missteps along the way. I like to delude myself into thinking that I have learned from them and will avoid them in the future. Who knows? Only time will tell. 

What I do know is that each one of us as individuals have to decide for ourselves how to make the most of our time here, and that nutrition plays a key role. And nutrition starts with the consumption of food. Real food. Not as Michael Pollan calls it, "food-like substances". Food.

My own road has led me to adopt a Primal/Paleo style diet, that is leading more and more towards strict Paleo (started with no grains, legumes, sugar, processed food, and now moving towards an elimination of dairy too). I feel great, eat great food, and exercise in a manner that is consistent with our evolutionary history. 

I encourage everyone to more carefully consider their health and wellness as the primary focus at the centre of their busy lives, and not something peripheral that only needs to be dealt with when an MD directs them to "eat healthier and get some exercise".

Here's some banana-almond pancakes as a reward for reading this long-winded post. 

Summer Vacation and Primal Grannie

Here is a recent dessert; blueberries, grapes, walnuts and cream.

We are on vacation for the next little while so my posting will be limited. My knee is healing up, but still a bit twingy here and there. My fitness has mostly been walking and some limited bodyweight exercises. Also of note/interest: My 99 year old grandmother just joined me for a primal lunch of mixed greens, avocado, cold grilled strip loin with apple in a olive oil and red wine vinegar dressing! More posts may or may not follow in the next few days.

Out with the old

Yummy omelet and mixed greens salad; nasty picture. I think the lens on my Treo Pro has gone south.

Yummy sautéed European wiener (preservative and filler free, from the Grapevine Deli), mushroom and green onion with mixed green salad; amazing picture from my 9 year old's Sony Cyber Shot! I think I'll have to keep using Junior's camera from now on. I haven't been doing my food shots justice.

Excellent bacon and eggs; terrible hazy shot.

Same meal as above, still excellent even with no flash!

Workout round up

Where does the time go? Here is an abbreviated version of my week (and then some) of fitness activities. Here's the deal:
Wednesday 19 May: Walks X 2, 20 min each Thursday 20 May: Walks X 3, 20-25 min each Friday 21 May: Walks, 15 and 30 min; Eoin Finn Magically Hips Yoga, 57 min Saturday 22 May: Walks X 2, 25 min each Sunday 23 May: Walk 25 min Monday 24 May: Walks X 2, 35 and 25 min; LHT/Wicked Awesome Barbell Workout; Mowed Lawn Tuesday 25 May: Swim Sprints; Walks, 20 and 35 min Wednesday 26 May: Walks X 3, 20, 20, 25 min Thursday 27 May: Walks X 2, 25 and 30 min; Ashtanga Yoga at the University, 55 min

Well, there you have it. Not too many details, but you get the idea. I took it a bit easy this week as I wasn't feeling 100%. Until next time.

Food Fair: Shepherd's Pie, Bavarian Smokies, and Full Fat Yoghurt

There were some yummy dishes whipped up this week. Here are a few from last Sunday's dinner. Shepherd's Pie made with ground beef, onions, carrots and parsnips topped with mashed potatoes mixed with butter, Parmesan, Romano and cheddar cheese baked for about 45 minutes at 350 F. Yummy! Dessert was black berries and strawberries with cream.

On Thursday I found these great Bavarian smokies with no preservatives or fillers at my local deli, the Grapevine Deli, in downtown St. Albert. They were amazing. I had them on Thursday (Upper photos with carrots, parsnips, green onions, sauerkraut and hot mustard) and again tonight (Lower photos with mushrooms and onions sautéed in butter with butternut squash and spinach salad with dark chocolate with almonds for dessert!). 

I leave Tuesday for a conference for 6 days. I hope I can keep up the solid real food selections when I am away.

Time keeps flying

Once again the week passed by in a blur. Lots happening at work and at home. I visited the kids' school twice, once to talk about my work (that seemed to go well) and once with the SO to see informational/fundraising presentations by Daughter #1's grade (very well done I must say!). Things are ramping up a bit at work with talk and poster preparations for a local conference this coming Friday and then an international conference the following week. This on top of the usual manuscript editing, lecture preparation and lecturing, midterm administration etc. All in all, running on all cylinders. At least everything seems to be going more or less as planned.

On the exercise side of things, the workouts have been pretty good, even great. The only slight hiccup this past week is that my knees are giving me a bit of a twinge here and there. Nothing major, just letting me know that they are there and that I should pay attention to them. I am not certain what is causing this but I have played around with wearing my orthotics and, for the most part as I have been doing for a while, going without them. I don't notice any difference in the knee department but I do feel like the orthotics seem to overstretch my plantar fascia.

