Three reasons ethically-raised beef is good for you

The New Year is here and along with it comes a brand new set of resolutions. Many of us aim to eat better and be healthier, but that doesn’t mean you have to ditch all of your favorite foods. For instance, I’m a meat lover and was surprised to learn, on a recent trip to Life Choice’s Grandview Farm in Ontario, that ethically-raised beef can actually be good for you! Its health benefits, flavour and low environmental impact make it a win-win all around. So don’t be afraid to treat yourself to a juicy steak. Here are three reasons why:

1. It’s full of what you need: Red meat is a great source of protein, B vitamins, iron and other important minerals. As I watch Grandview’s cattle graze on seasonal grasses and fresh fruit (making their beef 300 percent higher in omega-3’s and high in both conjugated linoleic acid and antioxidants), my mind wanders to a warming bowl of super-fast chili, the quickest weeknight dinner fix.

2. It’s delicious: Quality, grass-fed beef tastes great. It tends to get a bad reputation for being less marbled, but Life Choices founder, Matthew von Teichman, has a few tricks in terms of producing the best tasting meat possible. “We feed over 800 lbs of apples a day to the herd through the fall, which promotes not only marbling, but also excellent flavours,” he explains. I suddenly can’t stop myself from thinking about dinner again, this time one of my all-time favorite recipes, steak with cilantro sauce. “We make sure the animals are always gaining weight, even through the hot summer,” continues von Teichman, “so we plant annual crops for them and in many cases bring the cut annual grasses to them in the woods where they’re taking refuge from the heat. Anything to keep them happy and eating!”

3. You can feel good about it: The cattle live on 500 acres of land, overlooking the stunning Georgian Bay, and are able to graze, roam and live as they naturally should. I wish I lived here! Not only is Life Choices sustainably sourcing antibiotic and hormone-free meat, they’re also reducing their carbon-footprint. And there I go thinking about dinner again! Chatelaine’s Japanese beef and soba bowl takes only ten minutes to make.

In other words, you can have a healthy, sustainable dinner in no time!