Grazy Days Family Farm
Most of us have kids who love fast food. Sadly, while cheap and convenient, fast food turns out to be a fast road to poor health. However, we don't have to stand over our kids forcing kale smoothies down their throats to get good nutrition into them :0) (thank goodness!). By keeping the same items but switching out the ingredients for more healthful ones, we can help them grow strong bodies and minds while still feeding them food they love like hamburgers, tacos, and chicken nuggets.
Example: for chicken nuggets, I take a local whole chicken raised on pasture and organic feed (because animals concentrate pesticides in their bodies when raised on conventional feed) and toss it in my instant pot with water (straight from the freezer!) . When it's soft, I cool it, take the meat from the bones, and cut the breast into large chunks. I mix up a quick breading (using rice or almond flour if gluten free or paleo) using herbs and salt. I stick the breading on with egg and fry the nuggets up, careful not to dislodge the breading. Voila! No undercooked parts or tendons. Happy kids. Happy me, knowing that meal will build them into the strong and vigorous people they were meant to be. I set aside the rest of the meat for soup after I've cooked the bones overnight with 2 TBS apple cider vinegar for broth. Or I make chicken salad for a great packed lunch, or curry, or one of our other favorites.
2) Go Slowly
If you are taking your family on a journey to better health, don't stress yourself or your kids out by trying to change everything at once. Start with something simple like substituting local, grass-fed beef (or lamb!) for the factory farmed stuff. Cook hamburgers at home instead of running through the drive through. They are still quick and delicious but now they will be chock full of life-giving nutrition instead of "pink slime" and chemical residue. (see below for more info)
A sprouted, whole-grain bun, avocado oil mayo, raw organic cheese, pesto, pastured bacon, sun-ripened tomato, and fermented pickle are great options to complete your dream hamburger.
For a ton of awesome information on what to eat and why, visit the Weston A. Price Foundation below. Note: I do not agree with the foundation on everything, especially some of their assertions about Covid. Never the less, changing my diet from low-fat vegetarian to nutrient-dense, based on their advice, fixed several large health problems for me.
3) Find Sources You Trust
Whenever I need to find a new source for something we eat, I find it tiring. I have to locate various sources, research them, and worst of all: make a choice. ;0)
However, once I've done that, I can relax. For example, each time I need corn tortillas for homemade tacos, which is often, I reach for Food for Life Organic Sprouted Corn Tortillas. They are easy to find in the frozen food section of my health food store and easy to keep fresh in my freezer. Why Sprouted? See here: https://www.westonaprice.org/video/proper-preparation-of-grains-and-legumes-video-by-sarah-pope/
I just fry them up in some ghee, tallow, or coconut oil (hint - buy the expeller pressed instead of the extra virgin so everything you make doesn't taste of coconut. My kids hated coconut oil until I figured this out. Sometimes stores don't carry it. You can buy it online. It's debateably just as nutritious. Plus, it's cheaper. Win!)
Add some scrambled ground beef or lamb, home-made re-fried beans full of bone broth (which I make ahead and keep in the freezer to speed things up), and other delicious toppings and dinner is on the table in a flash.
