Our Biggest Sale Ever Ends Saturday Night

The following items are currently on sale in the US Wellness Meats store:

Flat Iron steaks - Four 8.5-oz. steaks per package
Small brisket - 3 lb.
Free range chicken breasts - Two breasts per 1.4 lb. package
25-lb. bundle of 75% lean ground beef (limited supply)
Beef tongue bundle - package of 6
Goat rib chops - Two 6-oz. chops per package
Goat shoulder roast - 2.7 lb.

Hurry on over to our store! This sale expires at 11:59 p.m. (Central Standard Time) Saturday, November 1.

Slow Cooker Italian Chicken Thighs

The recent onset of chilly fall weather has brought the slow cooker out of its summer resting period, ready to provide a hearty, warm meal when we arrive home from work. In an effort to find more recipes to utilize our favorite fall cooking method, we ran across this simple, yet hearty recipe featuring chicken thighs (which were recently restocked). Enjoy!

Italian-Style Chicken Thighs

3 lbs. free range chicken thighs, skinned
1 (14.5-oz.) can Italian-style diced tomatoes, not drained
1 (6-oz.) can tomato paste
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 tbsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Place chicken thighs in a slow cooker.
2. Combine next 6 ingredients in a medium bowl; stir well. Pour sauce over chicken.
3. Cover and cook on high for 1 hour. Reduce heat to low and cook 4-5 hours, or until chicken is thoroughly cooked and tender. Yield: 6 servings.

- Adapted from Cooking Light

Holiday Planning: Classic Rib Roast

From retail stores to magazines to online merchants, Americans are being (not-so-subtly) reminded that the holidays are just around the corner. While planning for the holidays is sometimes looked upon with dread, this year it might just be a welcome diversion from political advertisements and economic news.

We are pleased to offer the traditional free-range turkey for your holiday meals, but if you are seeking an alternative, the tasteful simplicity of a standing rib roast cannot be beat. The ease of preparing this recipe will help free up time for preparing side dishes or relaxing with your loved ones.

Standing Rib Roast
One standing 3-rib roast
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Place meat on the rack of a roasting pan; rub fat with salt and pepper. Place in preheated oven.
3. Reduce heat to 350 degrees; bake 15-20 minutes per pound, or until meat thermometer indicates medium rare.

- Adapted from Sally Fallon's Nourishing Traditions

Blog reader exclusive: 15 on the 15th

Since this summer's inception of the US Wellness Meats blog, we've had a great time sharing stories, recipes, and thoughts about grass-fed beef with our readers. We posted one of our favorite lamb recipes earlier today, but that just didn't seem like enough. You see, it's a cool, rainy day here in the Midwest, and we could think of nothing better to brighten our day than to share with you an exclusive 15% discount, just for US Wellness Meats blog readers.

How can you take advantage of this special offer? It's easy, either:
A) E-mail us at uswellnessmeatsblog@gmail.com
- or -
B) Leave a comment below (make sure to leave your e-mail address or a link to your blog where we can find your e-mail address)

If you are among the first 100 readers to e-mail us or leave a comment, we'll e-mail you a 15% off coupon code, which will be valid until 12/31/2008. The discount excludes sale items, orders 40 pounds or more, prior purchases, and purchase of the Flavorwave Oven.

Thanks for reading our blog!

Lemon-Garlic Lamb Chops

Lemon and garlic are perfect companions for grass-fed lamb chops. We're confident you will be "wowed" by this simple, yet delicious recipe. The lemon-garlic marinade would also work well on lamb kabobs. Enjoy!

Lemon-Garlic Marinated Lamb Chops

1 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp. grated lemon zest
2 tbsp. chopped fresh oregano (or 2 tsp. dried)
6 cloves garlic, minced (approx. 2 tbsp.)
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
6 to 8 lamb loin chops

1. In a small bowl, stir together oil, lemon juice and zest, oregano, garlic, salt, and pepper. Put the lamb chops in a sealable plastic bag (or glass dish) and pour the marinade over them. Move the chops around in the bag (or dish) so the marinade coats them well. Seal the bag (or cover the dish) and marinate for 20 minutes to 1 hour at room temperature.
2. Meanwhile, preheat the broiler, grill, or grill pan to medium heat.
3. Remove the chops from the marinade and discard the marinade. Grill or broil chops for 4-5 minutes per side for medium rare, or to your desired degree of doneness.

- Recipe adapted from The Food You Crave, by Ellie Krieger

Grass-Fed Beef Continues to Gain Momentum

It makes our day when we see grass-fed beef mentioned in a magazine, on a blog, or on the television. Every additional mention of grass-fed beef indicates that people are becoming more conscientious about their food choices. Conscientious food choices, such as choosing grass-fed beef over grain-fed beef, typically lead to tastier meals, a healthier environment, and better nutrition. And that is certainly enough to make our day at US Wellness Meats.

Some of the most recent grass-fed beef mentions include:

• The September 2008 issue of Self magazine featured a recipe for Grass-Fed Beef with Herbs.
• In its July/August 2008 issue, Women's Health magazine included an article about the benefits of grass-fed beef.
• The following commercial for the new Acura TSX luxury car mentions grass-fed beef.

