I Gained 92 lbs in one day.

Yes, I gained 92 lbs. Or rather, my chest freezer did.

Note to vegans... you might want to click off of this post now.

I've been a big fan of Michael Pollan's books for several years now, and have been trying over the last few years to do my share of locavore consumerism by buying produce from local sources. I've been part of a veggie CSA for several summers now, and I try to choose the local version of whatever I buy at Whole Foods. But it was an off-on kind of thing.

I started my weight loss journey in July and decided to eat according to the Primal Blueprint (www.marksdailyapple.com). I realized that this way of eating really works for me, it fits with my food philosophy, and is something I can enjoy and maintain well after I get to my weight loss goal.

One of the major principles of eating "Primal" is to eat the best quality meat you can afford. If that means eating less meat in order to afford the best stuff, that's what you shoot for. And best quality meat means humanely-raised grass-fed/finished beef, pastured eggs and chicken (meaning they actually walk around freely and eat bugs and worms), hogs raised the old-fashioned way in a pen with room to move and eating healthy stuff... you get the idea. These animals eat what they are meant to be eating, are healthy and less stressed, and that means their meat is healthier to consume.

The thing is, buying best quality meat from the store is EXPENSIVE. Yes, your money is well-spent because it's going to support sustainable farming practices, and usually your money is going to small local businesses rather than industrial farm kingpins, but still... it's hard on the wallet. I definitely have saved money eating Primal overall, because I no longer buy as much processed stuff (I still by for my family, but I don't eat it) or on-the-go meals. But it's hard to swallow when you fork over $14.99 for a sirloin, or $7.99 for ground beef.

So, I decided to bite the bullet and commit to a cow. I did some searching to find a source for local grass-fed beef. I found an awesome little farm a couple of miles away, emailed them, and found out that they had just delivered some cows to the local butcher, and it was perfect timing for me to buy into a 1/4 cow.

I picked up my share yesterday. The butcher was awesome... a small processing operation run by a husband and wife team. They had signs all over that said that they treated the animals humanely, and only certified employees could handle moving animals. Of course, sterile certificates all over the place also. They old guy who loaded up my car was a riot... a 70-year old flirt.

Here's what I got:
92 lbs of packaged grass-fed beef.

- 4 T-bone steaks
- 4 arm roasts (I looked this up, because how could the cow have 4 arms? It's not the arm. It's part of the chuck.)
- 1 Oxtail (which I thought always came from an ox, but I guess not)
- 3 Round Steaks
- 2 packs of liver
- 1 MASSIVE Tongue. That I could have done without. It looks scary. I ate tongue as a kid, tasted like corned beef. Yikes.
- 2 Cube Steaks
- 6 packs of stew meat
- 1 Heart. I never ate cow heart before, but I know how important organ meat is, so.. eventually I'll cook that up somehow.
- 1 Flank
- 1 Tenderloin Filet
- 4 Sirloin Steaks
- 3 Ribeye Steaks
- 1 Rump Roast
- 4 Chuck Roasts
- 1 huge pack of short ribs
- 1 Brisket
- 2 packs of soup bones for broth
- 28 lbs of ground beef, packed in 1 lb packages
and, not counted in the weight total, were 30 marrow bones for the dog (or soup stock).

That's a hell of a lot of meat. It will definitely last a whole year, and I'll gift some of it to my mom.

After paying the farm their share and the butcher their share, the total cost came to $560, for 92 lbs of meat. Cost per lb is $6.07 for grass-fed beef. Now THAT is a price I like seeing. And, I don't have to buy any more red meat at the store for a year.

I was thinking I would buy a goat or a bunch of whole pastured chickens to vary the protein I eat, but that will have to wait until there's some room in the freezer. As of now... it's filled to the brim. I'll have to buy those as I go until I have space for bulk.

If you've thought about wanting to eat better quality meat and supporting local farmers, now is the time. Go to www.eatwild.com to find some local sources. I'm so glad that I did.

Bon appetit and Santé.