Advantages of Grass Fed Beef and Dairy vs. Grain Fed

There seems to be a general misconception out there that red meat is evil and will cause you heart disease and other health related illnesses. However, a closer look at the facts can help point out that grass fed beef and dairy actually can be eaten pretty healthily and not cause all of the so-called diseases the public believes will fall upon them if they touch the stuff. While I do believe a balanced diet of lean meats and all things Paleo is the right approach, having grass fed beef multiple times a week is not going to kill you.

Here are a few bullet points that I took from an article on the topic that help illustrate some of the benefits of eating grass fed beef versus the general grain fed you'll find in most grocery stores.

-More antioxidant Vitamin E

-More antioxidant Beta Carotene

-More CLA

-Less Fat/Saturated Fats

-Less Omega 6/More Omega 3 fats

-Less chance of the animal getting sick or producing sick meat

Check out the full article here...charts included for easy digestion of the info!

A Call To Action

Something must be done! Simply, it can not go on like this any longer.

I have hit a point where I am making excuses for my poor eating and justifying why I can't work out far too often. This is going above and beyond the 80/20 rule of primal eating and living and it is starting to affect my mood and lifestyle. While I am exteremely happy with my decision to go primal it has caused me to slack off in my workout efforts. By eating primally I have some how ingrained in my mind that it is ok to not workout as often or with the passion I had before. Taking a rest day if I am tired is fine, but these 'rest days' are popping up all the time lately.

So, I am challenging myself with a call to action to become more primal with my eating and living and kick start my butt back into my previous workout mode. Starting Monday (4/26/10) I am getting back to my solid four to five day a week program that pushes me to the max. There will not be any light 'cardio' days where I plug away on an eliptical machine at the gym for 30 minutes. I will either be stretching myself at home with various P90X dvds for bodyweight exercises or hitting the gym and doing heavy lifting and sprinting on the treadmill.

Still having the occasional vice like a beer or dark chocolate here and there is ok, but my primal eating needs to get back on track as well. I have less than three months until I get married and my goal from now until then is to stay the course and keep my focus straight. Of course, my bachelor party is another story but i'll only be gone for a few days and I plan to give myself a killer workout the Thursday morning before our flight.

For those of you out there in a similar rut or situation, ask yourself if you need a call to action as well? I know I did.

NFL Draft Tonight!

Hard to believe it is already time for the 2010 NFL draft, it seems like the Super Bowl just took place and Favre was limping off the field toward another off-season of uncertainty.

I used to love sitting and watching the draft all day and listening the the analysts say the same thing over and over again. However, this year the NFL decided they wanted to have the draft in primetime on Thursday night instead of the usual all day Saturday and Sunday event. I'm not boycotting it by any means, but it is just another business ploy to make money and grab ratings. Saturday made it an 'event' for me while Thursday night makes it just another program on at night. I hope it flops and gets changed back but I'm not holding my breath.

As for the Packers, lots of needs on this team to fill but I'm hoping they stick with OTs and d-backs. We need quality and depth in both areas.

I swear, if TT drafts Tebow in the 1st round I will stop being a Packer fan until he is fired!

GO PACK!

Dinner and Grocery Shopping

Summer is almost here and that means two things; sun and the farmer's market! More on the farmer's market in another post, but Summer also makes me want to eat a lighter type of meal that has more of a Summer feel to it. So, last night I made a mozzarella, tomato and basil salad with my version of a tuna melt. Both are extremely easy to make and tasty.

The salad includes fresh mozzarella, cherry tomatoes, fresh basil, a little evoo and cracked pepper. As you can see, you simply slice the cheese and tomatoes and lay them out on a serving plate and then chop the basil and arrange on top. Then drizzle some evoo over it and add cracked pepper to taste. Chill in the fridge for an hour and serve! The tuna melt is my paleo version (so, sans the bread). Simple can of tuna with a slice of pepperjack cheese on top and put in the oven at 375 degree until cheese is melted.

