Whole Foods: Milk

I grew up on 2% milk. I think there was a brief moment in time, during my college years, where if I did buy milk, it was skim milk - because I thought that was best for the waistline. Truth be told though, skim milk always seemed gross to me; it looks like water with a milky tint - ewww.

Over the past few years, I just started buying whole milk. I started this because a.) a lot of recipes I cooked with called for it and b.) my husband consumes enough milk to warrant us having our own milk cow and he likes whole milk to best. When I was prego, whole milk was also the only thing that gave me a brief moment of relief from the heartburn too. I am not a huge 'pour a glass of milk and drink it' kinda gal, but when I had that prego heartburn, I would literally stop at gas stations just to buy a little jug of milk and then chug it like it was going out of style!

So anyways, as I started to embark on the Whole/Real food journey, I was particularly struck by what I read about dairy in Nina Planck's book, real food. I always knew skim milk just wasn't right. This was a real eye opener for me. Milk is one of the most misleading products in the food market that gives people the perception they are ingesting something healthy. Unfortunately, just because you are drinking 'milk', doesn't mean it is healthy.

Our milk was usually Smith's brand, which is fairly local and sold at the local corner store down the street from us. But, once I discovered Hartzler's I made the switch. What I like about Hartzler's that is different from Smith's is their milk is non-homogenized and goes through Low-Temp Vat Pasteurization. And, there is cream on the top :) (Awesome side note: This totally grossed out my husband the first time he poured a glass and something plopped into his cup!) Since raw milk cannot be sold 'legally' in my state (which would be the #1 choice), Hartzler's Whole Milk is the second best option for us. Truth be told, I have never tired raw milk, but I'd be willing to if I had the chance.

Hartzler's is not 'organic' milk, and that is ok. Actually, it is better than organic milk. Whaaa? Yes, that is correct, it is better! People get too hung up on the term 'organic', and unfortunately, in today's age, you have to read beyond the marketing. Hartzler's milk comes from their cows that are pasture grazed as long as possible during the seasons. Once winter hits and pastures are not ample, they are moved over to a hay/silage diet. Silage isn't always the preferred diet but Hartzler's does note that they are completely Non-GMO! They do not inject any of their cows with growth hormones and there are no chemical pesticides or herbicides used on their farms. I recommend you check out their website; even if you don't live close enough to purchase Hartzler's for yourself, they have lots of educational information available.

So can you see that, while not 'certified organic', I'd take this any day versus an organic milk, that more than likely comes from a cow not living as happy a life* as a Hartzler cow? Organic milk is usually not from a grass-fed cow and is ultra pasteurized to maximize shelf life - which in turns, allows for it to travel across country. *Note, I didn't say all cows producing for organic companies have shitty lives, but I didn't say they all live in happy green fields with unlimited acess to lush green grass, either!
Things you want to look for when choosing your milk is a brand that doesn't allow growth hormones (rBGH / rBST) -- this link speaks for brands without rBGH -- allows their cows to be pasture grazed, doesn't feed GMO's and is closest to it's natural state [raw milk] as possible. As I already mentioned above, whole milk is the closest to natural state in terms of choosing between Whole/2%/1%/Skim. Hartzler's, offering non-homogenized, low-temp pasteurization makes their milk even one step closer to the milks natural state! Do your research to find out of you have a milk supplied in your area that offers this! This website may help.

Bonuses for me, with Hartzler's, is that they are a local farm so I am supporting local business/farmers. They supply their milk in glass bottles, and, among many other reasons, this is earth friendly and allows us to recycle. Sometimes I hold onto the bottles for other uses, sometimes I return them to their Ice Cream Shoppe for a credit, which I in turn use to purchase more :)

This is truly just the tip of the iceberg on Milk - sadly. But for those interested, I hope it has provoked enough interest for you to take it one step further when making the decision on which milk to buy. And if you are brave enough, check out where the milk in your fridge right now is from! (Way back before my Real Food Journey, I tried this with a gallon in our fridge and it was from Washington State. Really? We have so many dairy farms right here near us! Why would I want milk from all the way across the country!?)

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This post is linked up at Pennywise Platter, Monday Mania & Freaky Friday

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All opinions on this blog post are 100% mine. I was not compensated by any companies mentioned, for review of their product.

Switching to a Whole Foods Diet - What I've Ditched!

As I slowly learn more and more about what us Americans consider food, I throw up in my mouth a tad, and then become horrified at what used to be in my cupboards :) I know, I lay it all out there, no holds bar!

Seriously though, it's amazing what so many people don't know. And there is so much info out there to sort through and comprehend that it can be overwhelming. So, here and there, I thought I would share some of my take-aways from this learning process in the best layman's terms possible!

First, you must understand, I have a husband who needs everything to be black and white and very convincing with a first time impression, otherwise, forget it. If you have ever read about Jessica's 'Hungry Angry Husband', I swear he must be a long lost brother to my husband! So, in short, I can't serve tofu and if it is something new & different, it has to be husband approved and not take 12 hours to cook either! Trying to change our whole diet as we knew it has been no easy task and not something we are even close to completing-- but I can tell you, my husband is coming around and he understands where I am coming from with why I am doing this. But sometimes, he just wishes there was a can of Cheese-Whiz in the cupboard, some Oreos and a Big Mac!

If anyone else is interested in making these changes, I know it is intimidating and that can keep a lot of people from trying. I wanted to share a few things that were easy no-brainers to start with!

Cooking Oils
No more Canola & Vegetable Oil in the cupboards. I only use Olive Oil (usually extra virgin) and Coconut Oil on a regular basis. There are some others for special dishes, like toasted sesame oil too, but they aren't used almost, if not, daily. This was an easy switch and quite frankly, using coconut oil for high temp cooking is great! I love it. It doesn't smoke or seem to burn things or stink! It's great! And, no more spraying cooking pans and sheets with nasty Pam...buy yourself a spritzer and pour your olive oil in it!

Butter
I never had margarine in the fridge (except for the one time I used it for a fly repellent experiment!) but if I did, it would have been one of the first too go. I just stock up on unsalted butter. Since most baking recipes call for unsalted and most dishes I can salt to my own taste, I stick with unsalted.

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Milk
It is all about the full fat dairy over here so we only use Whole Milk. The closer to its natural form, the better a food is for you. Without going on too long of a tangent, drinking skim milk is basically just drinking chemical filled water. real food is a good resource for info on this. My husband is a huge milk drinker so he had no arguments with getting Whole Milk! *Note, we cannot legally purchase raw milk in Ohio so Hartlzer's is the closest to it as they use a low-pasteurized temperature processing.

Yogurt
I have dabbled in making my own yogurt and it's worked out well, I just need to remember to keep up with doing it. When I am out of homemade however, I no longer buy all those fancy yogurts with cake & fruit flavors. People think they are healthy, but they aren't. Read the ingredients - that will be your first clue. Plus, 'real' yogurt is chocked full of good probiotics that are good for you! I buy the large container of PLAIN yogurt, where the only ingredient listed is Grade A cultured milk. Sometimes, depending on the brand, you may see it list cultures such as Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus -- you wouldn't know it, but these are the GOOD bacterias that want in yogurt but that you do not get in all those fancy flavored yogurt cups. Plain yogurt does have a tang to it and if you aren't used to it, you will probably think it is gross, but I fix that by adding in some of my homemade jams and fruit butters! Cheaper and healthier for you!

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