A feast for kings

Pat and I are back from our spring break trip to Moab, Utah. In Moab we rock climbed almost every day, and hiked and biked and read. It was wonderful. The weather was nice and the scenery was absolutely beautiful. Also, we were lucky that everyone in our group got along well, for the whole week. And! We ate like kings and queens. Every night we prepared a group dinner, which usually consisted of rice and beans, cheese and avocados, fresh vegetables and pita. All in all, we ate really well. Though I must say, it is nice to be home and able to cook on a real stove, rather than over the fire (though this is a fun endeavor!). The stove is a lot quicker, that is for certain.

Tonight Pat and I are making cheesy burgers on garlic knots. A delicious, and easy meal.

We are not eating meat very often (for a variety of reasons: ethical, dietary, environmental, etc.), but when we do, we are using organic free-range beef that is grass fed. Ours is from a local farm, which is also great, because it reduces the distance that the meat had to travel to get to our plate (which is both environmentally better, and we get fresher meat). It's a bit more pricey, but worth every penny. Also, not only does it taste better, but there are health benefits to eating meat that is grass fed. What are these health benefits? First of all, because the cows are open-range, the meat tends to be leaner, which keeps you leaner! Also, a cow's digestive system is intended to digest grasses, not grains. Not only do cows that are fed corn and other grains struggle to digest these foods, but they also store the fats from the grains as omega-6 fatty acids rather than omega-3 fatty acids. When they are grass fed, the cows store the fats as omega-3 fatty acids. In balance, omega-3s and -6s are good for our bodies. Our bodies cannot produce either omega-3 or -6 fatty acids on their own, so we rely on other sources to obtain such fats. Omega-6s are found in grains and some oils. However, it is important to balance omega-3 and -6 fatty acids. A diet rich in omega-6s is linked to many health problems. However, omega-3s are known to aid in memory, cardiovascular health and more. By eating grass-fed beef, you are eating omega-3s. There are many more reasons to eat grass-fed, free-range beef (and other meats too!), so I encourage you to look into your meat sources, before buying.

We topped our burgers with sharp cheddar, onions, and ate them on "garlic knots" that we picked up across the road a locally owned pizza shop! Delicious.