Amazing Eggs

Yesterday we went to our favorite ranch to pick up some delicious grass-fed beef and some equally delicious fresh eggs from pastured chickens. The owners of the ranch are wonderful, hard-working people who have a deep love and respect for their land and for farming.

As I was chatting with the Betty (the owner), she mentioned that she didn’t have any washed eggs, as she hadn’t had time yet, so if we could wait, she would wash some. I asked her if we had to have them washed and she began to tell me things I never knew about eggs. First of all, the eggs come out of the chicken with a coating on them that actually seals the egg. That coating is dissolved when the eggs are washed.

Additionally, if you raise chickens and want to sell to a restaurant or grocery store, it is a federal mandate that the eggs must not only be washed prior to selling, but also sprayed with bleach water. Now you might say, “So what?”  Well, when the eggs are washed the above-mentioned natural seal is dissolved. Now the eggs are porous, so the bleach spray is absorbed into the eggshell, and sucked into the egg. So when you eat a grocery store egg, you get a shot of bleach with it.

According to Betty, we are one of the only countries that require all this rigmarole in order to sell an egg to a grocery store or restaurant. Her sister lives in Spain, and the stores sell unwashed eggs. Not only that, but the eggs are out on shelves, not refrigerated. Why? Well, eggs will last a long time unrefrigerated if they are unwashed. Remember, the natural coating seals the egg. No air gets to them, and so they have a long shelf life. So it is common in most other countries to have eggs out unrefrigerated.

Farm-raised, naturally fed chickens live as chickens are supposed to live. They run around in the pasture, eat bugs, worms, and whatever else chickens eat and produce eggs that are naturally high in Omega 3’s and other healthy nutrients. Chickens raised on soy, artificial hormones, and other bad juju from commercial feed providers whose eggs are sprayed with bleach solution just can’t compare.

So if you can find a great, local egg source, go get some real eggs.

Awesome Rainy Day Breakfast

We had such a delicious breakfast today. I posted the recipe on my website, coastalpaleo.com.

Local Food is Best

Yesterday we drove out to McK Ranch to stock up on pasture raised beef. They are in Dallas, OR., which is about 45 minutes from Lincoln City. They have such good beef sold at a great price. These beef are never fed corn or hormones, and the farm is small enough that you drive through the beautiful pastures where the cattle are grazing on your way to the farm store. Their cows are butchered there, and each package is labled with the date it was butchered and the cow #. So they don't mix up different cows in their packaging.

They also have chickens and eggs. What is super wonderful about their chickens is they have free-access to the outdoors for foraging and they are never fed corn or soy. So their chickens are healthy, well-cared for, clean, and the eggs are delicious and more nutritious. Visit their website at http://www.mckranch.com/. While your at it, check out eatwild.com for other growers who offer pastured beef, pork, lamb, chicken, etc products. These are the foods we should be eating. The list is growing all the time, and includes areas all over the country.

Today we're off to the Saturday Grower's Market in Newport for some local vegetables. Ooh, good stuff!

Fridge Raids

Some of my favorite breakfasts are a result of a morning fridge raid. This morning, for example, I found some frozen turkey from a previous turkey feast (I freeze leftover turkey in sandwich bag size portions for just such an occasion), some green and red peppers that leftover from our chicken veg soup (ooh, that was good), half a zuc, most of half an onion from last night's dinner, some spinach, kale, two green onions, and a still usable jalapeno . So I just chopped, threw together, sauteed with fresh garlic, added some chili spices, sweet smoked paprika, and some leftover frozen El Pato enchilada sauce. Then, because I love eggs, I did an over easy egg and threw it on top of my share. Man, that was good, not to mention, easy.

 

It's so easy to do a fridge raid meal. With all the veggies, proteins, and stuff available, nothing ever has to go to waste. I change up the seasonings. Sometimes it Mexican, sometimes Thai (I use coconut aminos, rice vinegar, garlic, and fresh ginger in the sauce, then finish with a squeeze of fresh lemon or lime juice, and a splash of fish sauce), sometimes Japanese, Italian, Moroccan, or just everyday spices. There is no end of possibilities.  

 

Loren Cordain Sorts out the

So the US News has come up with their best diets report. It's interesting that a panel of "Experts" rated the Paleo Diet last, however, if you look at the ratings from actual users, the Paleo Diet rated best in "Did this diet work for you?" category.

Loren Cordain has brilliantly refuted the ridiculous, specious jounalism that was the Top-Rated Diet article. Below is a link to the article Loren has written. This link will take you to Robb Wolf's website. Be sure to read the comments, too. One of the comments, by The Warning, brought up the point that the "top rated" diet (DASH Diet) was a collaborative effort of the National Institutes of Health and Monsanto. Also that the diets were rated in descending order of how they adhered to the USDA Food Pyramid.

Anyway, make sure you read Loren Cordains response. It's all cited, so you can look up the real science.


http://robbwolf.com/2011/06/09/us-news-best-diets/

Vegetarian Chickens - Really?

I was at the store this weekend buying eggs. I like organic eggs, but one thing I always notice is the cartons boast that the chickens are fed vegetarian diets. Since when did chickens become vegetarians? Left on their own devices, they eat most anything, but especially insects, worms, whatever. Since that is how they are made, I don't see how a vegetarian diet is a plus for a chicken. I'm just sayin'.

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