At the turn of each new year, I reevaluate my personal health and make a resolution to try a little harder, do a little better. And turning 60 this year has me taking an even closer look. Being healthy has always been a roller coaster for me; I’m doing great and riding high and then I plunge into the “not-so-much” zone. Those “not-so-much” times typically happen during overly busy or stressful periods that take me off course, and before I know it, I’m in the rabbit hole. Maybe you can relate? The good news is, after years of practice, I know what I need to do to get back on track, starting with self-care and including daily meditation (instead of just reaching for it like pain reliever when you have a headache), daily exercise, and watching my diet. Although I eat a fairly clean diet, I admit to having an inner fat child who has no sense of portion control and whose voice occasionally overpowers my good sense.
Featured recipe: Buffalo Liver Tacos—nutrient dense and so good!
As someone who has made their living in the food business, I try to pay close attention to the industry trends and the newest health, wellness, and diet plans. Our ranch and meat company have survived many food trends: low fat, vegetarian, vegan, plant-based meat burgers, etc. This year sustainable products, including pasture-raised, grass-fed/grass-finished meat and organ products, made it onto the food-trend list. These products are also at the center of many health and wellness experts’ guidelines. I find a lot of the information from these experts to be very helpful, and I enjoy many of the short video tips found on their social media sites.
Featured recipe inspired by Dr. Paul Saladino: Grilled Jerk Terres Major Filet with Grilled Pineapple
I thought I would share with you some of the experts I follow. Even if you’re not interested, I would encourage you to keep scrolling for the recipes inspired by those experts. As many of you know, I don’t create diet food but recipes that include good ingredients, with lots of flavor, that hopefully bring you pleasure and joy. These featured experts’ recipes have the same profile and, if I do say so myself, are pretty darn good. Please know these are personal suggestions, not a recommendation from Wild Idea. I am not being paid to suggest them; I just offer them as some food for thought. I would also be interested to hear who your go-to health experts are for health and wellness tips, so please feel free to leave a note in the comment section.
Dr. Mark Hyman: I have been a big fan of Dr. Hyman for many years and have purchased a few of his books. He was a key leader in bringing Functional Medicine to the forefront and was one of the first known doctors to make the connection between our own health and environmental/soil health. You may want to check out his book Food Fix. There is also an interesting article/video on his site that’s worth reading or watching titled “How Our Government Made Us Fat & Sick.” He has purchased our buffalo meat products and even gave us an organic, non-paid shoutout in his newsletter. Here is what Dr. Hyman’s Pegan food pyramid looks like:
Featured recipe inspired by a Dr. Hyman recipe: 5 Spice BBQ Buffalo Ribs
Brad Kearns: Brad Kearns is the #3 world-ranked professional triathlete. He is also the author of The Primal Blueprint and, along with fitness guru Mark Sisson, coauthor of The Keto Reset Diet. Brad also hosts a podcast that features many health and wellness experts. For complete transparency, we did sponsor his podcast when he was just getting started years ago. He remains a customer of ours and even gave us a complimentary mention on his Carnivore Scores! chart, which is pictured below.
Eric Hinman: Eric is a CrossFit and endurance athlete. He is a five-time Ironman and a two-time Kona Ironman. If you are looking for a serious workout or health training tips, look no further. For full transparency, Eric is an ambassador of ours. Eric and his girlfriend, Sarah, visited the ranch this past fall to learn about where the meat they were consuming came from. It is always so uplifting to see people make the land-food connection and truly understand real regenerative ranching. He also eats apple pie! His social posts are inspiring, a little crazy, and often very funny. I highly recommend visiting his Instagram page.
Featured recipe: Ancestral Blend Thai Curry Stir Fry—a super-quick, delicious, and nutritious meal
Sadhguru: Sadhguru is a yogi, mystic, and visionary. He is my main go-to for guided meditation. He offers a free app where you can get daily quotes; short, inspiring videos; and daily meditations. A few of my favorite meditations are those that incorporate deep and fast breathing, which will leave you feeling like a glow bug afterwards. He is also the founder of the Save Soil movement.
There are many more, such as Chris Kresser, a leader in functional medicine and ancestral health who offers many science-based articles on nutrition. And for an all-around potpourri of health and wellness, One Commune offers a series of subscription courses that you may want to check out.
For the past 25 years, Wild Idea Buffalo Company has been providing conscientious consumers with a sustainable red meat alternative that is 100% grass fed/grass finished and humanely field harvested. It’s nutrient dense and doesn’t compromise on taste. (For a visual time-reference, the below photo was taken 25 years ago on Jilian’s 11th birthday. She just turned 36!) We remain committed to our mission and committed to continuing our own education. Jilian Jones, now a Certified Soil Food Web Lab Technician (yay, Jilian!), will be highlighting the importance of soil health and the impact it has on the nutritional value of the foods we eat, as well as the health of our water systems, in the near future. This is a huge topic but a very important one.
I hope you find some useful nuggets in these suggestions, and I thank you for taking the time to read through. I will leave you with a couple of my favorite quotes relating to food/drink:
"Did you know that if you replace your morning coffee with green tea, you could lose up to 87% of the remaining joy you have left in your life." : ) —Unknown
“Food is not just nourishment—it is something that makes your life. We need to treat it with the utmost love and reverence.” —Sadhguru
Joy & health to you all in the new year. jill
3 comments
I always enjoy the connections Wild Idea shares about their food journey. I raise my own grass fed beef but when I eat your buffalo for some reason it just clicks more with my body …feels harmonious.
So I feel our bodies have this innate sense of what works to thrive. It’s just tuning in. Thanks so much for all you guys do. It just makes sense.
Carnivore is the way to optimal health.
Substantially raised bison is perfect in every way. Thank you!
I recently adopted the carnivore family of doctors. Dr Shawn Baker, Dr Ken Berry, Dr Kiltz!
Thanks for your post with some names new to me. Thanks also for the informative screen shots. Brad left out tallow in his list of oils. Maybe he forgot to mention it because he gets plenty in his choice of meats and possibly marrow. I refrigerate or freeze excess tallow and marrow for later consumption with leaner cuts. I recommend eating homemade bonemeal daily. Stainless steel horseshoe rasps, plus marrow spoons and surgical stainless steel Putti rasps are effective. Of course, recooking the bones in water or broth every day is necessary to prevent spoilage. The best bones for rasping are joints. Femur bones have more marrow, but they’re usually too hard for rasping. Supplemental magnesium is beneficial to balance the calcium of the bonemeal. Dr. Saladino has more about that in his books and on his website, with very frequent updates in his ever evolving journey. He’s changed a lot after he wrote his books, recently including some carbs acceptable to him.