One thing I am thinking of trying this week is to replace my LHT/TUL/SS workout using weights with a bodyweight workout, in case the weighted squats and/or deadlifts are aggravating my knees. Richard over at Free the Animal recently posted about changing up his LHT routine and the positive results that he felt. Reading this and with my knees talking to me, I figure I should give it a whirl. Not to mention that I have been on the weights for a while now, and with reducing my LHT workouts to once a week I miss the bodyweight workouts that I used to do in addition to the LHT weight workouts. I came up with a couple of bodyweight/HIIT type workouts that take between 10-15 minutes of actual exercising and will work just about every muscle group and, if history holds, will leave me out of breath and wishing I was on the weights! I'll post again to update with what specifically I use for the workout; I plan to do this tomorrow morning.

In the midnight hour (and the rest of the week, too)

Given the time I am finishing this post and the subject of the photo above, I figured the title of the post was fitting. Not to mention, I haven't been away on purpose at this time of night very often lately.

I can't believe that here it is Saturday again. The week was filled with the usual things like taking the kids to school and to their activities and the normal work stuff (lectures, manuscript editing/writing etc.). We also had a prospective graduate student visit the lab so there were meetings and meals out to chat and for her to get to know what we are all about. On Friday, I participated in a "work/life balance forum" for the graduate students in the department. I didn't feel particularly "balanced", but my wife and I seem to make it work most times, so I guess I had something to offer.

Speaking of balance, I did manage to maintain a good diet and keep up the exercise in spite of the busier than normal week. When going out to dinner I chose the grilled tuna salad for dinner and for lunch the next day wings with sweet potato fries. The fries were "lightly breaded" with something (likely a grain product) but on balance there was a higher sweet potato content than whatever the breading was made from. Tonight there were some wings and sweet potato fries again (habit? rut? you be the judge) and then some dry ribs. There was no breading on these fries (different restaurant) but there was something that may have been corn meal on the dry ribs. I need to ask about these things before ordering, but again, there was way more rib than the light coating, whatever it was made of.

There were also some fitness activities of many varieties this past week.

Here's the (long) deal:

Sunday:

• About a 30 minute walk at a brisk pace with the dogs.

Monday:

• LHT/TUL/SS;
• Bent over rows - X 13, TUL = 1:30, 60 lb barbell
• Standing overhead press - X 7.5, TUL = 1:09, 60 lb barbell (need to keep slow)
• Deadlifts - X 13, TUL = 2:31, 70 lb barbell (stopped when form broke down)
• Bench press - X 8, TUL = 56 s, 90 lb barbell
• Squats - X 10, TUL = 1:15, 80 lb barbell
• Curls - X 6.5, TUL = 59 s, 2 X 25 lb dumbbells

• I also went for a walk with the dogs in the morning (~ 40 min) and at night (~ 20 min brisk).

Second half of the week and weekend round up

Thursday the SO and I walked the kids and dogs to school. Later on I channelled some of daughter #1's sprinting fever and took Finaly and Libby along with the SO to the park at the kids' school for some outdoor sprinting in the snow, the first sprinting outside since last fall. .It was a great day, bright, sunny and right about +4 C.

Here's the deal:

• walk to the park ~ 10 minutes for warm up; stretch
• 6-7 X ~15s/~ 60 m @ 50% with about 20-30s rest between each
• 6 X ~12s/~60 m @ 85% with about 60 s rest between the first 3 and then less between the last 3
• walk home from the park ~ 10 minutes for cool down

Later on we walked to and from the school again to retrieve the kids.

On Friday, we (the SO and I) walked the kids to school and went for a bit more of a walk afterward (~ 25 minutes) and then I made it to the University and had a very good 1,000 m swim.

Here the swimming deal:

• 250 yds freestyle
• 250 kick (mostly all flutter kick, but some whip kick)
• 350 yds pull
• 250 yds free (a length or two of breast mixed in here)

It was pretty fair considering I am only swimming about once a week, down from the 2-3 times I used to swim.

Saturday I took it easy and just went for a walk with the SO of about 25 minutes before the pub night fundraiser - I had more confirmation that I am not young any more, and after that little excursion, I think it is just as well!

On Sunday the dogs and I took our kids and our friends kids (who slept over) sledding at the park. Here's a shot of our very own future skeleton racer, daughter #2, literally "heading down" the hill.

Later on that afternoon I cut my rest between lifting workouts from 7 to 6 days and did my LHT/SS (Lift Heavy Things/Super Slow) workout, with a couple of twists. Instead of only doing the "Big 5" a la Body By Science, I added 2 more exercises to make it a "Big 7".

