Blueberry Muffins by Primal Mom

 

Why Beef is Killing our Children...

Imagine sitting down to dinner, at a 5-Star restaurant... you have a beautiful steak, seared to perfection... just before you take your first bite, the chef runs out and screams, "Wait! I forgot the best part!" As he says this, he pulls out six massive needles and injects your juicy steak with hormone steroids: testosterone, progesterone, zeranol,  progestin melengestrol acetate, trenbolone acetate and estradiol. After injecting your steak with these drugs, the chef then pulls out twelve more needles and injects your steroid steak with chlortetracycline, procaine penicillin, oxytetracycline, tylosin, bacitracin, neomycin sulfate, streptomycin, erythromycin, linomycin, oleandomycin, virginamycin, and bambermycins.

Sound tasty? Dig in...


ALL of these hormones are used in conventional US Cattle...
Bigger cows means more money in the cattle ranchers pocket! Hormone implants, to promote faster growth, are common practice among cattle ranchers in the United States. In 1954, the first growth hormone was used in beef cattle. Today, over six different growth hormones are routinely used in cattle beef.

In the United States, not only do cattle ranchers use growth hormones throughout the life of the cattle, but cattle ranchers, routinely, inject their cattle with growth hormones, specifically, during the last 100 days of life to make them bigger. Bigger cows means more meat, which means more money. Who cares about the health of the person eating their meat, right?

Thanks, FDA...
Yes, the Food and Drug Administration actually approves all of these growth hormones. Head on over to the FDA's website to read all about their hormone approval process. You will see titles, such as, "Naturally occurring hormones". The FDA claims that it is OK to inject cows with the same hormones that are already naturally occurring in their body... because they are already naturally occurring anyway. Why not give them more? I think the FDA needs to research the term "natural".
I mean, we all know what happens to a human male that is injected with steroids "naturally" occurring in his body. Bigger, stronger, more aggressive behavior and, in a lot of cases, he can become extremely violent.  Yup, that sounds really safe to eat. Thanks, FDA! I will pass...

Why Does This Matter?
Remember that first hormone that was injected into cows in 1954? It was called diethylstilbestrol, or DES. DES was approved by the FDA as a growth hormone for cows and humans. It is a synthetic version of estrogen. The FDA deemed this hormone as safe. Two-thirds of cattle were treated with this hormone in 1954. Fast forward to the 1960's and it was discovered that the hormone DES was causing vaginal cancer in girls... Not girls that used the hormone, but girls who's mothers were injected with the hormone and passed this synthetic hormone down to their daughters! Finally, in the 1970's the FDA, who once approved this hormone in livestock and humans, pulled the plug on its use! Again, Thanks, FDA...

The Dangers Do Not Stop There...
Introduction of synthetic hormones can cause faster puberty rates among girls. The problem with this is that faster puberty rates are linked to higher cancer rates! Early puberty (age 8 or younger) has been a concern and one study was conducted on girls that all reached purberty early... Guess what? Traces of zeranol were found in the girls blood, when an investigation was done by the Center for Disease Control. Zeranol is a common synthetic growth hormone used in cattle, not humans.
Please note: today, in the United States, 46% of girls reach puberty before the age of eight years old. In countries, like Europe, where growth hormones are banned in cattle beef, the average age of puberty is between 15-17 years old...

The Dangers Keep Going...
The Breast Cancer Fund states that Zeranol is responsible for abnormal cell growth, even when used at a thirty times lower dosage amount than what the FDA has approved. Furthermore, they state the zeranol hormone has the ability to transform healthy human breast cells to a pre-cancerous profile and transform healthy cells to breast tumors. Wow. Yet, the FDA is perfectly fine with allowing our little girls to consume milk and meat that has been routinely treated with this hormone... Again, treated at a rate THIRTY-TIMES HIGHER than what studies are showing to be dangerous.

And Going...
A study showed that hormone-laden beef consumption in mothers, while pregnant, caused low sperm count in the sons born to those mothers. Low sperm count means below the World Health Organization for subfertility. A control group was used, who consumed very little hormone-laden beef, and the sons born to those mothers had a 24.3% higher sperm count than average. Essentially, the growth hormones used in the cattle, which was then consumed by pregnant mothers (which the FDA states is safe!), caused subfertility in their children!

