Our Natural Life » Contests http://ournaturallife.com/blog Provocative discussions about leading a holistic, sustainable, and healthy life Wed, 20 Jul 2011 16:23:59 +0000 en hourly 1 Searching for accurate information and provocative discussions about living a holistic, sustainable, and healthy life? Join hosts Jon and Cathy Payne for informative interviews with local and national experts, authors, farmers, filmmakers, and chefs. A bimonthly podcast of varied length that focuses heavily on the principles of Weston A. Price Foundation, Slow Food, sustainable agriculture, and buying local food. Reported through the lens of the hosts lives in rural Georgia. Jon and Cathy Payne no Jon and Cathy Payne jppaynesr@gmail.com jppaynesr@gmail.com (Jon and Cathy Payne) © Alchemy New Media LLC - All Rights Reserved Provocative discussions about leading a holistic, sustainable, and healthy life Weston A. Price, sustainability, sustainable food, holistic health, farming, organic, nutrient dense food, slow food, biodiversity, locavore, pastured meat, raw milk Our Natural Life » Contests http://ournaturallife.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/powerpress/itunes144x144.jpg http://ournaturallife.com/blog/category/contests/ TV-G Elberton, GA Monthly Cooking Tender Grassfed Meat (Podcast ONL072) and a GIVEAWAY! http://ournaturallife.com/blog/2011/01/cooking-tender-grassfed-meat-podcast-onl072-and-a-giveaway/ http://ournaturallife.com/blog/2011/01/cooking-tender-grassfed-meat-podcast-onl072-and-a-giveaway/#comments Thu, 06 Jan 2011 23:00:03 +0000 Cathy R. Payne, EdD http://ournaturallife.com/blog/?p=515 Today’s show is an interview with Stanley A. Fishman, author of Tender Grassfed Meat: Traditional Ways to Cook Healthy Meat. Stanley shares his remarkable story of healing with traditional foods and how a lawyer became a researcher and cookbook writer. We share some updates from the farm as well. You can download the show [...]]]> http://ournaturallife.com/blog/2011/01/cooking-tender-grassfed-meat-podcast-onl072-and-a-giveaway/feed/ 29 Giveaway,Homesteading,Lifestyle,Local Food,Low-Carb,Price,Recipes,Weston Price Today's show is an interview with Stanley A. Fishman, author of Tender Grassfed Meat: Traditional Ways to Cook Healthy Meat. Stanley shares his remarkable story of healing with traditional foods and how a lawyer became a researcher and cookbook writer. Today's show is an interview with Stanley A. Fishman, author of Tender Grassfed Meat: Traditional Ways to Cook Healthy Meat. Stanley shares his remarkable story of healing with traditional foods and how a lawyer became a researcher and cookbook writer.... Jon and Cathy Payne no 54:52 ONL067 Birke Baehr Speaks out for REAL Food! GIVEAWAY http://ournaturallife.com/blog/2010/10/onl067-birke-baehr-speaks-out-for-real-food-giveaway/ http://ournaturallife.com/blog/2010/10/onl067-birke-baehr-speaks-out-for-real-food-giveaway/#comments Sun, 17 Oct 2010 15:04:01 +0000 Cathy R. Payne, EdD http://ournaturallife.com/blog/?p=449

Birke and Bill Keener at Sesquatchie Farms, Tennessee

What a joy it was interviewing Birke about his passion! He is an amazing voice for the real food and sustainable farming movement. By now you have probably seen his YouTube video, but even more moving is to hear him live and unrehearsed sharing his [...]]]> http://ournaturallife.com/blog/2010/10/onl067-birke-baehr-speaks-out-for-real-food-giveaway/feed/ 9 Giveaway,Lifestyle,Weston Price What a joy it was interviewing Birke about his passion! He is an amazing voice for the real food and sustainable farming movement. By now you have probably seen his YouTube video, but even more moving is to hear him live and unrehearsed sharing his sto... What a joy it was interviewing Birke about his passion! He is an amazing voice for the real food and sustainable farming movement. By now you have probably seen his YouTube video, but even more moving is to hear him live and unrehearsed sharing his story. Jon and I talked with him about his family's lifestyle choices, his concern about healthy food, his message, and his future plans. This is a young man who wants to leave his mark on the world. I'm so encouraged by his leadership for the next generation! In our blog we have a GIVEAWAY for 3 copies of the new  Our Natural Life - Podcast App for your iPhone.  