Here's the LHT/SS deal:

• bent over row - TUL 1:06, 13 reps, 70 lb barbell
• standing overhead press - TUL 56 s, 7.5 reps, 70 lb barbell
• dead lift - TUL 2:00, 12 reps, 70 lb barbell
• bench press - TUL 1:26, 12 reps, 70 lb barbell
• squats - TUL 1:35, 14 reps, 70 lb barbell
• curls - (a) TUL 27 s, 2.5 reps, 70 lb barbell (b) TUL 1:43, 12.5 reps, 2 X 20 lb dumbbells
• pull ups - TUL ~ 20 s, 2.5 reps

I need to keep my form, but did a better job at it this time. I also need to start my watch before the barbell is on my shoulders for squats! For this workout I defined "failure" as when my form seriously broke down. This may not be "true" failure, but I think I will still get benefits while keeping myself safe and injury free by maintaining good form. Tomorrow, maybe I'll do some yoga in the morning.

Here's a couple of shots of my tasty brunch; a red onion, blue cheese and Hungarian salami omelette. This with a French press of my Greg Danks Burundi coffee and 18% cream was just about as close as you could get to a perfect brunch meal.

Oh, and here's a shot of Finlay watching the Canada-USA Olympic hockey game. His interest reflects the way the game went for Team Canada.

Family Day and Valentine's Day Long Weekend

After I walked the kids (and dogs) to school in the morning, I managed to get some work done on a manuscript and then make it to the pool at the University on Friday for a steady 1,000 yard (20 minute) swim before an afternoon meeting. A good start to the day all around.

I started yesterday off great, receiving the new Blue Rodeo Double CD, The Things We Left Behind, and a large, dark chocolate heart from the local Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory from the SO - thanks honey! I reciprocated with the strawberries from the same local shop pictured here.

For lunch I fried up some French fries (done in bacon grease - no photo, I ate them too quickly!) and with half of an avocado and some fresh cut pineapple for dessert. After lunch the dogs and I went for a nice 40 minute (plus?) walk on a breeze, brisk day, before the SO and I went out for a fancy Valentine's Day dinner at a local restaurant. (I may blog about this experience later.)

We had a great time and lots of laughs. I think she is a closet food critic. My meal was 98% Primal, with only a small stick of phyllo pastry invading my yam and potato soup. My main course was bison rib eye (rare) served over tasty mashed potatoes, asparagus, yellow beet, bok choy, with a fruit compote and mustard sauce. More about the meal in a later post. The day ended with the normal "all business" dog stroll before bed.

The dogs and I went for a brisk 25 minute walk in the bright sunshine this afternoon. When I returned, I made this lunch that I dreamed up (and drooled about) on the walk; Smoked oysters on radishes or cucumber with old cheddar cheese, and avocado, polished off with a couple of squares of dark, 85% Lindt chocolate. Yummy!

Custard!

Not bad for my first time. A Better Homes and Gardens modification to make it sort of Primal like at Mark's Daily Apple.

• 3 eggs
• 2/3 cup milk (could have used almond milk but I had none on hand - had to go with skim)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• sprinkle of nutmeg and cinnamon
• beat eggs, combine with milk and vanilla, top with nutmeg and cinnamon
• cook at 325 for 45 minutes in the oven in a water bath (baking dishes filled with 1 inch of boiling water before placing into preheated oven) until a knife comes out clean

Et voila! Yummy!

Rest day

From exercise, at least, it was a restful day. (Unfortunately the same can not be said for work etc. but that's life and the weekend is almost here!) The dogs and I went for a slow walk after dropping the kids at school, about 45 minutes of so in a crisp -20 C (with the newly exchanged down jacket that performed perfectly, I might add!). Then I did some work, went to the University, did some more work, taught a lecture, came home...and cooked this dish that started as left over roast beef and veggies and ended up as a curry.

Follow up: After a 20 minute putz around the block so the dogs could do their thing, and thinking about some of the great points in this post by Leo at Zen Habits (that I was pointed to from Fitness Spotlight that I also read) I thought I should add this as we all can use some more Zen in our lives. Namaste.

Finn yoga and buttercup squash soup

Had a relaxing day starting with a steaming pot of El Salvador Pacamara coffee and my "Daily dose of Bliss" 40 minute yoga practice with Eion Finn'sDVD.

