Recipes - Ancestral Nutrition

Blog October 12, 2012

The Best Pork Ribs I’ve Ever Made

I used to not eat pork very often, not because it’s unhealthy or I have any weird hang-ups about eating pork, I just didn’t really know how to cook it. Obviously I could have just cooked it in some BBQ sauce, but I hate BBQ sauce. One time Scott accidentally put BBQ sauce on our French fries at a hockey game instead of ketchup (yeah, I know, fries at a game aren’t healthy, but 80/20) and I almost beat him (is this inappropriate? Scott and I share a really strange/awesome sense of humor). He almost beat himself because he loves ketchup so much. I think he would drink it if he could. It’s really gross. Anyway, a couple of months ago I started ordering pork ribs from my farmer and I discovered that tossing them in the crock pot over night or while I was at work all day with a bunch of random ingredients turned…

Beef October 10, 2012

Grass-Fed Steak With Bone Marrow

I got my hands on some bone marrow from Whole Foods over the weekend. I remember eating it at restaurants with my dad when I was a kid (probably the most nutritious thing I ate as a kid) and loving it. But prior to last night I haven’t had it in over 15 years, which is pretty regrettable. Bone marrow has long been used in traditional cultures all over the world, and is highly revered for its nutrient density. Each 100 gram portion of it contains roughly 240 IU of vitamin A, 107 mg of phosphorous, trace amounts of minerals like thiamin, niacin and magnesium, as well as 4.5 mg of iron. Bone marrow is also rich in the essential fatty acids docosahexaenoic acid, or DHA, and eicosapentaenoic acid, or EPA. A new body of research maintains that the fat of bone marrow is alkylglycerols, which is also found in liver, breast milk and…

Blog October 9, 2012

Healthy Bacon Fat Mayo (Paleo & GAPS)

Before you think I’ve gone crazy touting bacon fat as a health food, let’s actually explore the nutritional composition of bacon fat. Like butter, bacon has been vilified for its saturated fat content. And like butter, bacon fat has been used by traditional cultures without any rampant diseases like heart disease, cancer or obesity. If you read this post, you know that saturated fat is essential for the brain, hormones, and every single cell in the body. It does not cause heart disease or obesity, but rather protects against both of these. Bacon fat from pastured pigs is rich in saturated fat, as well as vitamin D. Low levels of D have been linked to cancer. Vitamin D also promotes fertility and is high in arachidonic acid, which inhibits fungal infections. Proper vitamin D levels lower inflammation, the base of all disease. Bacon fat from pastured animals is also rich in CLA (Conjugated…