Shopping For Meat On A Budget

It's no secret that the Frobuzz household is carnivorous. However, the Frobuzz household is also compromised of a grad student, a young professional, dogs, horses, chickens and student loans. Throw that in an equation and you get a smallish grocery budget. Shopping for meat on a tight budget can be difficult but we're not willing to cut back in that area so we employ some different strategies to keep protein in the center of the plate! So I'm going to outline, as easily as possible, how we eat a hunk of meat several nights a week without breaking the bank. This is no easy task considering pork prices are on the rise (thanks PEDv) and beef prices are at a 27 year high (thanks Mother Nature).

Ok, so before you even head to the store you need to have in your mind that you're not going to get T-bones and ribeyes for $3/lb. That would be awesome but will not happen. The goal is to find a diamond in the rough that you can put a little extra work and kitchen time into and still get a good quality meal.

Once you arrive at the meat case, you're looking for markdowns, BOGO (buy one, get one) or large hunks of meat that most people won't buy (think along the lines of a whole ham). You may not find a great deal every time but one good deal on a large sub-primal can last you awhile. On our shopping trip last Sunday, we found a few good deals but only cashed in on one due to our lack of freezer space at the moment.

You have to look beyond what is right in front of you and think about how you can cut things down or use them in different recipes. On this trip, the Ninja is debating which cut is a better deal and which one is the best cut based on color etc.



Comparisons are vital - look beyond what is right in front of you.

Just because something is 'convenient' doesn't necessarily mean it's convenient for your wallet. Here are some examples of not so great deals:



In this instance it seems awesome that you get a pork country style ribs that are already marinated but that is $4.29 for one serving that is less than a pound. You're basically paying for the fact that it is a single serving, that it's marinated and that it has a pineapple slice.



Same with these charcoal steaks, - these are from the chuck but have been cut down and marinated causing their price to be $7 per lb even though a chuck roast is much cheaper per pound.

Examples of good deals:



Ham on sale for $1.69/lb. Yes, I know it's a whole ham but you can cut things down and freeze them.

These whole  ham butts can be cut down and frozen for use in meals at a later date.

Although we didn't buy a ham, we have done so in the past. We cut it up into smaller portions and freeze them - then I can pull them out for soup, a crock pot meal or to throw on the grill.

This is the deal that we took advantage of last weekend:



Beef bottom round roast - buy one get one free!

Yes, you read that correctly. Beef bottom round roasts were buy one get one free! They were normally $6.99/lb and weighed around 2.5 pounds a piece. However, the sale meant that we got 5 pounds of good quality beef for about $17.65 ($2.50/lb). Talk about a steal.

Naturally, we brought two home and got them ready for future meals. Since crockpot season is over, we opted to cut them into steaks instead of keeping them in their roast form. We unwrapped them and took them out of the package - the first step was removing the fat and silver skin (bonus info: that little pad in the bottom of the package is called a 'diaper'). Silver skin is opaque connective tissue that is very tough so removing it can really improve the eating experience.



Preparing to break it down.



The diaper - soaks up juices that may leech out of the meat
 and keeps the tray and packaging looking clean and tidy.

 

Removing the silver skin and external fat (the dogs appreciated this step) - silver skin is tough connective tissue so it's important to remove to improve the eating experience!

 

 Next, the Ninja cuts the roast into steaks that are approximately 1" thick.



Cutting across the grain is important with roasts in order to improve tenderness




Here you can see how many ~1" steaks come from one of the bottom round roasts

Here are the results of the two roasts that were cut down - there were nine steaks and five 'midget' steaks (that's really what they're called), and of course the pieces of fat and silver skin for the dogs.

 

I realize it's hard to determine how big these are - a deck of cards is roughly the size of one-three ounce serving of beef. As you can see, these steaks are about four ounces.

The final product bagged up - I'll put them in the freezer and when we want to grill, I just pull one out the night before and let it defrost.

Each one of those steaks will serve as a meal for us, along with a veggie or rice side dish. It's about $4.50 total per meal, not per person (not including the veggies or rice). If we didn't do these trips, we would eat less meat and I would not be a happy camper.

I hope this provides insight on how you don't have to change your diet on a tight budget but rather just change your perspective or  your strategies and you can still have high-quality, lean beef on your plate (pork, too)!

Any questions - comments? Do you do something similar at your house?

Until next time,
~ Buzzard ~

Looking Sharp in His Square Toes!

