Busy Mom's Tip #1: How to Feed Quality Food to Your Family on a Budget

Food is medicine. And as a mom (or dad), you want to be able to give your kids the absolute best you can so they have a healthy foundation to thrive on… But how? How do you feed your kids good quality, local, pasture-raised food when you’re on a budget? How do you find the time to do everything you need to do PLUS prepare healthy foods from scratch? How do you find the time to learn how to cook and prepare foods you’ve never had to before? Liz Straight has some helpful, down-to-earth tips she has implemented into her life as a homeschool mom of eight kids. She knows firsthand the difficulties of finding time and budgeting to be able to feed her family nourishing food without running herself into the ground. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be sharing Liz’s tips with you to help you on this journey of healthy eating. The great thing about these tips is that they apply to everyone - whether you’re a dad, a mom, or a single person working full time. They’re practical. This week, Liz shares her first tip… Tip # 1: Budget around cost effective cuts and foods. Meal plan around your meat. Look for the cuts or products that you can afford and build meal plans and budget around that (more on meal planning in another tip!). When choosing the most budget-friendly cuts, don’t go for convenience as you will end up paying for the labor of processing to make that cut convenient. Whole chickens versus parts is a great example of that. Look for larger cuts of meat, such as roasts or whole chickens. They actually don’t take a lot of time to prepare and are much easier on your wallet.Don’t throw away scraps! Save all your bones for stock.  It is ok to make a mix-and-match "mutt" stock in your crockpot with any kinds of bones.  It is amazing how having stock on hand can make a meal.  You can easily make a "refrigerator soup" with leftover bits of meat and veggies and herbs if you have broth around all the time.  Great if someone gets sick or you didn't have a chance to thaw new meat for dinner.   Make some easy muffins to go with it and that's dinner! Fats are also great to keep - that fat from the bacon you fried this morning is great for cooking eggs, tossing with popcorn, etc. Fats also help to make meals more filling, helping stretch food further.And always check for what’s on sale or buy bulk packs of eggs or meat! An extra freezer is really handy for this so that when something does go on sale or you purchase that bulk pack of meat, you have extra room to stock up. You can check out Whiffletree’s sale and bulk items HERE.And if you have the extra space for a big chest freezer, buying a whole/half/quarter cow or pig is a great way to buy in bulk while getting the maximum savings you can.When it comes to veggies and fruits, buy fruit that is cheaper and longer lasting the majority of the time, such as apples, oranges, carrots, etc. There is less waste and kids enjoy some of the sweet things but are less likely to gobble it all down the minute it comes home. Then more expensive and shorter lasting things like berries, melons, or grapes are super special as a treat to them. And again, don’t go for convenience. Pre-cut veggies are more expensive and often don’t last as long so it’s harder to buy in bulk. (Something like a food processor can help you budget your time more effectively when you use whole veggies - whiz away!)Looking into a raw milk share can help save a little money on proteins - it’s a set price so it makes it easy to budget and the milk FILLS you. It makes a great snack or addition to a meal that’s not quite as filling. Plus raw milk is full of so many health benefits.All this doesn’t mean you can’t indulge in a ribeye or filet steak once in a while, but if money is tight keep those types of cuts to a minimum. Focus on buying other foods that are filling but still nutrient dense and tasty. And that’s the first tip! Next week, we’ll take a look at what meal planning for a family of ten looks like for Liz!Make sure to check out sale and bulk items HERE!

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Budget Series: How to Make Healing Bone Broth

