Is it Hard to Find Sugar-free Breakfast Favorites?

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January 7, 2021

NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS

January is the month when we resolve to make changes that will improve our overall health and well-being. One very common resolution for many people is to eliminate sugar from our diets, especially foods where sugar is often hidden.

For the past few years, more and more folks are turning to us seeking sugar-free ham, bacon and sausage.

Did you know that most cured items you’ll find in the grocery store include sugar (in some form) as well as a long list of curing agents and preservatives.

We love our cured meats, but after eating store-bought sausage, ham or bacon we feel ill. So we searched for an alternative, but didn’t find anything. Instead of giving up we decided to learn how to make our own.

We have gone to great lengths to learn the art of old-world meat preparation and preservation from artisan butchers who are masters of their trade. Starting at fourteen years old our first teacher spent seven years studying and working with master butchers across Germany. Then for 50+ years running his own business and training others. We were able to glean so much from him in the time we spent with him. Then as the old saying goes, “Practice makes perfect.” We have now been making sausages and curing hams and bacons using these traditional skills for over ten years.

The results of learning the craft of natural curing is that we can experience the same wholesome food that our grandparents and great grandparents enjoyed.

Our great sausages, hams and bacons start with our heritage breed animals raised on pasture resulting in diverse, rich flavored meat that doesn’t need all the “junk” to add flavour.

We believe that our food should be simple; that processing should be minimal. That is why we make our sausage with only meat from our animals, sea salt, seasonings and spices. That means no gluten, no dairy, no soy, no nitrites or nitrates.

Here is a sampling of our sugar-free meat products you will find in our online store.

Country Cured Ham and Bacon (traditionally cured with sea salt and spices, then smoked with real wood chips)
Pork Breakfast sausages
Bratwurst, Mild Italian, Mettwurst, Black Pepper & Garlic, Fresh Garlic, Sweet Spanish with Raisins plus many other flavours

A SNEAK PEEK

In the upcoming months we will be focusing on sharing more recipes and delicious food ideas that highlight our pasture-raised meats. We will be trying our hand at a few virtual farm tours, plus resurrecting some blog posts that you may have missed that can absolutely help with your 2021 goals of improving your health and well-being

To help you get started successfully cooking with our grass-fed, pasture-raised meat you can download our 6 SUPER SIMPLE COOKING METHODS TO ACHIEVE PERFECTION EVERY TIME FROM YOUR PASTURE-RAISED MEATS booklet absolutely free. It is a great resource that you will turn to time-after-time. I know I sure do!

Thanks as always for your support. We look forward to another year of having the privilege to partner with you.

Blessings to you all.

How can we help you eat healthier? Comment below. We would love to hear from you.

Are you Absolutely Satisfied with Store-Bought Pork?

HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED WHY PORK DISHES ALWAYS HAVE SO MANY SWEET SAUCES ON THEM? For many years this question never crossed my mind. Until we started raising and eating our own pasture-raised pork. But what lead us to start raising pigs? Neither Larry nor I had much experience with pigs growing up. We started our married life buying all our pork in the grocery store, but then switched to sourcing it from a neighboring conventional pork producer. We were not aware that most of the pork that is available in the grocery stores comes from pigs that have never seen the light of day. They spend their whole life crowded into huge hog barns. They are fed an industry standard diet of grain with no green, living food at all. They are crowded into small spaces with many other pigs where their natural ability to move is restricted. Much to our surprise and horror, we discovered that the neighbor we were purchasing our pork from was raising them no differently than what we could get in the store. At that time, little did we know that eventually Larry would face a digestive issue from this type of pork. After certain meals he would feel sick to the stomach and end up with diarrhea. It got so bad before we clued into the cause. When we quit eating pork these issues went away. Now we had a dilemma. We really like pork but couldn’t eat it anymore. Being the DIY homesteaders we were back in those days we decided to buy a couple little pigs and raise them ourselves. We knew that we didn’t want to raise them in a barn. So outside they went. These were the happiest pigs I ever saw. They were free to roam around their pasture, rooting in the soil and wallowing in the mud while searching for whatever they thought was tasty to eat. We fed them grains from a neighbor, kitchen scraps and milk from our milk cow. When they were big enough to harvest, we sent them to the processor, not knowing if we would even be able to eat this pork. Much to our delight Larry had no adverse reaction to the meat. It was delicious! The meat was firm, not mushy like barn raised pork. It also had a richness to it that we had never experienced before. No more bland and flavorless conventional pork for us. No sauces required! We thought that we couldn’t be the only people who had experienced something similar and wished for a pleasurable eating experience. This success started us on a new farming adventure, raising pastured pork for sale. Encouraged by the success we had with our first pigs we decided to purchase our breeding herd. We have tried many breeds of pigs over the years and have settled on the Berkshire breed. They are a heritage pig that matures slower thus producing an excellent quality meat and the best lard fat that I think you can get. I have heard it said that Berkshire pork is the gold standard of pork among chefs. Besides that, they are very personable and entertaining to have around! And mischievous. I truly believe from our personal experience that all animals that we raise for food need to be able to live in conditions that are natural for them and have the ability to express their God-given characteristics. When we domesticated animals, we became responsible to steward them well. We strive to do just this with all our animals. One of my favorite cuts of pork is the Boston Butt Roast. It is juicy, tender, melt-in-your mouth meat. This is the cut that pulled-pork is made from. It is an economical cut that we also use to make ground pork and our special gluten-free, nitrate-free sausages. When you purchase our pasture-raised pork you will experience what real pork should taste like. We offer a variety of options when it comes to purchasing our pasture-raised pork. Individual cuts to suit your needs. Pork Chops, Traditional salt-cured and smoked ham and bacon, Whole Tenderloin, Boston Butt Roasts, Ground Pork, Breakfast Sausages (Nitrate-free, Sugar-free and Filler-free). Coming soon! Our "1/4 Pork Bundle." Our newest addition to our pastured-pork line-up. This bundle is perfect for a smaller family or if you have limited freezer space. It will consist of a variety of the individual cuts, including Pork Chops, Pork Sirloin Steak, Ham Steak, Bacon, Ground Pork and Sausage. And, last but not least if you want to customize the cuts you receive, we have whole hogs available. You can find all of these options in our online store. Do you want to try my simple Boston Butt Roast recipe? It’s so simple. I place the roast on a rack in my cast-iron dutch-oven. Add a little water. Sprinkle chopped onions on top (I used my home-grown dehydrated onions) salt and pepper. Roast until the internal temperature reaches 160F. I slice it and serve with apple sauce, oven roasted potatoes and a veggie. You can purchase our pasture-raised pork from our online store or from us at the Grande Prairie Farmers Market on Fridays or Saturdays.

New Year Announcement

Happy New Year and a Big Announcement

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Help us build a resilient, local food supply that will stand the test-of-time.