Perfect for Fall: Cider-Glazed Pork Chops

Looking for a great new fall recipe? Look no further than Cider-Glazed Pork Chops. This family friendly recipe would make an ideal dinner following an afternoon trip to a local orchard. Enjoy!

Cider-Glazed Pork Chops
4 boneless butterfly pork chops
freshly ground pepper and sea salt, to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup apple cider
1 tablespoon maple syrup
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1/4 teaspoon ground mustard (or more if desired)

Directions:

1. Pat pork chops dry with paper towels. Season each side with pepper and sea salt. Heat oil in a large frying pan or skillet over medium-high heat until just hot; add pork chops and brown both sides for approximately 5 minutes.
2. Stir cider and maple syrup together and add to skillet. Reduce heat to low and simmer the pork chops, uncovered, turning the chops after a minute, until the meat is almost cooked through, about 2 minutes. Remove pork chops to a plate.
3. Add the vinegar and ground mustard to the frying pan juices and bring to a boil, scraping up any brown bits on the bottom of the pan with a spatula. Continue to cook until the glaze mixture is reduced to about 1/3 cup (5 to 10 minutes; mixture will be bubbly). Turn off heat. Return pork chops to skillet, along with any juices that formed on the bottom of the plate.
4. Turn pork chops to coat both sides with the cider glaze, cover frying pan and allow to rest for 2-3 minutes. Check thickest part of the pork chop for desired doneness. Serve immediately.

Our Animals Eat Right . . .

At US Wellness Meats, our specialty is grass-fed beef. But what exactly does "grass-fed" mean? To us, grass-fed means the animals are fed no grains and no starches - never, ever, at any point. With the obvious exception of mama's milk when they are calves, our cattle thrive with a diet composed of only:

• Fresh pasture grasses (a mix of native cool and warm season grasses, clover, and summer annual grasses)
• Hay (fresh pasture grass, harvested and stored when dry)
• Haylage (fresh pasture grass which is cut at optimal freshness, stored and covered while moist, thus allowing fermentation)

In our Midwestern climate, with careful management of the grazing pastures and by utilizing the grass storage techniques above, we are able to provide excellent and abundant forage-based nutrition to cattle year-round.
















In addition to high quality forages (grasses), US Wellness cattle receive organic minerals and have constant access to fresh, clean water.

The lamb, bison, goat, and dairy is all produced by the same protocol as the beef - a 100% grass-based diet with no grains or starches.

Why is a grass-based diet so important? Cattle, lambs, bison, and goats (as well animals we don't raise - such as deer, camels, giraffes, alpacas and elk) are ruminant animals. Ruminants were designed to efficiently digest forages. Their complex "stomachs" have four chambers, the first of which is the rumen (hence ruminant). The rumen is important because it begins the process of digesting grass, but allows for regurgitation of the grass for further mechanical breakdown (chewing) - also known as rumination (or "cows chewing their cud"). Ruminants were designed with this complex digestive system specifically for digesting grasses and plants; they were not designed to digest grains. In fact, when ruminants consume large amounts of grain, they are at risk of developing acidosis, where the digestive pH falls to a dangerously acidic level. Acidosis contributes to a myriad of problems in ruminant animals, and can even cause death. This explains why grain-fed cattle are often raised with daily doses of antibiotics - because they were not designed to consume a grain-based diet and, without the intervention of drugs and chemicals, risk illness or death as a result. Not only is grass-fed beef better for you - it is also better for the cattle and the environment; cattle were designed to be raised on grass.

Pigs and chickens, on the other hand, have a completely different digestive system than cows. Pigs and chickens are "monogastrics," meaning they have a single chambered stomach (humans also have a stomach with a single compartment). Monogastric animals were not designed with the ability to break down an entirely grass-based diet; however, monogastric animals do have the digestive enzymes needed to digest a wider variety of proteins and carbohydrates. Thus, monogastrics cannot thrive on grass alone. Now that we've established that the pigs, chickens, and rabbits are not grass-fed, let's take a look at their diets:

Chickens
Free-range chickens consume a pasture diet with supplemental feed. Supplemental feed is organic, non-GMO and consists of: corn; soybeans; vitamin mineral mix (kelp meal based) with probiotics; fish meal; crab meal; and coquina (seashells for calcium and grit). Supplemental feed makes up NO MORE than 50% of the diet. The majority of the diet is grass, clover, insects and worms. Chickens are moved to fresh pasture every 24 hours and in comparison to conventional chickens, receive only 25% of the amount of supplemental feed. Our chicken producer is currently working toward developing a supplemental feed ration using peanuts as a replacement for soybeans.

Pigs
Our pork is certified humane, raised using traditional methods (not in confinement) by a network of small family farms in Missouri. Pigs on pasture consume legumes (alfalfa, clover) and any small grains present in the pasture (oats, barley, rye, etc.) as well as supplemental feed. The corn-based supplemental feed is all natural and the animals never receive added hormones, steroids, or antibiotics.

At US Wellness Meats, we mean it when we say "Our animals eat right so you can too!"