Note Worthy...
The European Union has banned the use of growth hormones in their cattle! In fact, US cattle beef is banned from even being used in Europe! Again, in Europe, the average age of puberty is 15-17 years old, whereas it is between 8-10 years old in the United States. That is all...

What Beef is Safe to Consume...
100% Grass-Fed cows are NOT treated with growth hormones. It is as simple as that!!

Think about that the next time you are looking at the prices of meat at the butcher counter. What is your health worth to you? What is your risk of breast cancer worth to you? or...What are your son and daughter's reproductive organs worth to you?


PRIMAL MOM

EAT MORE FAT!

Low-Fat. Light. Fat-Free. Reduced Calorie. Non-Fat. Skim.

 

These words are plastered all over "foods" in our grocery store aisles and, like sheep, we grab them off the shelves, without hesitation. When did fat become the enemy?

The Enemy:In the late 1980's a "War on Fat" was created. Apparently, research showed that America was getting fatter and unhealthier...Fat (supposedly), specifically saturated fat, was  deemed the cause.


The Mistake:
In an effort to reel in obesity rates, the need for diet related medications (i.e. cholesterol meds... or really any medication you have to take...) and get America "healthy" again, fat was removed from foods. Why didn't this make us healthier? Well, fat was then replaced with processes and processed junk! Fat tastes great! When you take it out, you really have no flavor left. So... in comes sugar... and we all know how Primal Mom feels about sugar...

The Consequences:
According to the National Institute for Health, in 1974, about 15% of adults were in the obese category. Fast forward, through four decades of "low fat" foods... and that number has basically tripled, leaving almost 40% of adults, in the United States, obese!!!! That is not even counting the number of adults that are just considered overweight. If you want to factor in the number of people overweight, sadly, that number is about 66% of our population. All the while, stocking their pantry's with low-fat, light, fat-free, reduced calorie, non-fat and skim "products".
Needless to say, since removing fat from our diets, we are fatter, unhealthier and on more medications than we ever were in the 1980's, when the "War on fat" began. In fact, there are claims that removing fat from our diet has had the most disastrous effect on our health, than any other dietary change, in history... Wow!

The Fix: 
EAT FAT and remove processed (i.e. the low fat, fat free, etc.) junk from your diet!

Cook with clean oils: Avocado and Olive Oils, to name a few. Cook with real butter (like my great-grandmother used to do, who also lived into her 100's!)
Stop getting so concerned over caloric intake for weight loss and just focus on whole, real, unprocessed foods, free of chemicals and other additives.
Naysayers, hold your critiques and wait for my upcoming blog post on "Dietary Cholesterol: Why it isn't so bad!"

Let me finish by saying... you cannot, logically, look at "Low Fat" cheese or any food, where something has been removed from it, and think to yourself, "Well, this is a good idea!" Go buy some fat...


PRIMAL MOM

Is Sugar KILLING you?

Is sugar killing you?

Why would you eat clean? or Primal? or Paleo?
"Everything is fine in moderation!" Right? Is this true? Can we consume anything we want, so long as it is in 'moderation'?

What is moderation anyway?
Moderation is restraint; avoidance of excess or excessiveness. The problem with moderation is that it is a subjective term. The other problem is that, when you consume an actual drug in moderation, you can still become addicted, it can still cause mental harm, it can still cause physical harm and you can become ill.

The CDC (Center for Disease Control) recently confirmed that children receive almost 20% of their daily calories from added sugar! 20%! Is that moderation? Keep in mind, that is added sugars, not sugars from natural sources, like fruit. The CDC states that the National Center for Health Statistics recommends no more than 5% of our daily calories come from added sugar. I would venture to say we are NOT consuming sugar in moderation.  

What is added sugar anyway?
Granola Bars, cereal, pasta sauces, bread and drinks top the list! What do all these items have in common (besides ridiculously high sugar!)? They are all processed foods! A researcher with the Environmental Working Group states that the only way to reduce sugar intake is to remove processed foods from our diet!

What happens when you eat sugar anyway?
There is a laundry list of health problems, but some that top the list are:

Sugar thickens your blood

Sugar effectively disables your immune system

Sugar decreases your body's ability to control your appetite

Sugar causes stress in the body

Sugar appears to have a connection to cancer

Sugar promotes fat storage and weight gain..

