Wanna cowpool?

2 Cool 2 Cowpool

CrossFit boxes across the world are communities where people seek to help each other attain fitness goals. As they evolve, fitness goals tend to become reliant upon more than just training. We flourish partly due to relationships with members as a form of motivation and fun. If you’re progressing, you’re flourishing more also thanks to your evolving relationship with other inputs such as nutrition.

Many CrossFit boxes have programs where a bunch of members go in on a purchase of an animal or half an animal from a local farm which supplies them with a variety of meat cuts and parts to eat (and learn about) over the course of a few months. Buying a whole animal (a pig, or bison, for example) from a local farm is very affordable and the process quite transparent. Many boxes also have CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) produce drop-offs.

I’ll be organizing the purchase of hopefully a pig and part of a bison soon. If you’re interested in learning more about these, email me!

Also, Sat. August 7^th post-WOD will be the next Nutrition Seminar - sign up here. Check out Mariessa’s review of the first and ask around to those who have been to find out just how useful (and tasty) people have found past seminars. Cost: $35, includes brunch.

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Why don’t I eat Vons grade-A t-bone steaks, Costco value-pak New York strip or farmed salmon? Well, that one’s easy. Aside from these meats looking very little like what they do/did in nature, the lack of sanitation and food safety measures in place in the meat packing industry (similar to the standards in place for the oil industry) alone would be enough to turn me away. Then consider that the actual content of the meat (hormones, antibiotics, pesticide), and lack thereof (protein and micronutrients) is pretty abysmal. Next, the fatty acid profile of the fat in the meat is far from one we ought to be eating (about 6:1 omega-6 to omega-3 in the fat of conventionally grown meat). Add to that the environmental and social hazards of the way 99% of meat is now produced, and that the alternative is affordable, and there’s no reason to eat conventionally produced meat.

Cody wants in on a bison bad, do you?

Check out these essential articles to understand some more.

• The Problems with Conventionally Raised Beef (MDA)
• Changes in Cattle Husbandry and Feeding Practices since the Industrial Revolution (Cordain)
• Another reason to eat grass-fed beef (Eades)
• Affording Organics (MDA)
• Salmon: Factory Farm vs. Wild (MDA)

CSA’s and Farmer’s Markets

Short of growing your own produce (for another post – here’s one from MDA) and meat, farmer’s markets and CSAs are the best sources of meats and produce since they are seasonal and are produced via methods that yield among the most highest micronutrient content. Conventionally grown meat and produce, even aside from potentially harmful contaminants such as hormones, antibiotics and pesticide, have micronutrient (vitamin and mineral) content that is comparatively much poorer than those grown on smaller farms and using methods standard for those that produce for farmer’s markets and CSA’s.

Farmer’s markets in LA are abundant and offer enough meat and produce to keep the paleo eater happy and experimenting year-round. Farmer’s markets allow small local farmers to bring product directly to customers without a middleman which results often in lower prices. The fact that the produce is seasonal and local means the produce is riper when picked and has reduced transportation time, both of which result in higher micronutrient content (not to mention the lower impact of reduced transport, avoiding the major social/environmental costs of giant grocery chains and their waste while supporting local agriculture). Check out this MDA post and video on how to shop a farmer’s market.

Baxter, my puppy crush/desktop picture. I wouldn't eat you Baxter, no I wouldn't, nuh-uh.

CSAs are organized buying groups that purchase from a few local farms (usually more ‘local’ than some farms at a farmer’s market). The closest pick-up CSA that I’m aware of benefits and is organized by Madison & Lincoln School CSA which sources from Tanaka Farms in Irvine which I recently tried out. For $25 I got enough produce for three people for about a week. The only drawback is that you get whatever is delivered, no choice in content and is loaded in summer months with stuff I don’t eat in large quantity (tomatoes, corn, eggplant). There are other CSAs in our area as well as a veggie delivery company called L.O.V.E.

As meat goes, our local farmers markets vary in their meat supply. The Torrance farmers market sells perhaps the largest variety of grass-fed meat including bison from Lindner Bison which is near Six Flags Magic Mountain (I smell a field trip… buffalo and roller coasters). Redondo/Hermosa/Manhattan Beach farmer’s markets have fish-sellers, but grass-fed meats are supplied only by one seller – Gourmets On Wheels which you must order from via email on Sunday nights. There’s always Whole Foods, but the seasonality, locality, and freshness compared is a little more variable.

Check out the Nutrition Resources page for a list of farmers markets near us with their times and locations. Go here for a complete list for LA.

Easy-bake Busy Night Bison

“Yes, caveman really did eat that much meat” I find myself saying pretty often to people. Check out an easy to read one from MDA. And here’s a recipe I often resort to when pressed for time.Preheat oven to 350 and let bison come to room temperature. Pour 1/2c citrus juice into a large casserole dish. Place 1.5 lbs bison sliced 1/2″ thick in dish, prick with knife several times. Sprinkle liberally: garlic powder, parsley, lemon pepper. A little less liberally, but still a good amount: oregano, cinnamon, all spice, coriander. Much less liberally: cayenne pepper. Bake 25 min uncovered or until internal temp is 155, cover and let stand for 5 min.

Grace by Arbel + Shira from Arbel Meidav on Vimeo.

Workout of the Day 7/21/2010

A. Split Jerk 1-1-1-1-1

B. AMRAP 12
3 Bar muscle ups
9 Jumping backsquats (65/45)
15 Weighted sit-ups (10/25)

*Scale the muscle ups with the bands if you don’t have a bar muscle up. If you don’t have pull-ups without the band yet, sub 3 pull-ups and 3 push-ups for each muscle up. For the weighted sit-ups use an abmat and a plate.