Banana Gelatin Snack

Banana jiggly snack made with grass-fed gelatin

While growing up in Russia, my mom would make from scratch simple treats for only special occasions. One of my memories is of her making a basic fresh fruit, Jell-O-like pie: thin crust, topped with raw sliced fruit, covered with a clear gel. Little did we know, it was actually nutritious. Unlike the American store-bought layered cakes made with artificial food coloring, corn starch/syrup, and thick sugary white frosting, my mom's basic gel pie actually contains vitamines from whole fresh fruit and good source of protein from gelatin.

When I saw Great Lakes Gelatin making its rounds with real food book authors/bloggers recently, my recollection of those delicious gel pies from childhood came back. I instantly ordered the gelatin and asked Mom to help me replicate her signature recipe. But since my mom hasn't baked treats in over 17 years, she actually didn't know what I was talking about for the longest time, and I don't blame her. Soon after we moved to America, to a land of plenty, we opted for the convenience of buying already-baked treats from grocery stores, and on a regular basis. Fortunately, over the last couple of years, we opened our eyes to how the food industry operates and been receptive to how food choices impact our health. 

While I'm modifying my mom's gelatin pie recipe so that it's completely gluten-free and paleo-friendly, I wanted to share in the meantime this gelatin fruit snack that only requires three ingredients: 

2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin (preferably from grass-fed beef like Great Lakes)

1 cup boiling water

1 organic banana 

Mash banana into a bowl. Stir to dissolve 2 teaspoons of gelatin in 1 cup boiling water. Pour the galatin mixture over the banana and cool, refrigerate until set. 

Enjoy the delicious and nutritious protein-rich treat! 

Feedback Matters

If you’ve purchased Grass Fed Jerky Chews from me more than once, there is a chance you’ve received a handwritten note from me stating my appreciation for your order and continued support. There is even a chance you might have also gotten a Real Salt shaker that my generous partners have sent for me to share with my customers.

The little touches that I add to the already-placed orders is my way of communicating with my customers. Afterall, my business is fairly new and much of it is managed and operated (shipping & handling) by only me. There are days I am so busy I don’t get to partake in any social interaction during the day. These couple of weeks I’ve been preparing for my first ever Market and for you local SF Bay Area customers it’s an order to attend! Thank goodness for family and friends to keep me sane at night after “business hours,” I don’t even know if there is such a thing in a life of an Entrepreneur? :)

And of course, thanks to my customers for going out of your way to email with any questions, suggestions, and absolutely awesome encouraging feedback. You don’t really know how good or bad of a job you are doing until you actually hear from people who are consuming the product you’re working so hard to make available.

So you can imagine how excited I get when I see an email from you! Just recently one satisfied customer wrote with such touching feedback that I really wanted to share with you:

“My 2.5-yr-old son (along with my wife and me) continue to really enjoy your quality chews. I take them with me on business trips, we eat them daily at home, and we have started cooking more and more with them because we cannot otherwise get quality, grass-fed beef where we live. My son also likes to have jerky chews cut into little strips and mixed in with his food. "Beef Jerky" was one of the first 10-20 phrases that he learned to say.”

The part where “‘beef jerky’ was one of the first 10 - 20 phrases” this child learned is WOW! Thank you to parents who work so hard to source high quality foods for your children. I am that much more encouraged to continue in my mission to make quality snacks that are so versatile (yes, you can cook with my beef jerky) more accessible!

Boosting Immunity with Grass Fed Organ & Bone Broth

When cold and flu season makes its rounds, the first thing that comes to mind is homemade BONE BROTH. The simple nutrient-dense mixture of slow cooked antibacterial herbs, pastured bones and organ meats, makes for one powerful immune boosting superfood!

Bone Marrow and Beef Heart Broth

Recently, I've been making the highly flavorful bone marrow and beef heart combo soup broth. If you're in the Bay Area, Ca, I highly recommend sourcing your grass-fed meat from Brandon Natural Beef - the company recently added Grass Fed Slow- Cook and Organ Cuts to their product list. And you've already seen me mention that Jerky Chews are made from Brandon Natural beef, too.


While you will find pre-made broths in cans and boxes sold in supermarkets, keep in mind that those preservative-laden and over-salted soups will never come close to the nutrient profile of a homemade gelatin-rich broth that's actually health-promoting.

Don't take my word for it, try preparing this super easy recipe tonight!

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs of marrow bones (feel free to use any bones from pastured animals; necks, feet and wings of free range chickens yield lots more gelatin)
• 1/2 of beef heart (optional, but healthy for the heart & tastes delicious when prepared in the broth) 
• 4 celery stalks, chopped in half
• 2 whole carrots
• couple of garlic cloves
• 1 whole onion
• 1 tbs of apple cider vinegar (helps to draw minerals from bones for better calcium absorption)
• water
• salt and pepper to taste (optional)

Place the marrow bones and heart in a large pot or crock-pot. Add vinegar and cover with water. Bring to a boil. A large amount of scum will float to the top; remove with a spoon before adding in the rest of the ingredients: vegetables, herbs and salt. Reduce heat and simmer stock overnight (8 - 24 hours). 

