I will take you along in my journey into organics one baby step at a time.
I live in a area with pretty limited organic area. No Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, or Wild Oats. Just 2 conventional grocery stores and a SuperWalmart and a Kmart. No farmers markets, CSA, or anything for hundreds of miles...so it's going to be baby steps for me all the way. One product at a time. And if I can stockpile something...even better.
I live in a area with pretty limited organic area. No Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, or Wild Oats. Just 2 conventional grocery stores and a SuperWalmart and a Kmart. No farmers markets, CSA, or anything for hundreds of miles...so it's going to be baby steps for me all the way. One product at a time. And if I can stockpile something...even better.
Free Range Eggs
Posted 11-17-2007 at 05:10 PM by queenofthehivemomof5
OK so it looks like I skipped a week there in my blog. God knows I am busy!
So my blog entry this week is on free range eggs. This is one item I have been able to get for a while now because a family we know from church has free range chickens and sells them for .99 cents a dozen and that works for my budget. With a large family of 7 we eat a dozen eggs in one sitting when we make eggs for breakfast or even a quick dinner and usually buy 4 dozen eggs a week.
I recently read a interesting article in Mother Earth News magazine called Meet Real Free Range Eggs by Cheryl Long and Tabitha Alterman. In this article they tested eggs in laboratories to see what the difference in commercial eggs vs. eggs laid by chickens raised on pasture were. The results were that the eggs raised on pasture contained 1⁄3 less cholesterol, 1⁄4 less saturated fat, 2⁄3 more vitamin A, 2 times more omega-3 fatty acids, 3 times more vitamin E, and 7 times more beta carotene compared to their commercially laid eggs.
While that is great news to those interested in the health benefits of free range eggs I also think it is important that if we eat meat and other animal products that the animals have a quality of life while they serve their purpose of creating food for humans. That is very important to me. I am not a vegetarian, but I did grow up vegan (not sure if my mom had a belief in animal treatment, health reasons, or if we were just too poor to afford meat), and I have always had a place in my heart for animals and treating them humanely. My personal belief is that animals were created by God for human consumption, but as man was created to be the caretaker of the earth and beasts that it is important to treat God's creatures with respect. (This is my own personal belief, I respect the views of others.) I deeply feel that animals have feelings and should have as much as a normal life as possible. That chickens should be able to do the things that they are supposed to and scratch and grub around for food, cows should have land to roam around on and eat pasture, etc.
I have seen pictures and heard stories of chickens kept in cages, beaks cut off to keep them from pecking each other, the chickens never get to see the light of day. To me that is not how a creature should be treated. We would not treat our fellow man or our pets that way why is it OK to treat animals that we want to eat or eat their eggs that way? It's not!
Another point I wish to raise on free range eggs is knowing what that really means. Free range chickens technically means that chickens have access to the outdoors. That can mean that they have an outdoor pen over concrete. That type of living condition does not let chickens do their "thing" in foraging and scratching for food. So if you see the label "free range" on a carton of eggs at the grocery store you should do a little online investigation to see if the chickens are in fact free range and allowed access to pasture. Pasture is the important part here. They need access to the earth. To eat greens and weeds, to search for grubs and bugs, to eat the things that chickens are intended to eat, which in turn makes their eggs nutrient rich.
The eggs we buy from our friend here in Wyoming are indeed free range. They are allowed to roam the ranch freely and come back in to their coop to lay their eggs. During the winter months they are given a heated coop and are supplemented with an organic grain diet, but are still allowed access to the outdoors on nice days. Wyoming winters can be harsh at times, but we often have warm spells throughout our winters which is great for those chickens. Some free range farmers who worry about wolfs, coyotes, or other predators keep their chickens in movable pens that are moved from pasture to pasture and the chickens are still allowed to scratch and grub for their food but are enclosed to keep them safe.
The cost of free range eggs can be higher, and there is a reason for this. Production rates are lower for chickens that are free range, they make fewer eggs, so commercial farmers can sell their eggs cheaper because they make up for it in volume. But there are of course deals to be had (you know I am all about the deals!).
First look for a local source. Check your newspapers classified ads, maybe put a post on Craigslist and keep your eyes peeled for someone locally that raises free range/pastured eggs. Local farmers often sell their eggs cheaper than the grocery store because there is no advertising or shipping costs involved in their markup. If that is not an option look for sales at the grocery store, and if you can pare it with coupons even better! They do come on sale from time to time, I have see free range eggs on sale for as low as $1 a dozen, which is great when the everyday price is about $3.00 in my neck of the woods.
Eggs last quite a long time in the fridge, and there are many ways you can use them! I even freeze eggs!
Here are my top 5 ways to use and preserve eggs if I get a lot at one time:
So in conclusion I urge everyone to try to find a source of true free range eggs. They not only are better for you, but the chickens have a more quality of life.
So my blog entry this week is on free range eggs. This is one item I have been able to get for a while now because a family we know from church has free range chickens and sells them for .99 cents a dozen and that works for my budget. With a large family of 7 we eat a dozen eggs in one sitting when we make eggs for breakfast or even a quick dinner and usually buy 4 dozen eggs a week.
I recently read a interesting article in Mother Earth News magazine called Meet Real Free Range Eggs by Cheryl Long and Tabitha Alterman. In this article they tested eggs in laboratories to see what the difference in commercial eggs vs. eggs laid by chickens raised on pasture were. The results were that the eggs raised on pasture contained 1⁄3 less cholesterol, 1⁄4 less saturated fat, 2⁄3 more vitamin A, 2 times more omega-3 fatty acids, 3 times more vitamin E, and 7 times more beta carotene compared to their commercially laid eggs.