About a month or so ago, Rachel from Boot Barn approached me about reviewing some boots and then giving away a pair on my blog. I am super pumped to have such a great product to promote for my first giveaway! I thought that since I had finished my Master's that I would be able to celebrate by giving away a pair of boots - woot! Ninja received a pair of Cody James boots and I reviewed a pair of the Shyanne (post next week) and we both love them! They're so comfortable and look really great with jeans and khakis. This post is the Ninja's review - read on to find out how they measured up and how you can enter to win!

I’ve always been the kind of guy who, when forced to dress up, is most comfortable in a tweed
jacket and khakis with a pair of brown boots. However, as I get older I am starting to realize I may need to branch out in the fashion world. My wife Brandi seems to think that colors beyond the Dwight inspired earth tones and mustard would be a good start, and she tells me I look particularly good in black. Having only brown boots is an issue when attempting to address this fashion situation, so when Boot Barn offered Brandi and I each a pair of boots, I jumped at the chance I could finally have some black boots as well. I picked a nice pair of Cody James Stockman square-toed boots and they just came in the mail last week, so I thought I would try them out for a few days.


Although I needed Brandi’s approving glance to know that they looked the part, I definitely liked
the white stitching, square heel, and simple pattern of the boots. After wearing them for a few days, I was surprised to find how comfortable they were and they didn’t take as long to ‘break in’ as other boots I’ve purchased in the past. I am particularly glad that while they still had the look of having a traditional leather sole, it seemed like there was more cushion in my step than in some other boots I’ve worn. All in all, I call these black boots a success, but now I just need to get a black belt and some other clothes to match them!

Thank you very much Boot Barn for your support!



Here's how to enter

1. Follow Buzzard's Beat and leave a comment including which pair of Cody James or Shyanne boots you'd choose if you won
2. Like Boot Barn on Facebook and leave a separate comment 
3. Follow Boot Barn on Twitter (@bootbarn) and leave a separate comment
4. Follow me on Twitter (@brandibuzzard) and leave a separate comment
5. Blog or tweet about the giveaway and leave a separate comment. (Make sure to include @brandibuzzard and @bootbarn in the tweet)!

You'll be able to do the same thing next week when I share my thoughts on the Shyanne boots! That's a total of up to ten entries! The winner will be chosen using a random number generator from www.mathgoodies.com

Good luck!

Until next time,
~ Buzzard ~

Quit sucking at blogging

Naturally, I'm talking about myself.

I don't have any excuses why I haven't blogged in almost 5 weeks. I've been busy but there are people out there who are far busier than I who blog regularly so I'll just shut up and get on with this post.

Today, I'm writing in the 5 Fact Friday model. This may or may not become a Friday custom but it seems appropriate today since I have a lot to include and don't want to write a novel since I literally just finished writing a freaking thesis. For real, y'all.

1. I passed my Master's defense two days ago.
 Actually, that's one of the primary reasons for me sucking at blogging because I was so busy losing my mind while preparing for this defense business. Ipso facto, when your mind is absent, it's hard to be creative and write.

But seriously, I am so overwhelmingly blessed and grateful for all of the love, support and encouragement I have received over the past week. My phone was blowing up Wednesday with people wanting to know how I did and the subsequently congratulating me. My office at work smells like a flower store because I was inundated with gorgeous arrangements. Here are a couple from some of my BA friends. The Ninja and my mom got me flowers, too. They're purple (Go Cats)!

My camera phone doesn't do a great job of capturing the vibrancy (word?) of those beautiful blooms but wow - I feel loved. So thanks again to everyone who Facebooked, called, texted, tweeted, email, g-chatted and came out to celebrate afterwards. I cannot tell you how thankful I am. Also, my mom and stepdad surprised me by coming to my defense so that was cool. Pretty sure they didn't have a clue what I was talking about but they were supportive nonetheless. Props.

2. The Farm Bill has been passed by the Senate and amendment #2252 did not make the cut.
In case you're wondering what that amendment is about, #2252 would have codified an agreement between HSUS and The United Egg Producers (UEP) that would have provided our federal government with the authority to mandate animal care - something which should rightfully be in the hands of farmers and ranchers. On his blog, Wayne Pacelle, CEO of HSUS, cites the failure to adopt this amendment to the persistence of pork and beef producers to contact their Senators and express distaste for #2252.  Pacelle cries "Waaah" and I cry, "Wahoo!" Bravo to all those who stepped up and made your Senators aware of the danger animal agriculture would have been in had the amendment been passed. The failure of this amendment, in addition to the Department of Labor dropping it's rules about on-farm child labor, are huge victories for grass-roots agriculture. It's fantastic to see our industry come together and stand up for itself!