What else?
Diabetes... Type II Diabetes. Currently, there are 27 million people with Type II Diabetes and another 86 million that are prediabetic, in the United States. That is about a 1/3 of our entire population. This is an unbelievable statistic, considering Type II Diabetes is 100% diet/lifestyle related and preventable! Wait for my upcoming blog, specifically on Type II Diabetes.


PLEASE NOTE: When writing this post, I discovered that one of the American Diabetes Associations recommendations for helping with Type II Diabetes is to: "try not to eat too much food." Thanks, ADA... are you flipping serious?


PRIMAL MOM

Chicken Nuggets

Chicken Nuggets
Author: Amber Butcher- www.primalmom.com


Ingredients:

• 1 Chicken Breast (cubed: bite size pieces)
• 1 C Tapioca Starch/Flour
• 1 t  Celery Salt
• 1 t Garlic Powder
• 2 T Chili Powder
• 1 t Salt
• 1 t Pepper
• 2 T White Vinegar
• 2 Eggs
• 2 T Coconut Milk
• 1-2 C Olive Oil or other clean oil for frying*

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, mix the eggs, coconut milk and vinegar.
2.  In another bowl, mix the tapioca flour, celery salt, garlic powder, chili powder, salt and pepper.
3. Dip each chicken piece into the egg mixture, coating it. Then, coat it with the tapioca mixture. Set aside. Repeat until all chicken bites are coated.
4. In a large skillet, heat your oil. When hot, carefully add one chicken piece, at a time. Do not overcrowd the pan. Cook for 5-7 minutes, on each side.
5. When done, let nuggets drain on a clean paper towel.

*You can use bacon grease, lard or any other clean oil of your choice.



Pumpkin Spice Muffins

Pumpkin Spice Muffins
Author: Amber Butcher- www.primalmom.com

Ingredients:

• ½ C  Hazelnut Flour
• ½ C  Coconut Flour
• 1 ½ C  Pumpkin Puree* (about ½ a small pumpkin)
• 4  Eggs
• 2 T  Maple Syrup
• 1 ½  t  Ground Nutmeg
• 1 t  Ground Cinnamon
• 1 t  Ground Allspice
• ½ t  Ground Ginger
• ½ t  Baking Soda
• 2 t  Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1  Ripe Banana

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. In a large bowl, mix all of the ingredients, except Apple Cider Vinegar. Be sure the banana is mashed and everything is completely blended.
3. Once it is mixed, add Apple Cider Vinegar. Mix well, then immediately spoon into muffin cups. Fill each cup to the top, since muffins will not rise much.
   Note: I use silicone, which does not require greasing. You may need to use oil, such as coconut oil.
4. Bake muffins for 30-40 minutes. Let cool on counter, until middle is no longer soft, before trying to remove.
5. Store in the refrigerator.

*Pumpkin Puree:
Cut pumpkin in half. In a glass baking dish, place pumpkin upside down, in 1 inches of water. Bake in the oven for 30-45 minutes or until the shell is completely soft. Spoon out pumpkin for homemade pumpkin puree.

Primal Mom Trail Mix

Primal Mom Trail Mix
Author: Amber Butcher- www.primalmom.com

Ingredients:

• 3 cups of Raw Nuts*
• 1/2 C Sunflower Seeds
• 1/2 C Coconut Flakes
• 1 T Maple Syrup
• 1 T Cinnamon
• 1/2 C Dark Chocolate Chips (optioonsal)
• Coconut Oil

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 200.
2. Grease a glass baking dish with coconut oil.
3. Pour mixed nuts and seeds into your glass dish and mix well.
4. Drizzle the maple syrup over the nuts, then sprinkle your cinnamon
5. Bake nuts for 10 minutes on 200. Remove and stir nuts.
6. Bake for another 10 minutes, then let cool completely.
7. When cooled, mix in coconut flakes and chocolate chips.
8. Store in individual snack bags, for easy on-the-go snacks.

Optional: Any spices will work! For a spicy mix, add 1/2 t paprika with 1/2 t cayenne pepper

*For my nut mixture, I use:
- 1/2 C pecans
- 1 C almonds
- 1 C macadamia nuts
- 1/2 C cashews