Highland Farm ROCKS! (Or Groks, for the Primal Blueprint lovers.)

This morning we got our meat delivery. 1/8th of a cow always astounds me with how much meat it is! I was pleased to meet Paul - he's the only one, apart from the young delivery driver who's delivered to us a few times, that we've had contact with at Highland Farm Meats, so it was good to put a face to a name.

Here's what we got:

Some bones for the dogs. When Paul arrived, Jeff & Arnie were inside hanging out and they went to the door to greet him. Needless to say, he instantly became their best friend given the bag'o'bones he was holding. A lovely Primal treat for two smelly dogs on a sunny Saturday morning!

Now for the people food - look at it all! It had to be spread across two photos!

All the cuts - rump, scotch fillet, beef ribs, osso bucco, diced chuck, mince, roast. All this tends to last me & Mark about 2 months, but since we're Primal fiends, I'm thinking we may get about 6 weeks out of it. All for the bargain price of $220!

It's surprising how much can fit into a small space as well - I thought we were going to have to turn the freestanding freezer back on, but it all fit in the top shelf of the freezer - apart from the dog bones. Those boys will give them a good home over the next few days.

 Jeff can't get enough! He does make the mistake of leaving his bone if he catches a glimpse of me through the door or if I go outside. Arnie is quick off the mark to steal and and double his fortune in a matter of seconds to TWO bones!

Arnie polished this off in a matter of minutes...

then waited patiently at the door for another. What a cutie!! Because he's a large breed, I fed him a little bit more but Jeff didn't need any. When Jeff realised there was kibble floating around, he came to investigate - leaving his bone open to thieves. Don't be fooled by the cuteness of Arnie - he is quite the thief!

Thanks so much Highland Farm Meats! We've had a great Primal morning, and we're all set for the next 6 weeks with some awesome meat!

The beginning...

About 6 months ago, I started to think something was really very wrong with me. I was working a fairly stressful job, getting sick a lot and displaying a range of symptoms from exhaustion to bloating and cramping. I have a wonderful, health conscious boyfriend who immediately began researching - scouring the Internet for what was making me so sick and miserable all the time.

As I bounced from doctor to doctor, I was referred at one stage to a Geriatrician. Yes, a doctor for old people. This was a turning point for me in some ways. I am 27 years old. I should not be having appointments with an old people's doctor. I should not be displaying symptoms that an old person displays. There had to be an answer. I was tested for coeliac's disease - I had all the markers, the high immune response. But the internal examination came up negative.

But I cut out gluten anyway. And a strange thing began to happen - I started to feel better! I was less hungry all the time. I was less gassy, I could get out of bed without feeling like I needed another 100 hours of rest before I could feel human.

So we delved. Mark had read a lot of stuff on Mark's Daily Apple and ended up buying his book. The idea of eating like our ancestors - free from chemicals, processed foods and things so far from what they were when they were natural that they could no longer even be considered food - struck a chord with us. As we did more research, we realised that the diseases that plague our society and are all over the media like obesity and diabetes are new (evolutionarily speaking). As our methods of eating and living have changed so have our abilities to...get sick and die.

So this is our new beginning - our change hopefully for the better. We are going to be as strict as we can. We are going to do lots of low level cardio, sprints with our dogs, lift heavy things. We are going to enjoy natural foods that we love like fresh fruit and veggies, beef, pork, chicken, nuts and seeds. I'm going to search out some raw dairy and see how that sits with my sensitive tummy.

We already get our meat delivered from a wonderful farm not far out of Sydney called Highland Farm. Our next meat delivery is this Saturday so I'll post some photos of the beef we are getting (we've ordered 1/8 of a cow).

I'm looking into getting organic produce delivered as well directly from the Farmer's Markets. I've found the organic produce in supermarkets terrible - the range is poor and the expense is huge. Plus, if we don't have to go the the supermarket for fruit and veggies, we really don't need to go there more than once every few months or so! This is a dream come true for us - we both hate shopping!

I'm looking forward to moving towards a life that is healthy, fun and fulfilling. I'm committed to all of the The Primal Blueprint's rules - not because I'm jumping on a bandwagon, but because for the first time in my life, I've found something diet & food related that actually makes sense! After trying everything from Weight Watchers to the V-diet - The Primal Blueprint strikes me as something I can stick to, is healthy and could lead to great, healthful results. Plus, the feedback from people who have followed it is amazing.

So no more excuses Bec & Mark! It's time to get PRIMAL.