Good luck! Recently I blogged about a conversation with Birke's mother about how he came to make his speech at Tedx Next Generation in Asheville North Carolina. Several people have commented to me that they had assumed, as I had, that Birke was heavily impacted by his family. In fact, the opposite is true. Birke is consumed with healthy eating and the slow food movement and has been the one influencing the adults and other kids in his circle. Some farmers who have influenced Birke include Bill Keener of Sequatchie Cove Farm, Joel Salatin of Polyface Farms, Jason Mann, director of Full Moon Farm Cooperative, and Jeff Poppen, aka the barefoot farmer, farm manager of Long Hungry Creek Farm. He runs in good company! Birke volunteers on farms while his family travels, supplements his home school curriculum with independent study, and recently took a cheese making class. He is not afraid of hard work and wants his life to make a difference in the world. He is interested in saving money and take part in a future apprenticeship or intern opportunity in farming. In the meantime, he is sharing his message on his facebook page and offering his services as a public speaker to adults or children. Birke appealed to our listeners to oppose Senate Bill S510, entitled the Food Safety and Modernization Act, due to the negative impact this bill would have on small farmers as it is currently written. Since Birke will not be of voting age for another 7 years, he has asked those who can influence their congressmen to do so. I think we will be hearing much more from Birke Baehr! We've had a busy week at Broad River Pastures with sales of duck eggs, garden produce, and Lucky Dog liver treats. We had a farm tour for 4 people on Saturday, and processed parts of two deer shot behind our farm to use as dog food. I wrote a guest post for the Agriculture Society blog.  I'm leaving in the morning to visit a South Carolina rabbitry that raises Silver Fox rabbits, to visit grandkids, and to bring home our English Shepherd puppy and 11 French Black Copper Marans. We just processed 8 cockerels and have chicken in the freezer. Jon and I have a GIVEAWAY this week for the Our Natural Life - Podcast App. We will have 3 winners! This is the most convenient way to access Our Natural Life Podcast on your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch. You’re always connected to the latest episode. Instant access, just touch and play! This App contains the following features: Streaming access to play episode from anywhere Always updated with the latest episodes- and an archived back catalog Download the episodes and play them when offline Playback resume (when interrupted by a call or other distraction) Favorites (mark the episodes you want to return back to over and over) Quick access to all the contact methods for the show We will also have bonus content available only through this app in the future. The app is available on the iTunes store for $1.99. Be sure to choose the Wizzard Media version in the Lifestyle category, released October 4. (Or just click this link!) Up to 10 chances to enter our GIVEAWAY! Blog about this giveaway and Birke Baehr and link back to this page on your blog. Post a comment below with a link to your blog. (2 entries) Sign up for the Our Natural Life newsletter or RSS feed. Jon and Cathy Payne no 48:00 ONL066 GIVEAWAY: Sean Croxton is PASSIONATE about Wellness! http://ournaturallife.com/blog/2010/10/onl066-giveaway-sean-croxton-is-passionate-about-wellness/ http://ournaturallife.com/blog/2010/10/onl066-giveaway-sean-croxton-is-passionate-about-wellness/#comments Sun, 03 Oct 2010 15:16:03 +0000 Cathy R. Payne, EdD http://ournaturallife.com/blog/?p=435 Today’s blog launches a GIVEAWAY of Sean’s “Secret Weapon.” Two lucky readers will win this product, a $50 value. Sean Croxton, host of Underground Wellness, had the tables turned for this interview, as Jon and I were asking him the questions. It was obvious during our conversation that Sean is truly passionate about what he [...]]]> http://ournaturallife.com/blog/2010/10/onl066-giveaway-sean-croxton-is-passionate-about-wellness/feed/ 64 Giveaway,Lifestyle,Weston Price Today's blog launches a GIVEAWAY of Sean's "Secret Weapon." Two lucky readers will win this product, a $50 value. Sean Croxton, host of Underground Wellness, had the tables turned for this interview, as Jon and I were asking him the questions. Today's blog launches a GIVEAWAY of Sean's "Secret Weapon." Two lucky readers will win this product, a $50 value. Sean Croxton, host of Underground Wellness, had the tables turned for this interview, as Jon and I were asking him the questions. It was obvious during our conversation that Sean is truly passionate about what he does. He has set some big goals for his future that he shared with us. Sean's show and interview format has influenced mine. You can download the podcast of our visit with iTunes, Zune, or Stitcher