Later on I made some crazy good Buttercup (not butternut) squash soup. I overcooked (read: dried out) some squash yesterday, so I made it into soup today. It wasvery easy and wicked tasty. I checked out some recipes online and just took the bits I needed, keeping it very simple with only

Here's how:

1. in a large pot, sautee 3 cloves of garlic and about 1/3 of a diced onion in 2 tablespoons of butter (cultured, non-salted); add some ground sea salt and ground pepper
2. add cooked and hand-mashed squash to pot
3. wisk in 4 cups chicken stock and about 1 cup of 18% cream
4. bring up to heat; add some ground sea salt and ground pepper to taste
5. puree for about 1 minute in blender and eat

Here's what it looked like.

After all that cooking, we were invited to our friends' house for dinner! We had a good time and some laughs (and a good dinner); the soup will have to wait until tomorrow night with our roast beef dinner...

The dogs and I went for a saunter around home this afternoon and will go for another short one tonight before bed. We all seem to settle in for a sleep better by taking a slow walk right before bed. I need the rest, as I have a LHT workout tomorrow morning, and I am attempting to do a super slow set keeping track of Time Under Load (TUL). Gulp!

Sprinting into the weekend

I had a reasonably busy Friday of seeing the SO off early, dropping one kid at a track try out, walking the other kid to the school, getting some work done, running errands, booking some flights for a conference and a trip to Costco for some essentials (like 3 dozen Omega 3 eggs, for instance). I also worked in sprint workout at the University's indoor track.

Here's the deal:

• 5 min jog warm up
• stretching
• 6 X ~ 20 s sprints @ ~ 60-70% on 60 s gos (6 minutes total)
• 6 X ~ 20 s sprints @ ~ 85%+ with ~ 60-90 s rest (~ 13 minutes total)
• 5 minute cool down, run/walk/run/walk/run alternate laps
• stretching

The whole thing was all done in less than 30 minutes. I definitely got a great workout. The only lasting effects one day later are some slightly tender Achilles tendons, but otherwise, pretty fine for an old guy.

The dogs and I and then the SO and I went for a short (~ 20-25 minute) walk last night and today, and I think I'll go for one tonight, too. Nutritionally today was great for a recovery day: bacon, eggs and a banana for breakfast with a French press of Dark French; chicken wings and a huge spinach salad for lunch; baked chicken breasts with some buttercup squash and steamed broccoli for dinner washed down with some yogurt and 90% dark chocolate. Yum and yum!

Tomorrow: Yoga for the impending, and increasing, leg stiffness, and coffee (lots) for grant reviewing, manuscript revising and whatever else needs doing.

Monday, Monday

Today went pretty darn well. Especially for a Monday.

1. SO off to work - check!
2. Coffee brewed and drunk (1 entire French press with 18% cream) and some breakfast downed - check!
3. Kids up, dressed, fed and off to school - check!
4. Dogs fed and taken for a 35-40 minute walk - check!
5. Swim 1,000 yards in 19:25 - check!
6. Lab meeting - check!
7. Submit manuscript & troubleshoot/plan other projects - check!
8. Productive procrastination consisting of rearranging office and shredding old materials - check!
9. Drive home, eat, shuttle kids - check!

That'll do for one day.

Friday ice time

Yesterday (Friday) morning I was up early, as has been the norm lately, to see the SO off to work. I then went to the basement and, perhaps against my better judgement, did a LHT workout. My left shoulder was, and still is, a little tweaked, so I made sure to do my moves slow and controlled and did not do any overhead shoulder press or pull ups that might aggravate it.

Here's the deal:

• Pushups - 4 X 25
• Squats - 3 X 10 (70 lb barbell)
• Bent over rows - 3 X 10 (70 lb barbell)
• Lunge jumps - 60 s
• Biceps curls - 3 X 10 (25 lb dumbbells)
• Plank - 60 s

I also made a vow with myself that there would be nothing other than walking with the dogs for at least the weekend to give my old body time to repair itself. I really need to get the book, recommended to me by Aaron Blaisdell, Body by Science, that talks about intense 12 minute workouts followed by 7 days of rest! Here is the link to the author's blog...ok, I just went to Amazon.ca and purchased this before finishing my post - I can't wait to read it!

I got the kids off to school with no fuss, and then went for a long, slow, meandering walk with the dogs. In sum we were out and about for about an hour and fifteen minutes. About and hour of this was spent walking and the rest spent chatting with friends (human and canine) along the route. I think every day should be required to start, and possibly to end, this way.

Later on the whole family went into Edmonton to the Ice on Whyte festival. The sculptures were amazing and we had fun tooling around, drinking some coffee and hot chocolate and listening to the Karaoke singers/entertainment. The outing was finished off with a trip to a donair shop on Whyte Avenue (the name escapes me). Ice sculptures, hot coffee, and donair meat; works for me!