While that is great news to those interested in the health benefits of free range eggs I also think it is important that if we eat meat and other animal products that the animals have a quality of life while they serve their purpose of creating food for humans. That is very important to me. I am not a vegetarian, but I did grow up vegan (not sure if my mom had a belief in animal treatment, health reasons, or if we were just too poor to afford meat), and I have always had a place in my heart for animals and treating them humanely. My personal belief is that animals were created by God for human consumption, but as man was created to be the caretaker of the earth and beasts that it is important to treat God's creatures with respect. (This is my own personal belief, I respect the views of others.) I deeply feel that animals have feelings and should have as much as a normal life as possible. That chickens should be able to do the things that they are supposed to and scratch and grub around for food, cows should have land to roam around on and eat pasture, etc.
I have seen pictures and heard stories of chickens kept in cages, beaks cut off to keep them from pecking each other, the chickens never get to see the light of day. To me that is not how a creature should be treated. We would not treat our fellow man or our pets that way why is it OK to treat animals that we want to eat or eat their eggs that way? It's not!
Another point I wish to raise on free range eggs is knowing what that really means. Free range chickens technically means that chickens have access to the outdoors. That can mean that they have an outdoor pen over concrete. That type of living condition does not let chickens do their "thing" in foraging and scratching for food. So if you see the label "free range" on a carton of eggs at the grocery store you should do a little online investigation to see if the chickens are in fact free range and allowed access to pasture. Pasture is the important part here. They need access to the earth. To eat greens and weeds, to search for grubs and bugs, to eat the things that chickens are intended to eat, which in turn makes their eggs nutrient rich.
The eggs we buy from our friend here in Wyoming are indeed free range. They are allowed to roam the ranch freely and come back in to their coop to lay their eggs. During the winter months they are given a heated coop and are supplemented with an organic grain diet, but are still allowed access to the outdoors on nice days. Wyoming winters can be harsh at times, but we often have warm spells throughout our winters which is great for those chickens. Some free range farmers who worry about wolfs, coyotes, or other predators keep their chickens in movable pens that are moved from pasture to pasture and the chickens are still allowed to scratch and grub for their food but are enclosed to keep them safe.
The cost of free range eggs can be higher, and there is a reason for this. Production rates are lower for chickens that are free range, they make fewer eggs, so commercial farmers can sell their eggs cheaper because they make up for it in volume. But there are of course deals to be had (you know I am all about the deals!).
First look for a local source. Check your newspapers classified ads, maybe put a post on Craigslist and keep your eyes peeled for someone locally that raises free range/pastured eggs. Local farmers often sell their eggs cheaper than the grocery store because there is no advertising or shipping costs involved in their markup. If that is not an option look for sales at the grocery store, and if you can pare it with coupons even better! They do come on sale from time to time, I have see free range eggs on sale for as low as $1 a dozen, which is great when the everyday price is about $3.00 in my neck of the woods.
Eggs last quite a long time in the fridge, and there are many ways you can use them! I even freeze eggs!
Here are my top 5 ways to use and preserve eggs if I get a lot at one time:
- Freeze them - I take a dozen eggs, crack them, and scramble them in a plastic container, cover with a tight fitting lid, and place in the freezer. If I want to make scrambled eggs in the morning I take the bowl out of the freezer the night before when I am making dinner and place in the fridge. By the morning the eggs are thawed and I cook as normal for scrambled eggs. You can also do 1 or 2 eggs in the same matter, which is great for baking.
- Quiche - Make your favorite quiche recipe and once done and baked, wrap tightly and freeze. Warm in the oven and serve.
- Breakfast burritos - One of my crews favorites! Scramble eggs, when cooked top with salsa, cheese, crumbed bacon and/or sausage, maybe some green chilies, fried hash browns. Mix all together and wrap in tortillas and enjoy. If you have extra filling make burritos and wrap in tin foil and place wrapped burritos in a large freezer bag and freeze. To cook unwrap and microwave for a few minutes.
- Bake something - Make multiple batches of cookies, cakes, brownies, etc. Angel food cake takes a lot of egg whites and to use up your yolks I make lemon curd (which tastes so yummy on your Angel food cake with a few raspberries!). Pecan and pumpkin pie calls for eggs, and most cookie recipes call for eggs as well. You can make large batches of dough and freeze individual cookie dough balls to make up later. Lemon meringue pie also calls for a lot of eggs.
- Hard Boil them - Hard boiled eggs are always nice to have in the fridge for a quick protein fix. I usually boil 6 eggs and keep in the fridge. The kids or I will have one with our lunch or I will make egg salad sandwiches with them.
So in conclusion I urge everyone to try to find a source of true free range eggs. They not only are better for you, but the chickens have a more quality of life.
Total Comments 1
Comments
 | Great info on free range eggs! Thanks for the tips on preserving. Though eggs don't last long enough around here to worry about that! We started our own flock of free rangers last May. We have 10 hens that provide us with naturally delicious eggs. We let them free range during the day. They have access to the coop for laying and they instinctively go back into the coop at night. I think they are happy chickens. They also provide us with much entertainment. |
Posted 11-16-2008 at 03:29 PM by globewoman  |
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