or use the player embedded below. Sean, a self-proclaimed "nerd," had an early interest in fitness and nutrition. In college he got a degree in kinesiology and started a career in personal training. He followed all the conventional advice learned in school, and blamed his clients when they did not make the expected progress. Not one to give up easily, Sean dug into the books and discovered what he did NOT learn in school. The "underground" information helped him work with his clients more successfully, and he became dedicated to spreading the word. Sean now uses a holistic, functional approach to build his clients' health from the ground up. He is a certified Metabolic Typing advisor and currently enrolled in a Functional Medicine program. In addition to his Blog Talk Radio show, Sean has a YouTube page, twitter presence, and facebook page. During the interview, I asked Sean about the product he had been hinting at on facebook for the previous two weeks. We spoke just two days before he revealed it on his radio show episode "The Antioxidant Myth." Sean has been taking a bit of heat for getting involved in network marketing, but he has done his homework and passionately believes that this product will not only help promote health, but will help himself and others produce income needed to support their dreams. From Sean's website: "Protandim is the ONLY supplement proven by peer reviewed, published scientific research to reduce oxidative stress by an average of 40%, slowing down the cellular aging process to that of a 20 year-old! Formulated with a powerful blend of natural phytonutrients, Protandim signals your genes to increase production of antioxidant enzymes, giving your cells and body the ultimate protection from oxidative stress." This product has a plethora of research backing it up, but the best way to determine its effects on your body is to give it a try for 30 days and see for yourself. You can order it from Sean's website. However, the LifeVantage company has agreed to give away two bottles - one each to two readers of this blog. Good luck to all of you who enter the GIVEAWAY! TEN CHANCES TO WIN A 30 DAY SUPPLY OF PROTANDIM - A $50 VALUE The GIVEAWAY period is from October 4-10, 2010. On October 11, we will announce the winners. To claim your prize, respond via email to OurNaturalLife@gmail.com with your contact information. LifeVantage will mail the products directly to the winners. HOW TO ENTER Blog about this giveaway and link back to this page on your blog. Post a comment below with a link to your blog. (2 entries) Sign up for the Our Natural Life newsletter or RSS feed. Leave a comment below telling us that you signed up. You can also get an entry if you already subscribe – just let us know in the comments! (2 entries) Follow ONL2 on Twitter – Tweet about this contest including the URL to this page and put @ONL2 in the text. (1 entry) Post a link to this page on your FACEBOOK page. (While you’re at it, join the Our Natural Life page on facebook.) Let us know in the comments and give us a link to your post. (1 entry) Leave a review on iTunes about our Podcast if you have listened to one or more shows. Let us know that you have done so by listing your iTunes byline in the comments below. (2 entries) "Like" us on facebook at the Our Natural Life Podcast Page. If you already "like" us, leave a comment on the page regarding the contest. Jon and Cathy Payne no 53:56 ONL063 GIVEAWAY Ann Marie Michaels cooks Surf and Turf. You can, too! http://ournaturallife.com/blog/2010/08/onl063-giveaway-ann-marie-michaels-cooks-surf-and-turf-you-can-too/ http://ournaturallife.com/blog/2010/08/onl063-giveaway-ann-marie-michaels-cooks-surf-and-turf-you-can-too/#comments Fri, 06 Aug 2010 10:26:02 +0000 Cathy R. Payne, EdD http://ournaturallife.com/blog/?p=381

Ann Marie Michaels aka CHEESESLAVE spoke to us today about her exciting new online class, Surf and Turf: Cooking Wild Seafood and Grass-fed Meats. Have you ever wondered about the difference between farm-raised and wild caught fish? Are you afraid to prepare fish because you don’t know what to do with it? Did you [...]]]