Galya and I get a lot of questions during consultations and client meetings, not to mention via Facebook and email. Many questions are common or interesting enough to share, so here you go!
Grass fed bone broth
I really want to make bone broth from grass fed beef bones, but I can’t find any? What else can I do to get the benefits of bone broth?
You can make bone broth from regular bones, for starters.
The best thing about buying grass fed beef is the support of the ranchers who are raising beef in this more humane manner. The cows are healthier, the meat is healthier, and presumably, so are the bones. The health benefits of grass fed beef to you over conventionally raised beef is marginal, despite the hype; You’re really doing it for the cows, the ranchers, and the environment, which I fully support.
Still, YOU have to get healthy, so make your bone broth. Just like conventionally grown vegetables are healthier for you than no vegetables, bone broth from conventionally raised beef is healthier for YOU than no bone broth.
No matter what you use for your bone broth (conventional, organic, grass fed, pastured, beef, pork, chicken, game, etc.) I recommend you skim and discard the fat, anyway. Fat that’s been ‘cooking’ for 24-48 hours is going to be oxidized and no longer at its best.
If you have high quality bones and really want that fat for cooking, roast them at a low temp to render out as much fat as possible, first. Drain and save the fat. Simmer the bones for just a couple of hours and skim and save that fat, as well. NOW, make your bone broth by bringing the broth and bones back to a simmer and letter them go for your looooong simmer. Any fat that’s left at this point is not worth saving, in my opinion.
10,000 steps a day is too many steps
I’m trying to take your advice to walk more, but you recommend 10,000 steps a day, which I can never do. Last week I averaged about 50,000, even going on a longer walk on Saturday and got 10,000 steps!
Good job! You don’t have to stop at 10k on Saturday. Shoot for an average of 10k per day (eventually), and Saturday and Sunday can even be higher. A walk on the beach or a short hike, grocery store trips, yard work, house cleaning, a walk to the park or to the store? They all add up.
Build up over time – You got 50k last week. That great! You’re doing better than 90% of America already. Next week why not try for 60k? Just remember that it’s an average. Even Galina and I have days of an embarrassing 5,000 steps here and there, but we make up for it on other days.
How can I get my kids to like almond butter?
My kids used to love Skippy Natural peanut butter, but they won’t eat the almond butter and jelly sandwiches I make. How can I get them to like the switch?
Is that almond butter again?
First, almond butter is not magic. No one needs to eat it. We don’t have an almond deficiency.
Of the ingredients of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, the peanut butter is the healthiest part. Unless it’s some magic bread or sugarless superfood jelly, I’d be more worried about those parts of the meal than the peanut butter.
I’d love to make a sweeping change to 100% real foods, all natural, and healthy, but often have to pick our battles and make small, incremental changes.
Instead of swapping in the almond butter, are there things you could do to decrease the ‘bad guys’ or increase the ‘good guys,’ whether it’s in this meal or another? Every week or so, make a small, incremental change to their (and your) diet; it’s less disruptive and won’t lead to a full fledged revolt!
My kids never eat sandwiches unless they do it on their own. They will eat peanut butter with a spoon, fruit, and even celery and carrots; all of which can be packed into a lunch bag as easily as a sandwich. If you do that, even though it’s peanut instead of almond, you’ve won way more than you’ve lost.
Here’s the Good Guys, Bad Guys, just in case you haven’t seen it!
Later, people!
Roland