If you’re a mama wanting to make sure your kids get the best they can to give them a healthy foundation for living life… Or an individual looking to boost your overall health… Or someone who suffers from health issues and is looking for something to give your body a break and a chance to heal… Then this is the post for you! Pasture-raised chicken (or any meat) that is fed a diet free from chemicals and preservatives, that can forage for added nutrition from bugs and grass, that has continual access to clean living spaces, water, sunlight, and fresh air - all this will produce a bird that is much higher in all the nutrients you want your bone broth to be rich in. It will also have a balanced omega 3-6 ratio, so the fats will actually be healthy and beneficial rather than detrimental. As the last part of our budget series on cooking whole chickens, I’ll walk you through how to make a healing bone broth out of the nutrient-dense bones, joints, and skin you are left with after cooking a whole chicken. It’s an absolute powerhouse of nutrition! The bones contain trace minerals, and the skin and joints are rich in collagen, amino acids, protein, etc.! And the best part is you can make this healing broth with almost no effort from yourself! Just stick it in a crockpot or stock pot on the stove and let the magic begin. How to Make Healing Bone Broth: Ingredients: 1 chicken carcass or 2 chicken backs (if you are making broth from bones you save after cooking a whole chicken, make sure you save EVERYTHING - the skin, joints, cartilage, and bones!) Enough water to cover the bones by about an inch 1 tsp salt (optional) Herbs, veggies, or garlic (optional) Directions: Place your chicken carcass in the crockpot or stock pot, then cover with water so there’s about an inch of water above the bones (some will simmer off as it cooks). Then add in any salt, herbs, veggies, or garlic to add some flavor. If using a crockpot, turn the settings to low. If you are using a stock pot, bring to a simmer and then turn the burner to low. Then let it cook for at least 16 hours. To get all the healing benefits, it takes at least that much time for the bones and cartilage to break down and release their nutrients into the broth. If you can, go longer and cook it for 24 hours. After 16-20 hours, strain into a jar. Don’t skim off the fat that rises to the top - that fat is full of health benefits and will coat your digestive track, soothing it. And there you have it! You have one of the most nutrient dense foods right at your fingertips with very little time invested from you. I love just adding a little salt and drinking the broth as it is, or using it as a base for sauces and soups. As someone who has digestive and joint issues, I can attest to the benefits that bone broth provides. More energy, healthier skin, less joint pain, a soothed tummy, and the list goes on. Next up on the blog, we’ll be doing a series of tips and tricks from Liz Straight on budgeting time and money to feed a family of ten using pasture-raised food. Stay tuned! Cheers! Bethany

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Budget Series: 3 Ways to Use a Whole Chicken (Part 3)

Here is part 3 of our Budge Series!

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Budget Series: 3 Ways to Use a Whole Chicken (Part 2)

Next up on this budget series, we’ll learn how to roast a chicken in a crockpot. This super easy way of cooking a chicken will ensure dinner is on the table without any hassle for you! Easy Crock pot Chicken: Ingredients: 1 whole chicken (I used a 6lb chicken - the bigger you go, the more meat you get out of it for about the same amount of time put into prepping it) Salt and pepper, to taste Optional: herbs, garlic, onion, etc. Get creative! Directions: 1. Place the chicken into a large crockpot. For the 6lb chicken, I used an 8 quart crock pot. Just enough space! Add any seasonings or herbs your heart desires. No need to add water - the chicken will release water as it cooks! 2. Turn the settings to low. 3. And let it cook for six hours or until the internal temp of the thigh is 165! Carve and serve with some gravy or bbq, or shred it to use in other recipes. ***For a whole chicken, the rule of thumb is about an hour per pound of chicken on the low setting. And if you’re like me and you forget to pull out your chicken to thaw ahead of time, add a half an hour per pound to that. But as always, go by temp instead of time to make sure you don’t get a dry chicken! It really is that easy. I made this chicken to prep for writing this blog post yesterday. I was at work, doing my work for the day and also prepping to leave for a week’s visit home to MN over Father’s Day. When I went to get my chicken to cook it, it was actually still mostly frozen. I had planned for it to be thawed, but I had forgotten to pull it out in time. Oh well, I popped it into the crockpot and just hoped for the best in the middle of a chaotic day. The day was super busy - packing orders to go out on deliveries the next day, processing chickens, and getting everything planned ahead of time for while I’m away on vacation, plus all my normal daily work. Then right after work I had to meet someone in town. Then back to the farm to finish prep for deliveries tomorrow and wrap up any loose ends. Then out to my garden to water and make the plants happy. Then back home to pack, do laundry, clean, and get ready to head out in the morning. And after all that? Dinner, ready and waiting for me in my crockpot. It took about nine hours for the frozen six pound chicken to fully cook, and I didn’t even have to think about it. I shredded some, made a sourdough sandwich, then put the rest into the freezer for while I’m out of town. There you have it! Crockpot chicken for a busy gal’s or guy’s life. It’ll be your best friend! Pro tip: Get a timer for your outlet to plug your crockpot into! Then you can set the timer for when you want it to start and end cooking. That way it’s done when you have time to take care of it. Drop a comment below and let me know how it goes for you! Cheers! ~Bethany

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Budget Series: 3 Ways to Use a Whole Chicken (Part 1)