While the above meal is a bit heavy on the cheese and dairy, i'm not too worried about some in my diet. I'll just make up for it by cutting back tomorrow by having very little to none...just balance it out. On to grocery shopping...

Grocery shopping the paleo way can be fun but also stressful at times if you are still tied up to old habits. I guess this will just take some time, but sticking to the outside walls of a grocery store is a helpful way to stay on track. The middle isles are usually full of the processed and packaged crap that we do NOT need anyway. There are a few items to wander into the forbidden ground (my own term) for like evoo, almond butter, pepper, etc., but don't get sucked in to those chips and cookies calling out your name!!!

My usual list at the store includes the following but does vary depending on season and how i'm feeling;

Proteins

-eggs(organic are best here)

-beef(grassfed variety)

-chicken

-Salmon

-Cod

-Shrimp

Veggies (LOAD UP)

-lettuce

-celery

-carrots

-avocados

-roma tomatoes

-green peppers

Fruits (some but not a lot)

-bananas (#1 on my list)

-apples

Dairy (some but not a lot)

-milk

-parmesan cheese

-mozzarella cheese

-string cheese

Sensible Vices (ok, but don't over indulge)

-dark chocolate

-beer

-wine

Liquids (don't waste your $)

Drink H2O, it's free and healthy for you. I know some people like fruit juices, but make sure they are 100% juice without the sugar or other additives included.

Crazy Tourney And Some Predictions

It's been awhile since I've posted, but lots has been going on recently and a quick post was needed.

So Duke ended up winning the NCAA title over Butler in a classic game of 'David vs. Goliath', however, Goliath ended up winning in the final seconds this time. Unfortunately David (Butler) cost me the chance at winning a certain pool for the second consecutive year, where I finished third. Although, I ended up winning the big $ pool, so all is good in terms of my pocketbook:) Overall it was a great tournament with TONS of upsets, can't wait for 2011! Unless they decide to expand from 65 to 96 team...no thanks.

Baseball season officially got underway on Sunday with the Yankees and Red Sox playing, typical, but that is a ramble for another day. Looking forward to watching the Brewers this year to see how they progress (hopefully) from last season. Planning on getting to at least one home game at Miller Park...always a good time. While they made some steps to improve the pitching staff, it wasn't a great improvement because of how terrible they were last year. The offense should be solid with Fielder and Braun in the middle of the lineup, but beyond them it might be a tough year for getting RBIs.

PREDICTION: 83 wins

And, The Masters started today with Tiger Woods making his comeback after a long layoff from his 'situation' at home. I always enjoy watching tournaments where Woods is in contention over the weekend, but I'm just not sure about him these days. As far as his golf game, I think he'll get right back to it.

PREDICTION: Tiger wins the Masters

That's it for now, but I'll have more soon.

Another Early Morning

While a workout was much needed last night after work, the gorgeous weather was too much to pass up. So, I grabbed a few drinks and food with a friend while sitting outside on the deck of a bar. This IS Wisconsin and 75 degree days in March don't come along very often! We headed to a local bar and restaurant called the Lazy Oaf Lounge and enjoyed some refreshing Hopalicious beer brewed from a local micro brewery (just down the road actually). It is an American pale ale and probably my favorite of the Ale Asylum microbrews. It was great to be able to be outside and not freeze for the first time in many many months.



Although I had a good time with the food, drinks and conversation I have been up since 5am this morning unable to sleep. I'm attributing this to the beer I had, as more than one in a night seems to really mess up my sleeping pattern. I don't do this often and not getting my much needed sleep will probably keep me from going out for a lot of happy hours in the future. Now and then is ok, but keeping a solid sleep schedule is essential to being healthy and active. Check out the link on sleep above, it really makes you want to get your 7-8 hours a night.

Looking forward to the beginning of April today and another beautiful day in Wisconsin.

Cheers