> http://ournaturallife.com/blog/2010/08/onl063-giveaway-ann-marie-michaels-cooks-surf-and-turf-you-can-too/feed/ 49 Ann Marie Michaels aka CHEESESLAVE spoke to us today about her exciting new online class, Surf and Turf: Cooking Wild Seafood and Grass-fed Meats. Have you ever wondered about the difference between farm-raised and wild caught fish? Ann Marie Michaels aka CHEESESLAVE spoke to us today about her exciting new online class, Surf and Turf: Cooking Wild Seafood and Grass-fed Meats. Have you ever wondered about the difference between farm-raised and wild caught fish? Are you afraid to p... Jon and Cathy Payne no 46:38 ONL047 FRESH: The Movie Interview with Producer/Director Ana Sofia Joanes http://ournaturallife.com/blog/2009/07/onl047-fresh-the-movie-interview-with-producerdirector-ana-sofia-joanes/ http://ournaturallife.com/blog/2009/07/onl047-fresh-the-movie-interview-with-producerdirector-ana-sofia-joanes/#comments Mon, 13 Jul 2009 02:47:49 +0000 Cathy R. Payne, EdD http://ournaturallife.com/blog/?p=85 In this week’s Podcast, Jon and Cathy interview Ana Sofia Joanes, producer and director of the recently released documentary FRESH: The Movie. FRESH is a call to action, intending to inspire viewers to positive change and portray a hopeful message about possibilities for sustainable food. Local screenings are followed by a panel discussion with local [...]]]> http://ournaturallife.com/blog/2009/07/onl047-fresh-the-movie-interview-with-producerdirector-ana-sofia-joanes/feed/ 0 In this week's Podcast, Jon and Cathy interview Ana Sofia Joanes, producer and director of the recently released documentary FRESH: The Movie. FRESH is a call to action, intending to inspire viewers to positive change and portray a hopeful message abou... In this week's Podcast, Jon and Cathy interview Ana Sofia Joanes, producer and director of the recently released documentary FRESH: The Movie. FRESH is a call to action, intending to inspire viewers to positive change and portray a hopeful message about possibilities for sustainable food. Local screenings are followed by a panel discussion with local representatives from the sustainable food movement. Be sure to download the Podcast at the end of this blog to hear about the movie in Ana's own words. She exhibits great passion for the subject and dedication to the cause. You can also download Podcast ONL047 from iTunes. Fresh: The Movie Readers of our blog and listeners to our Podcast know that Jon and I are passionate about knowing where are food comes from, having personal relationships with our farmers, and assuring that the food we eat has been sustainably and healthily raised, preferably from heritage or heirloom stock. Joanes' documentary does a superb job of highlighting farmers throughout the country who are doing things right. Because of high interest, FRESH is getting lots of media attention from sources such as the Huffington Post, and bloggers Cheeseslave and FairFoodFight . Also receiving attention are featured farmers Will Allen of Growing Power and Joel Salatin of Polyface farms. Will Allen performs miracles on 3 acres in the middle of urban Milwaukee while changing the food system to provide everyone equal access to healthy food. Joel Salatin respects the design of nature to leave his Virginia acreage richer each year rather than depleted, as in conventionally farmed land. Michael Pollan's authoritative voice also lends credibility to the film. Many of you have read his landmark book The Omnivore's Dilemma. Pollan asserts in the film that "Cheap food is an illusiion" paid for with tax subsidies, environmental damage, and poor health. The story that impacted me most, however, was about Russ Kremer, the formerly conventional pig farmer from Franenstein, Missouri who exterminated his herd after an accident led to an antibiotic resistant strep infection that almost cost him his life. His revelation that what he learned in college went against nature's plan is similar to the story shared with us recently by Bill Hodge. Russ, however, required a life-threatening condition to make the transition. He is now a respected leader in sustainable pork. I also greatly admire the efforts made by small farmer Diane Endicott and her creation of Good Natured Family Farms, an alliance of 75 farms in the Kansas City area. This coop bands together to find purchasers for their products. Many of their fresh, local food is taken to Ball Grocery Stores. Some enlightening information in the film is that if farmers stopped feeding grains to herbivores that do better on grass, 70% of our farm land would be available for development. Andrew Kimball from the Center for Food Safety reported that current data shows medium sized organic farms to be more productive than larger, conventional ones. When asked what parts of the film could not be included in the final cut, Ana conceded that the "elephant in the room" was GMO food. As huge an issue as GMO is to sustainability, she was unable to do it justice in a 72 minute film. The leading authority on GMO is Jeffrey M. Smith, author of Seeds of Deception and Genetic Roulette. Next month we