The GAIA Health Blog

…plus, some amazing flavored butter recipe ideas for your grass fed butter!!!

[below] Gourmet Homemade Butter with Garlic, Shallots, and Herbs (click photo for recipe)

The "Pleasure and Pain" of Healthy Eating

The Pleasure?      I'm mean, these first 6-7 food photos (special shout out to the biscuits and Black Pepper Strawberry Butter below). When I went full tilt into healthy eating, no way was I giving real food up, just determined to have the highest quality, most insanely delicious food I could afford.

The Pain?   Truly "Real food" is getting harder and harder to find in the city. You gotta put in in some work to find the real deal if you live in the city……

[below] Black Pepper Strawberry Butter, a great grass fed butter idea (click photo below for recipe)

My Theory on why Grass Fed is so much better for you….

…the short version is a nutrient called vitamin B17 (also called nitrilosides). A healing and cancer fighting agent in over 1500 edible plants, also very abundant in grass (worth 15 minutes of Googling).

The cows in natural habitats eat the B17 rich grass, when we eat grass fed products, we take in those nutrients as nature intended it. Read my detailed article on the vitamin B17 subject

[below] Great ideas for homemade, grass fed gourmet butter (click photo below for recipes)

"Half-assed" Health and Nutrition, the latest craze…

…forgive my language, but my passion for wellness comes out like that sometimes. What I mean is, you can't even eat truly healthy anymore, without deep diving into this stuff. And the "Powers That Be", seem to hope we won't deep dive, just grab their half-bogus products off the shelf and keep going.

From toxic foods infiltrating Whole Food Market , to fake olive oils, to carcinogenic Glyphosate popping up in our food supply, this thing is a mess {rant over……} 

[below] Sun Dried Tomato Butter, Roasted Shallot and Dill Butter, and Cilantro-Jalapeno-Lime Butter (click photo for recipes)

But, I think there still is still hope for "Real Food Foragers" (love that name of another blog), but you gotta put in the work (and find the "real news" amongst an internet full of  "fake news")

The following text is from one of my favorite bloggers, someone I go to for much of my ongoing nutrition and wellness education, "The Food Renegade"

[below] Cilantro-Lime homemade gourmet compound butter (click photo below for recipe)

{start of full "Food Renegade" Article}

……….Want to know where to find grass-fed butter? I’ve said before that butter is a health food, but grass-fed butter is even better — a nutritional powerhouse of vitamins A, D, & K-2, heart-disease preventing CLA (conjugated linoleic acid), and so much more.

…..yet finding grass-fed butter can be hard for those newly committed to doing so. Is buying certified organic butter enough?

Do you absolutely need to find a local pasture-based dairy? What if there are no pasture-based dairies near you?

[below] Pecan Praline Butter (click photo for recipe)

Find Grass-Fed Butter Locally: Best Choice
Optimally, you’ll be able to find a pasture-based dairy near you and buy directly from the farmer. There are several ways of doing this:

1. Use the Real Milk Finder at RealMilk.com.
Note that not every dairy local to you will be listed. Since raw milk sales are controversial, many farmers may opt to protect their privacy by NOT being listed in the directory. Also, many dairies only produce milk and do not process it into options like butter or cheese. In those cases, you’ll simply have to know how to make butter from cream.

[below] 5 Homemade Butters with step by step instructions  (click photo for recipe)

2. Contact your local Weston A Price chapter leader

Because the Weston A Price Foundation is a strong advocate for raw milk from grass-fed cows, your local chapter leader will probably know of just about every available local source. Don’t be afraid to give them a call. They don’t bite!
 

[below] Simple Dill Compound Butter, though you could swap dill for basil, or your fav' herb (click photo for recipe)

3. Visit your local farmer’s market

Even in states that don’t allow off-farm sales of raw, grass-fed milk, you will often find those dairies represented at your local farmer’s markets. They won’t be selling their raw milk at the market, but they may sell everything else, including lightly pasteurized milk, butter, cheese, cheese spreads, sour cream, cream, and more — all from grass-fed cows.

Don’t know where your local farmer’s markets are? This is a good link to see what’s near you.

[below] 4 more gourmet compound butter (click photo for recipe)

4. Buy from Whole Foods or other Natural Food stores

In some states, retail sales of raw, grass-fed dairy is perfectly legal. In other states, your natural food stores may not carry raw grass-fed butter, but they’ll still carry grass-fed butter from a local creamery or two. Find Grass-Fed Butter in Grocery Stores: Good Choice

This butter may not be local to you, but it is from grass-fed cows. Many of these are imported from other countries, so you may not find them on your butter aisle. Instead, they’ll be in the deli section along side specialty imported cheeses and spreads.

[below] Citrus Whipped Honey Butter (click photo for recipe)

Here are a few popular brands of grass-fed butter available nationally.
 

1. Organic Valley Pasture Butter.

This butter comes in a distinctive green package and is produced from May to September when pastures are green and lush and account for 99% of the cow’s feed. Like all Organic Valley products, it is produced without the use of antibiotics, growth hormones, or pesticides. I am almost always able to find this year round at my local grocery store, although it’s also available for purchase online.
If you aren’t sure whether or not your local grocery store will still carry it in the winter, you can do what I did the first year I discovered it: stock up! Just buy a whole bunch of it all summer long and line your freezer shelves with it.

