Top Ten Reasons to Eat Grassfed from AGA
April 16, 2011
Top Ten Reasons to Eat Grassfed
As promised, continuing from our last newsletter, here is a more in depth explanation of each of the top ten health reasons to eat grassfed beef.
1. Lower in TOTAL FAT*
Grassfed beef is lower in TOTAL FAT than grainfed beef.
Grass is a cows natural diet, so they are able to process it better. Grain is fed to cattle to make them quickly gain weight.
Pasture-raised cattle are not given artificial hormones. Most grainfed cattle are given hormones to make them grow faster, forcing them to put on weight quickly, which results in a higher fat content.
The overall total fat content of pasture-raised cattle is usually about 25% lower than grainfed cattle.
Since grassfed meat is lean, it is also lower in calories. Protein and carbohydrates each have 4 calories per gram, whereas fat has 9 calories per gram, the higher the fat content, the higher the total number of calories.
If you have any questions or topics you would like covered email rita@americangrassfed.org.
* S.K. Duckett et al, Journal of Animal Science, (published online) June 2009, “Effects of winter stocker growth rate and finishing system on: III. Tissue proximate, fatty acid, vitamin and cholesterol content.”
Grassfed Recipe: Grassfed Goat Cheese Salad
Provided by: Ed Doyle, Real Food Consulting, realfoodconsulting.com
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice, or to taste
1 small shallot, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp Dijon-style mustard, or to taste
1 tbsp minced fresh parsley leaves
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 lb log of grassfed goat cheese, cut crosswise into 6 pieces
egg wash, one large egg beat with one tbsp water
1 cup fine dry bread crumbs
2 small heads Boston lettuce, finely shredded
1 small head radicchio, finely shredded
Make the vinaigrette: In a small bowl whisk together the lemon juice, shallot, garlic, mustard, parsley, salt and pepper to taste, add the oil in a stream, and whisk the vinaigrette until it is emulsified.
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Dip the goat cheese pieces into the egg wash, dredge them in the bread crumbs, and transfer them to a lightly oiled baking sheet. Bake the goat cheese pieces in the middle of the oven for 6 minutes. While the goat cheese is baking, in a large bowl toss the lettuce and the radicchio with the vinaigrette and salt and pepper to taste.
Divide the salad among 6 plates, arrange 1 goat cheese piece on each plate, and serve the salads immediately.
Serves 6.
If you have a favorite recipe you would like us to include in an upcoming issue please email it to rita@americangrassfed.org.
Posted in: Beef, Shire Gate Farm 