Cook a whole chicken? Sure, it’s more budget friendly, but… how and what do you do with it? This month, we’ll be kickstarting a budgeting series with a few different ways to use a whole chicken. Trust me, it’s actually super easy, and I think it saves more time! Per pound, the price of a whole chicken is much more budget-friendly than getting parts. For example, thighs are going for $14.00 per pound, but a whole chicken is $6.50 per pound! There will be four parts to this blog series. This week, we’ll learn how easy it is to roast a pasture-raised chicken that isn’t dry and tasteless. Get ready to save on time and money! Easy Roasted Whole Chicken Ingredients: 1 whole chicken (I used a 5.5 lb chicken) 2 Tbsp butter, melted Salt and pepper to taste 4 garlic cloves, whole Instructions: 1. Preheat your oven to 350 F. 2. Place a roasting rack in a 9x13 pan (optional, but helps the chicken get a crispier skin). Pat your chicken dry with a paper towel and place breast side down on the rack. Using a pastry brush, spread the melted butter all over the chicken, then sprinkle with salt and pepper (you can also get creative and do a few different seasonings or herbs, like thyme, paprika, etc.). Next, place your garlic cloves inside the cavity of the chicken. 3. Set the pan on the middle rack of your oven. Roast the chicken for about 1.5 hours (about 16 minutes per lb), or until the thermometer reads 160 in the breast and 165 in the thigh. Make sure to stick the thermometer in the meatiest part of the breast or thigh! As always, go by the temperature rather than the time - the time can vary, so you really want to be paying attention to the temp so you don’t overcook. *If you have a smaller chicken, the time will be less for it to fully cook, so adjust the time by multiplying the total weight of the chicken by 16 minutes, and that will give you an estimate of how long it will take.  4. The opportunities are endless! You can either serve it as a roast chicken for dinner along with some mashed potatoes and roast veggies, or you can shred it to use in any chicken dish you want! I cooked up a 5.5lb chicken for one of our team lunches and shredded it all to use in a version of chicken pot pie (homemade biscuits topped with a chicken pot pie filling - I know, not really a pot pie but it tastes the same!). It fed 14 people hungry from a day of hard work on the farm. So it can stretch a long ways! And I saved the bones and skin so I can make a broth out of that. Nothing goes to waste! If I don’t have people to feed and it’s just me, then I find this saves time and money because I can cook a big chicken all at once, shred it, and then portion it out and freeze what I won’t use right away. That way during the week I can just grab out a bag of already cooked and shredded chicken to make a quick meal out of. And there you have it! One easy way of cooking a whole chicken and prepping for more than one meal at a time. Next week, we’ll show you how to make a crockpot version of a whole chicken. Stay tuned! Cheers to you and your health…and your wallet! ~Bethany

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Meat Chickens Deep Dive

Watch as Jesse deep dives into how we prepare our meat chickens at the farm!

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Delicious Garlic Parmesean Wings

Garlic and parmesan - a match made in heaven. Wings are one of the easiest cuts to prep and absorb so much flavor. This recipe uses turkey wings, which are cheaper and meatier than chicken wings, but you could definitely substitute chicken wings! It takes about 15 minutes total to prep,then you pop them in the oven or on the grill, and dinner is served! Ingredients: 2ct turkey wings (mine weighed about a lb each) ¼ cup butter, melted 3 cloves garlic, minced ¼ cup finely grated fresh parmesan Salt and pepper to taste Parsley (optional, but makes a nice and tasty garnish) 1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Place a wire rack on a baking sheet (necessary to keep the wings off the pan to create airflow, which creates a nice crisp skin - the best part of wings!). 2. Melt your butter over low heat. Then add in your minced garlic and let cook until it is starting to brown and is fragrant. Remove from heat. 3. Pat your wings dry with a paper towel and set on the wire rack. Using a pastry brush, slather your garlic butter all over the wings. Next, sprinkle salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. 4. Place pan on middle rack in oven, and cook for about forty-five minutes to an hour, or until the skin is nice and crispy and the meat comes easily off the bone. 5. Sprinkle the grated parmesan on top of the wings and place back in the oven for a minute to let the cheese melt a bit. 6. Serve with the parsley garnish and whatever sauce you prefer! My favorite to pair these with is a garlic aioli. ~~~~~ I love big, bold flavors, and I love how quick this recipe was to whip up after a day at work. I also like using turkey wings since you don’t need as many to make it a filling meal, and the bonus is they’re cheaper than chicken wings! A great side dish to serve with these is homemade sweet potato fries, which are super easy to make! You can cook them in the oven with the wings, and they’ll both be done around the same time. Great for saving time and making a well rounded, satisfying meal! Cheers! ~Bethany

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Whiffletree Hens Deep Dive Part 2

Jesse's back with Part 2 of a deep dive into Whiffletree farming practice around hens!

