** Joys in Life —————- As I write this, the smell of bacon cooking is filling the house. Mat has been experimenting with smoking the side pork from the half hogs we get each Spring and Fall. The smell of bacon is hard to beat, but I can think of so many other favorites and many of them around here now incorporate healthy fats like lard. Here are a few of my favorites: pie (with a lard crust), pork chops, cookies, biscuits, bread, and sausage. Another favorite of mine is learning about nutrition and taking steps to increase the quality for our family. I love being able to give my boys food I know that will increase their health and give them a boost when other factors, such as sickness or Halloween candy, comes our way. My most recent find is vitamin D in pastured pork! Pork fat and lard are one of the top ways to increase essential vitamin D intake during the long Minnesota winter. Keep reading…

** Why Pastured Pork? —————- Did you know that pastured hog lard is a good source of vitamin D? You won’t get it in the conventional stuff though. Not all pork is created equal. Pastured, sun soaked pork is among the top twenty foods rich in naturally occurring vitamin D. Lard is also a source of good cholesterol and good fats you need to nourish your body. Plus the fat is heat stable. When you cook or bake with it, it’s not only tasty (sorry it doesn’t taste like bacon – it’s more of a neutral nourishing texture thing) but it’s not going to create excess free radicals when heated reducing the risk of cell damage in your body. There are many sources to be found on the benefits of pastured pork.

Scientific journals are a bit hard to read sometimes, so here some more down-to-earth reading on pastured pork:

1. http://www.cheeseslave.com/top-10-best-sources-of-vitamin-d/
2. https://nourishedkitchen.com/pasture-raised-pork/
3. For more specifics on our own pork, here’s our webpage link: * https://righteousoaksfarm.com/about/pastured-pork/

Benefits of pastured pork from Righteous Oaks Farm:

• Pastured hogs are happy hogs raised in fresh air and sunshine
• Our pastures are bumpier, but have shown better production because of them.
• No yucky run-off into our water.
• The right quality of fats and good cholesterol.
• No antibiotics or added growth hormones.
• Omega-3 ratio is better in pastured animals.
• More nutrient dense.
• Tasty!

** Convinced now that pastured pork is the way to go? Give us a call today to talk it over. We’d love to provide some nourishing food for you and your family.