Once ready, you'll find the broth rich in gelatin and containing lots of fat solids at the top. That would be tallow and can be used as great cooking fat. You can also just strain the fat with the rest of the vegetables, which are usually discarded as their flavor and nutrients get absorbed in the broth.

You can now drink the clear broth anytime of the day or add it as the base for sauces, stews, and soups. Enjoy the heart as is or add it to a meal with a homemade sauce. I like to chop up small portions of the heart to combine with my omelet the next morning. Remove the marrow from the bones and spread it over your omelet; remember to devour with the same appreciation as these Paleo Girls! The lucky pet who gets the bones will live a very healthy life.

Such simple recipe for preparing bone and organ broth can be made any time of the year to help prevent and treat infections.

Enjoy!

Cooking with Grass Fed Jerky Chews

In recent years, jerky has been popularized as nutritious protein after a workout, snack on-the-go, and perfect nosh to take outdoors/camping. However, back in the day, the purpose for drying the meat was to preserve it for a later cookery as refrigeration was not available. When the dried snack is rehydrated in water or broth, it can be added with any desired spices and ingredients to provide a satiating meal.

Some of my favorite family stories are of my grandmother's childhood during World War II. Her family would make the most appetizing dishes out of minimally preserved/canned ingredients. It's just the cutest thing when she bites into Jerky Chews and asks, "Can I soak it in water and cook you a meal?"

I would love a meal made from Jerky Chews, especially when I have no other protein left in the house. I got so busy that I forgot to place an order with Brandon Natural Beef; check them out Bay Area, Ca, as they have tongue and other awesome cuts available this season.

But for now, I will scavenge for ingredients I already have and combine them with my 100% grass-fed beef source - Jerky Chews (also made from Brandon Natural Beef) - Original with Lemon flavor to be precise.

Here's a simple recipe you can enjoy while camping or at home: 

• 1 cup chopped jerky (2oz bag of Jerky Chews)
• 1 can of diced tomatoes (TJ's Organic Diced & Fire Roasted is tasty)
• 3 farm-fresh eggs (I used duck eggs thanks to the Mountain View farmers market lady who sells bigger-yolk duck eggs for the price of chicken eggs)
• 2 tablespoons butter
• Sea salt to taste (optional)

Soak the chopped jerky in water overnight. Heat the pastured butter in a skillet. Squeeze out the moisture from jerky and add it to the skillet along with tomatoes and salt. Cook for a few minutes and then stir in whisked eggs. Continue to stir very slowly over low heat and you got yourself scrambled eggs with delicious chews.

Enjoy!

Meal made from rehydrated (soaked in water) Jerky Chews

Celebrating my 5-year Paleo Journey with a Geveaway of Practical Paleo!

The winner for this Giveaway has been chosen! Thank you to those who participated and shared your inspiring journeys with eating Paleo! Scroll to the comments section to read those stories.

The differences between merely surviving and living optimally are vast, and I would have never found that out if I didn't give Paleo a shot 5 years ago. It's been a great journey and I'd like to celebrate with a little giveway...

But first, back when I started Paleo I was lucky to have the help of a Paleo friend, but there wasn't much good literature available on the subject. I did pick up a few books upon my friend's recommendation that gave me insight into Paleo and what real food/organic movement is all about: The Paleo Diet by Dr. Cordain and The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan. I really enjoyed Pollan's book as it sparked an interest in me to shop at farmers markets more and to get to know the farmers and ranchers that grow my food. 

Since then, the Paleo community has grown significantly and I'm honored to be part of it with my jerky business I started just a few years ago out of my personal need for a traditional, nutrient-dense snack made from quality ingredients, such as 100% grass-fed beef. Knowing the source of my food is very important to me, and I can see it is just as important to most of you. 

Lucky for us, there are very hard working people in the Paleosphere nowadays that are making our transition to Paleo much easier. From Mark Sisson to Robb Wolf to amazing recipe featured on The Food Lover's Kitchen. One of my personal favorite blogs is by Diane Sanfilippo called Balanced Bites, which is a great resource for a more holistic approach to health and wellness. 

Over the last year, I've gotten to meet and bond with Diane - she's been a great supporter of Jerky Chews and even mentioned Sophia's Survival Food brand in her newly released book - Practical Paleo. Diane is very passionate about helping people and just an inspiration with how she is capable of presenting easy to make recipes and breaking down the science behind Paleo in a clear way. In her Practical Paleo book, she does the same incredible job of laying out all the critical points about Paleo with incredibly easy to understand wording, diagrams and MEAL PLANS! All the recipes look very tasty and you don't have to be the Naked Chef to throw them together. In no time, you'll have a better understanding about how your body 'should' work, how certain foods react with your body, and ways to go about improving your health. I really wish I had this resource available to me when I started on this journey five years ago.

So, what's in the GIVEAWAY? A copy of Practical Paleo, of course!! I will also include new flavors of Jerky Chews and Real Salt Shakers!

How to enter:

• Like Balanced Bites fb page
• Like my Sophia's Survival Food fb page
• Share in the comments that you liked the above pages, and if you'd like, mention a little about your paleo/real food journey with us!
• And, last but not least: This contest is open to US residents only. 
  