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Whiffletree Hens Deep Dive Part 1

Listen as Jesse begins a deep dive into Whiffletree farming practice around hens!

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Easy One-Pan Turkey Drumstick Recipe

Everyone has those hectic days when no one has time to spend hours in the kitchen, so we all need quick and easy meals in our back pocket. This one-pan meal (inspired by a combo Liz Straight likes to make for their family) combines the sweet and savory flavors from thyme, sweet potatoes, balsamic, garlic, onion, and goat cheese. It serves about 3-4 people, takes about 20 minutes to prep, dirties only a few dishes, and is packed full of flavor, so it’s a winner! A bonus to turkey is that it is actually cheaper per pound than chicken is, and can be substituted for chicken in just about any recipe! And it is packed with a wide range of minerals and B vitamins. This recipe uses turkey drumsticks, which is the most economical cut of turkey we carry (and dare I say the tastiest?). But you can substitute whatever cut of turkey is your favorite and adjust the cooking time accordingly! Easy One-Pan Turkey Drumstick Recipe: Ingredients: 2 turkey drumsticks (I used 2 - 2.5 lbs drumsticks) 3 Tbsp. butter, tallow, or lard 4 sweet potatoes 1 small onion 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 Tbsp. fresh thyme leaves ½ tsp. Garlic powder Salt and pepper to taste 1 cup fresh arugula Crumbled goat cheese (optional) Balsamic vinegar or glaze Chopped pecans (optional) Directions: 1. Preheat your oven to 300. 2. Peel and dice the sweet potatoes, then slice the onion. Combine both in a 9x13 pan. Add in the minced garlic, thyme leaves, and sprinkle salt and pepper on top. Melt the butter, tallow, or lard in a small saucepan. Add a couple tablespoons to the sweet potato mixture (make sure to reserve some for your turkey drumsticks). Mix everything together. 3. Pat your drumsticks dry. Rub the rest of your melted fat of choice onto the drumsticks, then sprinkle on the garlic powder and some salt and pepper. Nestle the drumsticks in the pan with the sweet potatoes. 4. Place in your preheated oven and cook for about 80-90 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the meat reaches 165 F. 5. Take the pan out of the oven and let it cool a bit. Then add in your fresh arugula, crumbled goat cheese, and pecans. Mix it up, and drizzle the balsamic over the top. 6. And you’re done! I made this at work on a day when I didn’t have any leftovers in my fridge to bring for lunch. It was super quick and easy to whip up, but still a very satisfying, delicious meal.  Another variation you can do with this is to substitute butternut squash instead of the sweet potatoes. Your choice! Enjoy! ~Bethany

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Not Made, But Found

My daughter and I run together some mornings of the week, and besides catching up we also like to listen to "The Daily Poem" podcast. This morning we heard this one by Pulitzer Prize winning Richard Wilbur.   Wedding Toast "St. John tells how, at Cana's wedding feast, The water-pots poured wine in such amountThat by his sober countThere were a hundred gallons at the least.It made no earthly sense, unless to showHow whatsoever love elects to blessBrims to a sweet excessThat can without depletion overflow.Which is to say that what love sees is true;That this world's fullness is not made but found.Life hungers to aboundAnd pour its plenty out for such as you.Now, if your loves will lend an ear to mine,I toast you both, good son and dear new daughter.May you not lack for water,And may that water smack of Cana's wine."   My daughter and I both thought it a very sweet poem.    Part of what this poem is about is making a claim about reality--how in a fundamental way, reality (or God and his world, as shown by Jesus at the wedding) is full of love and blessing and abundance and life that "brims to a sweet excess."   With that context, this line stuck out to me: "That this world's fullness is not made but found." One way of looking at the world and our work is that the main task in life is man-handling what we want out of this world.  Squeezing and imposing and "building".  The alternative orientation is the way of this poem--that our main task is mostly figuring out how to best co-operate with reality that is already bursting with life.   Our approach to farming is with the presumption that "life hungers to abound."  And it is our fundamental job as farmers to facilitate the life that is much bigger than us--we help put the right pieces in the right places at the right time (which is no small task!)--but we don't really "make anything grow."  We can move the animals around the pastures in the right rotation at the right times to make the soil, and plants, and animals happy, but we don't make the sun shine, and we don't crank any gears to make photosynthesis happen, and we don't make the soil microbes work, and we don't wind up the chickens to keep them running.   In other words, as farmers "This world's fullness is not made but found."  We don't do good work when we aggressively impose our will on the soil, plants, and animals.  We do our best work when we find the abundant ways of nature and life, and in humility, join in collaboration.   Of course, this poem was not written about farming (ha!), but it is about living and love and how to see the world and ourselves--how it is a sad joke to live in Scrooge-ish grasping dominance, but wonderful to live in the harmony and abundance of collaborating with the nature of reality.  And being a farmer, I couldn't help but hear those thoughts when I heard those lines.   Our aim is to "find" the abundance in nature's ways, and pass that abundance along to you, our customers, in the form of tasty food that is truly healthy for the land, animals, and community.   ~Jesse Straight

