Becoming Responsible Carnivores

It's Sunday morning, and we just finished eating bacon. This may seem pretty average to you and your family but we, as a family, have not made bacon in about 6 months. 6 months ago we watched Food Inc. the movie and it have been changing us ever since, in a great way. I HIGHLY recommend watching this movie. It should be required to be a human being living in our society today.

Going vegetarian isn't really an option for us although I do think about it regularly. The plain and simple fact is that we love to eat meat. Ask Olivia what she wants for dinner and she will always say "burger". It's in our genes. We love Steak and hot dogs just the same, we can't help that. But what we can do is be green about the meat we eat. (Just don't eat green meat... please) Husband and I want to be more responsible carnivores.

Enter stage right, Applegate Sunday Bacon...

• Delicious, thin, crispy, just the way we love it
• No antibiotics used, EVER
• Not preserved meaning nitrate and nitrite free
• Hardwood smoked = Yum
• Never fed animal byproducts, only veggies
• Raised on sustainable family farms
• Did I mention it's Yummy?
• Packaging has a "Promise Tracker" where you can go to the Applegate farm website and enter your products "Barn Code" and see more info about your product which may include where it came from, how it was raised, how is was packaged and etc.

 The price was almost 4 dollars for 8 ounces... considerably more expensive that the 2 pounds for 5 dollars sale you can find at Price Chopper... but I feel that it is worth it to know that my pig had a good life. Also the smaller package size means we eat less bacon, there was only 9 thin slices, which is a win for my heart... and the pigs.

While researching this blog I found some great other ways we can be greener about our meat consumption and be more responsible carnivores. This article here is amazing and these are some of their ideas...

• Buy humanely raised meat - We are actually going to raise our own chicken for meat soon. This is exciting to know EXACTLY where our food came from.
• Eat less meat! - We plan on making meatless Mondays a permanent fixture in out home. You can also have meat as the side dish to your vegetable main course.... Ever think of that? Huh?
• Buy meat that has less disposable packaging - Do we really need all that styrofoam and plastic, and that little juice pad? Buy from places that wrap meat in brown paper only.
• Use your leftovers - Make flavorful stocks from the bones or dog biscuits from the drippings!

• Buy meat from animals raised on organic feed if possible
• Avoid fast food meat at all costs - most of it is "meat product" anyway... who wants that??
• Buy meat direct from the grower at farmers markets - We did this last summer. Amazing...
• Spend more on your meat - Buy grass fed organic, the good stuff... It's a small price to pay for a better product and better health. Support small sustainable farms, it's worth it!

The animals will thank you!

To go with our bacon this morning I made THE most incredible pancakes. We experiment with a lot of pancake recipes but I do believe I have found the winner. It comes from the Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book recipe binder seen here..

Cute kid not included with this purchase



We used the Buttermilk Pancake recipe substituting Skim milk and lemon for the Buttermilk... They were amazing. Soft, light and fluffly on the inside while crispy on the outside. Exactly my specifications for the perfect pancake. I think the two keys to making this recipe so great was 1) letting the batter sit to get nice and fluffy for 10 minutes and 2) putting it on the hot griddle covered in bacon grease..

it's Sunday remember and we made use of our meat leftovers

Buttermilk Pancakes - adapted from Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 Tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 cups sour milk or buttermilk
• 3 tablespoons cooking oil

Mix all dry ingredients together in a large bowl and then mix all wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Add wet to dry all at once and stir just until combined. Let sit 5-10 minutes while bacon sizzles. Pour about a 1/4 cup of batter onto the sizzling griddle after bacon in removed and continue on entire griddle to make use of all the bacon-y goodness. Flip when small bubbles can be seen in the middle of the pancake and the edges are dry.

Continue to cook until golden brown.

Serve with Applegate Sunday bacon and warmed 100% pure maple syrup, on your wedding china... because they are that good... Make these... now... Yum!

This afternoon we are picking up our next foster puppy Mitch.
Husband says he looks like trouble.We will see!



Question of the day
What is your favorite Breakfast food??