Why You Should Be Eating Bison

No grocery store trip is complete without piling your cart full of different kinds of meats. From frozen hamburger patties, to chicken breast, how can you be sure that what your eating is:

A) Safe

B) Healthy

One of my new favorite hobbies is walking around Whole Foods aimlessly looking at all the different things they sell, and  I came across a small little section (separate from the rest of the meat section) and it had all kinds of meat I had not seen at any other grocery store.  They had natural ground bison, ostrich, and other kinds of meat.  So I got curious and decided to pick up a pound of ground bison.  Heck it looked just like the regular ground beef my husband and I picked up religiously every week, why not try it?  The following Friday  I decided to make Bison burgers (recipe coming soon!).  They were amazing!! Not only were they not as greasy, but they actually tasted good!  Little did I know all the health benefits that I was getting out of switching from regular ground beef to bison!

Here are a few KEY POINTS on why you should eat bison:

• Bison meat is 9 times less fat than pork, and 2 times less fat than chicken
• Bison feed mostly on hay and grass making it a healthier option (other red meats are usually pumped with growth hormones)
• For every 100 grams, it contains only 2.42 grams of fat
• Contains more protein per gram than beef
• High in iron
• When comparing bison sirloin steak side by side to a beef sirloin steak, bison contains 80% less fat, and 49% less calories
• Contains conjugated linoleic acid which is a healthy fat that helps fight cancer and lower bad cholesterol
• It cooks quicker!!

From experience, it definitely tastes better (in my opinion) than beef because not only is it less greasy, it doesn't give you that heavy feeling in your stomach that you get from eating beef.  The great thing about it, is you can substitute it into anything you use regular beef in.  One thing you definitely want to make sure you look at when purchasing bison, is whether or not it is organic.  You want natural bison, otherwise there is no way to guarantee that the bison meat you are purchasing wasn't pumped with growth hormones like beef.

One more warning before you rush out to buy your first pound of bison.  It is EXPENSIVE.  Usually we would buy 1 pound of ground beef for $2 (max).  1 pound of ground bison will run you anywhere from $7-$10.  It is more expensive however,  the health benefits outweigh the costs :)


 Here are links to a few recipes.  Hope you like! 


Smoky Buffalo Burger

Sirloin BBQ Kabobs

Bean Free Bison Chili

Easy Tamale Casserole

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