Grass fed ground beef has many benefits and when it comes to our health, many of us are realizing that food plays a very important role. The food we consume determines our health and our lifestyle. If you are looking to improve your diet, then the switch to grass fed beef is called for. The benefits of grass fed beef are numerous, because grass fed beef is raised in a natural, and healthy environment- the way cows are supposed to be raised. And that’s why it offers all those benefits.
Grass Fed Ground Beef
Grass fed beef is sourced from cows that eat 100% grass (know the difference and check the labels between grass-fed and 100% grass-fed ground beef). These cows are allowed to roam the land and eat grass. The meat that we get from our supermarkets is mostly from grain-fed cows. These cows are fed mostly grains. Since grass is a cow’s natural diet, a grass-fed cow is healthier than grain-fed one. Cows were never meant to consume grain and it is a way of fattening them up quicker and reducing the need to own acreage for the cow’s to roam on. While it may save the farmer money, it doesn’t do any favors for us when it comes to our health or the environment.
Benefits of Grass Fed Ground Beef
Here’s why people are now switching towards 100% grass-fed, pasture-raised, ground beef:
Fewer Calories
Grass-Fed Ground Beef is nutrient-dense. It contains four times less fat than your average grain-fed cow meat. It also has a higher protein content.
100g of grass-fed ground beef contains, only 150 calories while 100g of grain-fed beef contains 217 calories. The average American eats 66 pounds of beef annually. This means you will be eating 17,733 fewer calories if you shift to grass-fed beef. So even if you continue with your current diet, you could be losing 6 pounds every year! That in itself is amazing!
Safer than Grain-Fed Beef
Here’s a little background on how grain-based beef is raised. Typically, your grain-fed cows are clustered together in small spaces. They are fed a diet of grains throughout the year. Now, this isn’t a natural lifestyle for a cow, and being kept in such close proximity often means that diseases are easily transferred. To prevent this, their farmers frequently inject the grain-fed cows with antibiotics to avoid the spread of diseases.
This means that there is a good chance that the steak you enjoyed yesterday was from a cow who was injected with antibiotics before being slaughtered. So even if you don’t take antibiotics yourself, indirectly you could be developing resistance to them. This is far more dangerous than we realize. See what Dr. Axe says about antibiotics in beef.
With grass-fed ground beef, the cows are raised in their natural environment. Farmers limit the use of antibiotics. Plus, at Helstrom Farms, we raise hormone-free cows. Our cows aren’t injected with any hormones to speed up their growth. From their birth to their slaughter, we follow the natural order of life very closely. So, we offer organically-raised ground beef that roam pastures eating 100% grass-fed diets. Now that is something that people can feel good about feeding to their families.
Grass Fed Ground Beef Nutrition
Grass-fed beef has a higher nutrient value than grain-fed beef:
- Grass-fed beef has up to 5 times more Omega-3s compared to grain-fed beef.
- The monosaturated fat content is lower in grass-fed beef also.
- Grass-fed beef has good amount of essential electrolytes. They affect your body’s water balance.
- It contains a lower amount of LDL or bad cholesterol.
- Grass-fed beef contains a higher percentage of other nutrients than grain-fed beef. These include Vitamin A, E and antioxidants.
Prevents Against Diseases
Research suggests that grass-fed beef lowers the risk of heart disease, blood sugar levels, and even cancer.
If these benefits of grass-fed beef have convinced you to give it a try, we recommend you try out our very popular Grass Fed Ground Beef.
How to Cook Grass Fed Ground Beef
Some of our customers have come to us saying that they didn’t particularly like the taste of beef that was 100% raised on grass. That’s often because you aren’t cooking it the right way. Most people discover that they prefer the taste of grass-fed beef but if you’ve become accustomed to grain-fed beef then it will taste a bit different. We find that most people come to love it and prefer it though!
Since grass fed beef is differently composed than your normal ground beef, here’s how to cook grass fed ground beef:
- Don’t thaw your beef in a microwave. Either leave it in the refrigerator or place it in cold water in a vacuum-sealed bag (all of our ground beef is delivered in 1lb vacuum sealed bags). Leave it out for 20 minutes before you cook. Never cook your meat right out of the refrigerator.
- Cook it in fat. Because it has a lower fat content, adding butter or lard will help enhance the flavor if you find that you miss that. We don’t cook ours in fat as we enjoy the flavor but adding some butter or lard will help you if you miss the fattiness of grain-fed beef.
- Heat your pan before adding the ground beef.
- Grass fed beef cooks three times faster than grain fed beef, again because of the lower fat content. We would advise you keep checking it with a thermometer to avoid overcooking.
- The best way to eat it is rare or medium-rare. If you like it well-done, consider adding sauces or a marinade to help retain moisture. You can also add caramelized onions to add moisture as a low-fat option.
- Once the beef is cooked, let it settle for 8-10 minutes before eating it.
Where to Buy Organic Grass-Fed Ground Beef
If you are looking for organically-raised, grass-fed ground beef, check us out here at Helstrom Farms. Helstrom Farms is a family-run farm that raises 100% grass-fed beef in Minnesota. We have a wide range of pre-cut beef and other meats. You can buy grass-fed ground beef in 1lb packages or in larger bundles which are still packaged in 1lb vacuum-sealed bags for your convenience and ease of thawing! We also over pre-formed burger patties using our 100% grass-fed ground beef!
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