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The Best BBQ Drumsticks

Nothing says summer more than a good BBQ (I know, it’s not summer yet, but one can dream!).  But honestly, these drumsticks are good any time of year - the BBQ flavors are compounded when mixed with the smoky essence of a grill, or when it’s cold the spices warm you up and fire up your tastebuds. And served with some roasted potatoes slathered with butter? They are smashing! This recipe is inspired by a recipe that Jesse and Liz Straight and their family love. These drumsticks are served with a tangy white BBQ sauce with a bit of spice…a perfect compliment to the spice rub on the drumsticks! (Or serve ‘em up with whatever your favorite BBQ sauce is!) Drumsticks: 2 Tbsp. coconut sugar 1 ½ Tbsp. salt 1 Tbsp. garlic powder 1 Tbsp. smoked paprika 2 tsp. black pepper 1 ½ tsp. onion powder 1 ½ tsp. chili powder 1 tsp. cinnamon (optional, but adds a nice twist!) ½ tsp. cayenne (optional) 2 Tbsp. water 1 Tbsp. olive oil 2 ½ lbs. chicken drumsticks (or use turkey drumsticks!) White BBQ Sauce: 1 c. mayonnaise ¼ c. apple cider vinegar 2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard 1 Tbsp. honey 1 tsp. prepared horseradish 1 ½ tsp. hot sauce ½ tsp. cayenne (optional, depends on how much spice you like!) Directions: 1. Heat your oven to 375. 2. While the oven is heating, mix together the dry ingredients for the drumsticks. Add in the water, stir, and let sit for a couple minutes to allow the water to soften the spices. Then add in the oil and let sit for another couple minutes to allow the water and oil to draw out the flavor compounds of the spices. 3. Place a wire rack on your baking sheet. Pat the drumsticks dry with a paper towel, then rub them with the spice rub. Lay them on the wire rack with the fat end facing the edge of the pan. (You can always skip the wire rack if you’re in a hurry and want to get supper on the table as fast as possible, or want to minimize clean up after. A wire rack will just create air flow to give you the crispiest skin possible!) 4. Bake in the oven (or on the grill) for 1 hour. 5. While the drumsticks are cooking, mix up all the ingredients for the sauce. Add as much hot sauce or cayenne ‘til it’s as spicy as you want. 6. Serve the drumsticks with the sauce on the side. Some lemon wedges add a nice bright note to the dish as well! I think this is my all-time favorite drumstick recipe. They’re quick, easy, and delicious. I highly recommend adding these into your meal rotation! If you’re looking for more ideas on how to make drumsticks, here’s a few more ideas from Liz Straight: A one-pan meal with drumsticks, brussel sprouts, and diced sweet potatoes tossed in melted lard or bacon fat and sprinkled with salt and pepper. Crumbled bacon on top is a bonus! Nestle everything in a pan and bake at 375 for 60 minutes.Drumsticks, melted lard or tallow, diced potatoes, a few minced garlic cloves, diced tomatoes (canned or fresh), lemon zest to taste, dried or chopped fresh herbs of choice, and olives. Cook the same way as above!Mix equal parts of melted butter and Dijon mustard, mix in dried or chopped fresh herbs of choice (dried basil or tarragon, or fresh thyme recommended!) and paint onto the drumsticks. Cook at 375 for an hour! And the ideas are endless. Have fun in the kitchen experimenting and finding your family’s favorite! Cheers! Bethany

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