3. Now that I have my life back there is a long list of things I've been wanting to do/work on.
 - Start running again. Yes, I said I actually want  to start running. Not because I love the high but because I want to ensure that I never have to buy larger jeans. And I watched Love & Basketball last night (I was/am a baller - especially in high school) and I miss having a six-pack. So running and crunches is how I will get my six-pack back.
- Golf. A lot.
- READ. I have so many books on my book list that I want to read and I have a ton more to add!
- Put all of the recipes on my Pinterest food board in my recipe book. Then use them.
- Do some of the DIY projects on my Pinterest board- headboard, refurbished dresser
- Watch The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
- Get back into the groove of riding and roping. I already bought my membership card for the year so it's time to get my Gadget up to Manhattan and enter some rodeos. For those of you who read this post, Doc is still lame. Not sure how this is going to turn out for us.
- Hang out by a pool/lake.
- Figure out how to put music on my new phone. I broke my Droid Bionic, which I really liked, and now have an LG Spectrum.
- We moved about 1.5 weeks ago but between FFA Convention (I coordinated Kansas' convention), Hyatt's defense, my defense and the KSU Livestock Judging camps we haven't had a chance to unpack and organize everything.

4. I have a new job!
With K-State Research Extension. Combining my love for Kansas, K-State, agriculture and Manhattan all into one. Whammy!

5. Did I mention I passed my Master's defense? Because I did. 
Still on that high :)

Blogging to commence more often starting next week!

Until next time,
~ Buzzard ~

Weekly Words of Encouragement

It's finally Friday (in the states, it's actually 1 am here in Australia) and since we 're usually run down, beat up and sometimes emotionally drained on Friday I wanted to instill some hope into my readers hearts and minds.

This one comes from an advisor friend of mine who I deeply respect (he didn't say it originally, he just shared it with me).

"Human beings are made up of flesh and blood, and a miracle fiber called courage." - George S. Patton 

I am in major need of some courage over the next few days and this quote jumped out at me. This will probably become a weekly feature because grad school is draining me.

Until next time,
~ Buzzard ~

Grad School Dietetics

Everyday life is hectic - work, errands, social life etc. is exhausting.  Add grad school to that equation and voila! you've got Buzzard's life.  How do I stay energized during my 12 hour work days (sans the 30 minutes I spent writing this post)? I eat MEAT!  Beef, pork, chicken and sometimes (on the rarest occasions) fish.

Don't get me wrong - I like other types of food.  In the veggie category I really love green beans (yes, just one type of vegetable fits my fancy).  I adore potatoes and eat lots of forms of corn (creamed, on the cob, frozen, popped) so I have my starches covered.  I'm a huge fan of peaches, pears, strawberries, apples, bananas and lots of other fruits and who doesn't love bread and pasta?  Basically, I've got all the food groups covered but my favorite is meat. 

Look at all the comparisons between meat and its subordinates ;) 

• It would take 6X as much peanut butter to get the same amount of protein as you would from one 3 oz piece of beef - eating meat is so efficient!
• Half the daily protein you need in your diet comes from only 3 oz of beef - again with efficiency!
• You'd have to eat 8 stalks of celery to get the same amount of iron from 1 - 3 oz portion of brown sugar cured ham - blah, celery.
• One baked chicken drumstick as 2.5x less sodium than one serving (1.5 cups) of spinach - I'm not Popeye so hand me the chicken!
• Beef and chicken have almost no carbohydrates. Of the few cuts of pork that do contain carbs, each cut has less than 3 grams of carbohydrates per serving.
• There are 5 cuts of chicken that have fewer calories from fat than 1 ear of sweet corn.
• There are 29 cuts of beef that are classified as 'lean' - including the sirloin, tenderloin and T-bone steaks - all the more reason to eat steak on those not-so-special occasions!
• One sweet potato contains more calories than one 3 oz serving of roasted pork tenderloin.

Pair any of these healthy meat options with a glass of milk, some whole grain (and heart healthy) pasta and some sliced peaches and you've got yourself a tasty dinner!