My note: I thought Organic Valley was being boycotted a while back, I think the issue pertained to Organic Valley cancelling contracts with organic farmers who sell raw milk, a product which competes with their products. Doesn't seem to be a boycott over the quality of this product, but more a big business vs. small farmers issue,  and a "politics of food" issue…..

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2. Kerrygold Butter

Kerrygold butter is imported from Ireland, and their cows spend 10 months out of the year (312 days) grazing beautiful Irish pastures.
Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve received many emails from readers who are worried about Kerrygold. I know some folks are freaking out that Kerrygold cows (during the WINTER) are fed Grains of Unknown Origin. Kerrygold has responded to consumer questions and admitted that probably about 3% of the grains they feed during the winter may contain GMOs.
But, guys! This is IRELAND. In the WINTER. What do you expect? There is no rapidly growing green grass like you’d find during the spring and fall. Yes, there are options for green-feeding cows in the winter, and if you buy fresh butter from a local dairy or creamery, you can ask those farmers and find out what they do and support them if you want to.
But if you live in an area where local grass-fed dairy is hard to come by, Kerrygold is still one of the few semi-decent options for you to buy pre-made butter as many grocery stores (including giants like Costco and Trader Joe’s) carry it.

If you don’t want to support Kerrygold, despite the fact that 10 months out of the year they keep their cows on pasture and that they’re committed to humanely raising dairy cows, then there are other options for store-bought grass-fed butter

Very Good Read on KerryGold go here

Good article here on why someone stopped using Kerry Gold, and her other options

My note: it seems some of the people at issue with Kerry Gold still recommend it, but I have to pass on it because of the 3% GMO, and go after some of the other options at my Whole Foods Market. My personal choice…..

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3. Anchor Butter

…….is imported from New Zealand — land of reliably grass-fed lamb. It is not certified organic by the USDA, but the cows are out on pasture year round.
New Zealand has very strict regulations for its cows, so this butter is happily hormone-free, antibiotic-free, and additive-free.
I’ve seen Anchor butter in the deli section of my local grocery store (not the butter aisle), and I’ve also seen it at Whole Foods. You can also sold on Amazon, shipped in Ice Packs.
 

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4. Allgau German Butter

Like the name implies, this grass-fed butter is imported from Germany. Like Anchor butter, it is not certified organic by the USDA, but the cows are out on pasture the majority of the year.
Unlike Kerrygold, Allgau cows do not receive grains during the winter months, instead getting 100% hay.

This grass-fed butter is also antibiotic-free, hormone-free, and additive-free. I’ve never seen Allgau in my local grocery store, but I have seen it in Whole Foods, Sprouts, and Natural Grocers. You can buy Allgau German Butter on Amazon, shipped in Icepacks
 

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5. Smjor Butter

This grass-fed butter is imported from Iceland. Their cows are raised with identical standards to the Allgau butter above — out on pasture most of the year, no grains during the winter but hay instead, antibiotic & hormone-free.

I’ve found it in one local natural food store, but then they stopped carrying it. I have not found it online. But, if you see it in your grocery store, you can trust it’s a great brand.
 

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6. Humboldt Creamery Butter & Kalona Supernatural Butter

These two grass-fed butters are produced here in the USA, but their cows receive a diet of 20% grains during the winter months. Because these brands are certified organic, however, you can trust that the grains do not contain GMOs.

I’ve found both butters at a nearby Sprouts market, and I wasn’t impressed with either. They were very white and a little flavorless. That said, I may have simply bought their winter butters (which, for all intents and purposes are no different than buying regular organic butter).
 

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What about certified organic butter?

All butter is fabulous, and organic butter at least comes from cows raised without growth hormones or antibiotics. You also know their feed is GMO-free and pesticide-free. YAY. Yet, organic dairy standards in the U.S. only require cows have “year round access to the outdoors except under specific conditions (inclement weather),” not necessarily that their outdoor lots be full of lush, green grasses and happy meadows and pastures.

So, while some organic dairies may raise their cows out on pasture for the vast majority of the year, others simply may not. Therefore, organic certification is completely irrelevant to determining if the butter is from grass-fed cows.

My final Notes: What I personally do for Grass Fed Butter…..

I have a love/hate relationship with Whole Foods Market, I find it appalling that almost all their prepared foods contain toxic Canola Oil, but at the same time, some of the best "real food" options can be found there, so far as eggs, cheese, quality meats, etc.

I normally find one of these brands above at Whole Foods, Kerry Gold is always there, but that 3% GMO in Kerry Gold, compels me to leave it alone. The Whole Foods in Seattle seems to always have that Icelandic Smjor brand of grass fed butter, or that Anchor Butter from New Zealand, and I will always grab a couple of blocks every 6 months, and keep 1 or 2 in the freezer for later use, I don't use a lot of butter, just like to have it when I need it.

But , since you can get some on Amazon, Like Anchor Butter, you should have no problem finding something……

Article copied word for word [except for my initial paragraphs and notes] from an article from "The Food Renegade"

~stay healthy~

you might also like…….

"The Coconut Oil Project"
(…how to identify the highest quality Coconut Oil)

"The Manuka Project"
(…finding the real Manuka Honey)

"The Stevia Project"
(…weeding out the "Sweet Talkers")

"The BPA Project"
(…the quest for non-BPA lined cans)

click here or photo below for
all my articles in "Eat Smart" Copyright Disclaimer: Right to use photos claimed under: Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for fair use for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use