I will announce the winner on Monday 8/27/12, at noon PST!

1st Anniversary - Brandon Natural Beef and Real Salt Giveaway!

The winner for this Giveaway has been chosen! Thank you to those who participated! We now have great ground beef and steak recipes to choose from. Please feel free to check out our partner Brandon Natural Beef for some of the best 100% grass-fed and finished beef !

It’s been ONE YEAR since I took the daring step and moved my jerky production to a family-owned USDA jerky making facility, and it’s been a WILD ride of incredible reviews, shout-outs, partnerships, and personal growth. Most importantly, support from customers has been phenomenal. Your feedback and requests have led to product improvements and inspired new developments that are still to come.

As you probably already know, from the very beginning, I’ve been committed to being a good steward of the environment (blame it on the side effect of eating real food/paleo for many years) - which is why I’m devoted to using 100% grass-fed and finished beef from small grass-ranchers in addition to quality spices, while supporting US-based businesses. If you haven’t already, you can view the video about my philosophy and jerky making process here. No matter the challenges, I’ve stuck to creating a traditional, nutrient-dense snack that anyone can feel good about eating.

Looking at it now, I can say there's nothing better than providing access to a clean ingredient snack and hearing back from people who loved it. Actually, indulging in my grandmother’s homemade aspic dish comes close - Yum!

To celebrate this, I’m teaming up with my partners who are behind the top-notch ingredients that are used for the making of Jerky Chews: 

Brandon Natural Beef and Real Salt have generously agreed to donate absolutely AMAZING prizes! 

Brandon Natural Beef is run by Bob and Lisa, together as a family, they market flavorful 100% grass-fed and finished beef to folks who live in SF Bay Area - and if you’re in the area make sure to connect with them as deliveries are made for free. 

They source the beef from a grass rancher in Colorado who raises the cattle on mountain pastures where they are free to graze all day like nature intended. After hearing from lovely Michelle of Nom Nom Paleo about Brandon Natural Beef a couple months ago, I quickly phoned them to try the beef for myself - she’s right - absolutely delish! Not long after, we partnered so more of you can enjoy their beef in the form of Jerky Chews.

Another critical ingredient used in the recipe of Jerky Chews is unrefined mineral rich sea salt from my FAVORITE brand - Real Salt. The salt is packed with natural trace minerals that are pink in color and found in the ancient salt deposit near Redmond, Utah. 

But why I absolutely love this particular brand is because it makes a huge difference in punching of the flavors of foods, far more than refined sea salt, kosher salt, or regular table salt. And it doesn't hurt that it's also nutritious - as highlighted in the recent posts by Chris Kresser.

Now, what’s this GIVEAWAY comprised of?

• 2 - Real Salt 9 oz Shakers
• 2 - Real Salt Pocket Shakers - cutest things on earth!
• 2 - Ground Beef Packages, 2 - Boneless Rib Eyes, 2 - Boneless New York Strips
• And of course, a new flavor of Jerky Chews that I need you to taste test and report with feedback!! 

And guess what? There are a total of 2 winners that get double of the good stuff! That's like more than $100 worth of goodies! You can thank me here for covering the shipping cost of the boxes because I really really want you to try the products! The giveaway is only advertised through my Facebook page and twitter and website, so feel free to share with anyone you know who might be interested. C'mon, it's 100% grass-fed beef and real salt - crazy to think that someone wouldn't be :P

To Enter:

1. Like Brandon Natural Beef Facebook page

2. Like Real Salt Facebook page

3. Leave a comment here on my blog letting me know that you did that AND how you plan to prepare the meat this summer, if you leave out Real Salt in the mix..you will not get picked! Kidding. But seriously why wouldn't you use the two together?
4. And, last but not least: This contest is open to US residents only.

I will announce the winnerS on Tuesday 7/24/12, at noon PST!

Go forth, good luck & have a MEATY summer!!

Prioritizing Grass-fed Beef

In today's Balanced Bites podcast, one of the things Michelle of Nom Nom Paleo talked about is prioritizing expenses in such a way so to have the money for quality, humanely raised food. I couldn't agree more! Since the day I started on this journey of incorporating quality nutrient-dense foods in my diet, I've grown to really value food. I would take Open Space Meats Grass Fed Beef and Brandon Natural Beef over the latest fashionable item any day! 

Just this afternoon, Lisa of Brandon Natural Beef stopped by to drop off ground beef that I ordered for the home. Talk about knowing where your food comes from - I must have squeezed out of Lisa everything there is to know about how the cattle are raised in Colorado. I already knew the bulk of the information from her husband, Bob, and why I chose to source their meat for Jerky Chews, but I was curious to know more and Lisa really did a great job of providing me with a thorough explanation. If you're in the SF Bay Area, I highly recommend signing up for a free delivery service of some of the most delicious grass-fed beef. You, too, can chat-up Lisa or Bob!

I like that ground beef is affordable and can be made into different dishes. My personal favorites are healthy burgers and lettuce-wraps with your choice of seasonal spices and sauces. Yum!