Until next time,
~Buzzard~

Thanks for the Stress

Dear God:

 I hate finals week - I actually despise it and wish I could disappear from this campus the way Kit-Kats disappear from their wrappers when I'm around.  But thank you for providing me with the strength to overcome the stress of writing my thesis, working two jobs, planning a wedding and saying ta-ta to two of my best friends since they are graduating (Martha, Graber). 

I hate that my shoulders hurt from being punctured with a needle multiple times - I hate needles. You know that, God.  But thanks for putting me in a country that is relatively free of life threatening diseases (relatively) where I only need vaccinations for typhoid and malaria when I leave.

Lord, all of this writing and lab work is time consuming and stressful - and cuts into my social and sleep time.  But, that reminds me.  God, you know that I really cannot stand getting less than 5 hours of sleep a night. But somehow, with your strength and my stubborn determination, I have made it to Thursday night/Friday morning and have only one day left of this disastrous week and then I can sleep all the way to South Africa and not worry about protocols, papers, pigs or plasma. Thank you for stubborn parents that drove me crazy but instilled me with a strong work ethic.

That's all for now God - thanks for letting me know how good I have it.

Until next time,
~Buzzard~

"Nature is cruel but we don't have to be" - Temple Grandin

Well, I just finished watching 'Temple Grandin' and it was fabulous.  It solidified my desire to work with her on both my Master's projects and also attend CSU to pursue my PhD.  If you missed it, it will be on HBO again at 10:45.  You can look up a program schedule for the next two weeks by visiting HBO's site.

It not only tells the story of one of our industry's greatest pioneers, but it's a deeply moving and inspiring story of overcoming all odds and 'opening doors' to new challenges.  She encourages us not to be cruel like nature and since we raise cattle for our consumption we owe them some respect.  We owe it to be humane to them.  I strongly encourage all agriculturalists, producers and consumers to see it. I'm going to watch it again in an hour and a half! 

Until next time,
~Buzzard~

Rocky Mountain Experience - the first 3 days

I traveled to Fort Collins, Colorado this past week to meet with faculty at Colorado State University about a project I am doing for The Pork Board.  The two days of meetings were very informative and I learned a lot; I also learned there's a lot I don't know!

I got to the Hilton at 11 on Monday night; due to overbooking (or something like that) I was comped a king size room with two tvs couch, work desk - the works. Pardon my excitement but I felt like a celebrity.

Tuesday I met with Dr. Terry Engle, Dr. Dave Anderson, Dr. Lily Edwards - my major professor and also Dr. Bernie Rollin.  We discussed protocols, procedures and a timeline.  Looks like we won't be starting the actual trials until early May but that's ok -- I've got a lot of reading to do.

Wednesday I holed up in my exquisite room and worked on a summary of our meeting and also entered data from my first research trial.  A mere 4 hours later, I had accomplished my entire day's worth of objectives!

I didn't take many pictures while in Fort Collins but I did snap this one outside of the Dean of the College of Agriculture's office.  Makes me proud of my cowgirl/Western heritage!   More from my Colorado trip soon.

Until next time,
~Buzzard~

It's a New Year: New Resolutions and New Beginnings

It's that time of the year again: resolution time.  This year, I've decided to set goals that I will actually achieve (or at least work a lot harder to achieve before giving up).  Enjoy - comment for my entertainment :)

1 - Get in shape by going to the rec and doing the Gutz and Butz workouts --> important for looking good in a wedding dress!
2 - Keep my 3.7 GPA in grad school -- study for stats and put in at least 20 hours on my seminar presentation
3 - Maintain close relationships with friends who are no longer in Manhattan -- via Facebook, texts and snail mail (I'm not so great at talking on the phone, sorry).
4 - Continue to work hard to maintain and improve the great relationship Hyatt and I have
5 - Find a house in the Manhattan area and decorate it with both western decor (for me) and outdoor/hunting decor (for the Ninja).  Pics will definitely be provided as this process takes place
6 - Move my horses to Manhattan so I can get them in shape and get back to my passion -- rodeoing!
7 - Stay close to family by going home as much as possible
If you have any fun suggestions (or serious for that matter), let me know!

Until next time,
~Buzzard~

I think grad school is rotting my brain.....

While trying to be an intelligent grad student during a test, I was thinking of a word to use to describe this process...."purposeful execution of chemical reactions in order to get a product, or several products. "

Can anyone think of a good word to use here? I know what you're thinking.....synthesis. Right?

Wrong. I came up with synthesization - which isn't even a word. I wrote it down on the test- 3 times.

Cripes -- I'm losing it.

Until next time,
~Buzzard~