Welcome! Today I would like to take a few minutes to tell you all how I feed my family real food, without a weekly trip to a farm, or growing my own food. I know that all of my readers aren’t in Houston, but most are from Texas. It IS possible to eat the best-for-you foods, without growing your own or driving to the farm every week! The brands listed here are available at many stores, but we will be focusing on my favorite store for Real Food options today, H-E-B.
I try to feed my kids the healthiest food possible, but sometimes a trip to the farm isn’t in the cards (either because of our budget or a lack of time for the drive). We normally shop at H-E-B, my favorite is the Bunker Hill location because of their expanded organic/natural selection and the bulk spice bins.
There are several farms in the areas surrounding Houston, that offer, grass fed beef, dairy, eggs and so much more!
I will keep adding to this list, keep in mind that the foods I am focusing on are foods that most newbies to Real Food might think they can’t buy at a local grocery store.
Butter – Kerrygold butter is available in grocery stores across the US. Their cows graze for 10 months of the year, it’s one of the few grass fed butters available at the store, and is the cheapest in my region.
No one explains it better than the Food Renegade here in her Butter Vs. Margarine Showdown.
Mercola has a great article here about the benefit of eating pastured butter.
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Beef – Panorama Meats offers grass fed beef, and it is available in the grocery store! This is especially great news for folks on public assistance, because they can use their food benefits to buy pastured beef! None of the farmer’s markets in Houston accept the Lone Star card so, shopping at the local farmers markets isn’t an option for families receiving public assistance. Studies show that cattle raised humanely on grass produce beef that is more nutritious. Cattle are ruminants — they are designed to eat grass, not grain. Panorama’s farmer raise cattle following the animal’s natural appetites and desire for free pasture. Compared with grain-fed beef, Panorama contains 60 percent more omega-3, twice as much vitamin A and E, three times more conjugated linoleic acid, and a higher concentration of unsaturated fats (the good ones) versus saturated fats (the bad ones).
Read More Here:
Northwestern Health Sciences University – Grain Fed Versus Grass Fed Animal Products
Chicken -Vital Farms brand Backyard Birds has now begun to offer chickens for eating aside from their eggs! These chickens are only carried at Whole Foods locations, the great news is that the chicken is offered at all 4 of the Houston locations! From the website: “Like our laying hens, our meat birds are pasture-raised, meaning they roam free on grasslands during daylight hours. Their pasture space is generous, and includes shade, water, and perches to encourage exploration and foraging. In addition to grasses and other pasture goodies, they are also fed grain of the highest quality. We never use added hormones or antibiotics in their feed, or pesticides or herbicides on their pastures.”
Eggs – Alfresco Farms eggs are the ONLY pastured eggs available in the HEB Location that I shop at. Alfresco Farms is a Vital Farms brand, they provide eggs nationwide. The HEB on Bunker Hill normally carries these eggs, although it seems there is a supply issue at this moment, and they have been completely out for about a month! I live in the Bear Creek area and do most of my shopping at the HEB location on Hwy. 6. I pestered them enough to start carrying my eggs, and I received a call from the Egg manager last week informing me that my eggs will be available at this location now as well!
For those of you looking for a farm to call home, watch for a new page coming soon filled with local organic and green farms and businesses!
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