Know Where Your Food Comes From

Let’s face it, grass-fed organic beef and pastured poultry can be pricey. Everyone can’t afford it. But, you don’t have to overhaul your entire diet to eat more intentionally.

Start by becoming curious about the food you already buy.

• Know its origin. Is that garlic from China? Are those peaches from Peru? Shopping locally and regionally helps keeps money at home.
• Choose quality over quantity. A smaller portion of thoughtfully produced meat alongside plenty of vegetables can be a satisfying, balanced meal.
• Make the connection. Farmers markets, local producers, and trusted ranches can reconnect you with the people behind your food.
• Cook it simply. When you start with a good ingredient, you don’t need to do much to make it delicious like with this French Onion Meatloaf.
• Think beyond your plate. Consider not only how food nourishes you, but how it was produced and its impact on farmers, animals, and the land.

The Good and Good for You philosophy: You don’t have to be perfect. Just be a little more intentional, a little more often.

Self-Care Strategy

Grass-fed Beef Health Benefits

Self-care isn’t just bubble baths and spa time. Nourishing your body with good food is self-care, too.

• Grass-fed beef is a nutrient-dense source of high-quality protein, providing all nine essential amino acids.
• It’s also rich in vitamin B12, zinc, selenium and iron, nutrients important for energy metabolism, immune function, and overall health.
• Grass-fed beef can also provide more omega-3 fatty acids than conventionally raised beef.

Health experts, including the American Institute for Cancer Research, recommend limiting cooked red meat to 12 to 18 ounces per week, or roughly 1 to 3 small servings. Keeping portions to about 3 to 4 ounces allows you to enjoy the protein and iron red meat provides while supporting a balanced, health-conscious approach to eating.

I prefer lean grass-fed beef for recipes like this French Onion Meatloaf. The beef flavor is more robust and rich — think quality over quantity. And, with commodity beef so expensive, ground grass fed beef can be an affordable, healthful, and smart choice.

That’s self-care you can put on a plate.

Ideas & Inspiration

My friend  Will Harris III, is a cowboy straight out of central casting. He’s rugged with a rich, deep voice and a legendary drawl. He is a Deep South cattleman from the top of his Stetson hat to the tip of his well-worn leather boots. His family has lived on the outskirts of Bluffton for six generations.

An untrained eye might take a look at Will sitting in his truck with the gun rack in the back window and simply see a South Georgia farmer. They might hear his thick accent and assume his thoughts and concerns about the earth were about as deep as the red Georgia clay caked on his leather boots. They might make all the social and educational assumptions that one might make about a South Georgia farmer. They would be wrong.

A Bold Return to Giving a Damn

Will has long said, “When food is cheap, it is paid for elsewhere.”

Large corporate monopolies narrow product variety, drive up consumer costs, and create severe vulnerabilities in the global food chain. Low prices often mean low pay and poor safety for farm workers. Mass produced food comes from large farms that value profit over the environment. Low-cost meat often means animals live in crowded and cruel conditions.

 A Bold Return to Giving a Damn tells the Harris family story of shifting away from industrial, chemical-heavy agriculture toward a holistic, regenerative farming model.

And, the next generation gives a damn, too. Daughters Jenni and Jodi are now an integral part of the operations. It’s incredible to see the growth of the farm over the years and their beautiful families, too. Good people, good family, good work, and good food — proud to call them my friends.

• Give them a follow on Instagram at @whiteoakpastures
• Visit their website whiteoakpastures.com and sign up for their newsletter
• Check out their shopping app
• Make sure to check out their cabins, classes, and activities.

And, if you are in Atlanta, make sure to pay a visit to their new store at Upper West Market on Collier Road.