will be interviewing Jeffrey for a future Podcast , focusing mainly on Genetic Roulette. Ana Sofia Joanes, soon to be a new mother, has dedicated several years and personal resources to making this documentary. She continues to tour and promote the sustainable food movement. We hope that our listeners support her project and take its message to heart. "Every decision you make at the supermarket is creating a different future for land, farmers, diversity of crops, health of bodies, and communities. Vote with your dollars. Change happens one person at a time." - FRESH, the Movie Jon and Cathy Payne no 43:38 ONL046 Producing Beef in Harmony with Mother Nature: An Interview with Bill Hodge of Hodge Ranch, LLC http://ournaturallife.com/blog/2009/06/onl046-producing-beef-in-harmony-with-mother-nature-an-interview-with-bill-hodge-of-hodge-ranch-llc/ http://ournaturallife.com/blog/2009/06/onl046-producing-beef-in-harmony-with-mother-nature-an-interview-with-bill-hodge-of-hodge-ranch-llc/#comments Mon, 29 Jun 2009 04:12:57 +0000 Jon http://ournaturallife.com/blog/2009/06/onl046-producing-beef-in-harmony-with-mother-nature-an-interview-with-bill-hodge-of-hodge-ranch-llc/ This week Bill Hodge of Hodge Ranch spoke to us passionately about his personal “revelation” and transition from conventional agriculture to more natural methods of farming. By working with nature instead of against it, he produces a healthier product, improves the land, saves money, and has hardy, long-lived stock.

Our Natural Life Podcast ONL046

[...]]]> http://ournaturallife.com/blog/2009/06/onl046-producing-beef-in-harmony-with-mother-nature-an-interview-with-bill-hodge-of-hodge-ranch-llc/feed/ 0 This week Bill Hodge of Hodge Ranch spoke to us passionately about his personal "revelation" and transition from conventional agriculture to more natural methods of farming. By working with nature instead of against it, he produces a healthier product, This week Bill Hodge of Hodge Ranch spoke to us passionately about his personal "revelation" and transition from conventional agriculture to more natural methods of farming. By working with nature instead of against it, he produces a healthier product, improves the land, saves money, and has hardy, long-lived stock. Our Natural Life Podcast ONL046 We hope you enjoy the Podcast of our interview. It can be found at the bottom of this blog or downloaded from iTunes, Zune, or Tivo. We'd love to hear your comments or have you review our show on iTunes. This blog is not meant to duplicate the information in the interview, but to be used as a vehicle to provide links with more information and to encourage you to give a listen! Grass Finished Beef We've been buying beef from Bill and Di Hodge for the past 7 years and have never been disappointed with their product. Bill is the first farmer we purchased from directly and developed a relationship with. We admire the work he is doing with rotational grazing . According to Hodge, a beef cow is kept for an average of 6 years before making a profit in regard to breeding. However, most cows in the industrial system do not live past the age of 5. Hodge's cows live 15-18 years and when Cathy visited his ranch she saw one who was 19. If you have seen recent films such as Food, Inc , FRESH: The Movie , or classics such as King Corn , you may be aware of problems with grain-finished beef. If not, Food Renegade has published some good articles here and here . Other good resources are Jo Robinson's book Pasture Perfect and the Eat Wild website. Supporting Sustainable Farmers On twitter, Cathy has noticed a movement that associates itself with sustainable food called "Meatless Monday." Michael Pollan recommends eating less meat. However, we concur with Lisa M. Hamilton: In order for pasture-based livestock to become a significant part of the meat industry, we need to eat more of its meat, not less. As it is, grass-fed beef accounts for less than one percent of American beef consumption, and numbers for chicken and pork hardly register. Even where the industry is growing, it is stunted by inadequate infrastructure. The greatest challenge is a lack of small-scale slaughterhouses ...but the industry also suffers from a dearth of research, outreach for new producers, and investment in breeding for pasture-based systems. And those things will change only as the market grows. So if you want to use your food choices to impact climate change, by all means follow Dr. Pachauri's suggestion for a meatless Monday. But on Tuesday, have a grass-fed burger-and feel good about it. You can read the rest of Hamilton's article and view her links here . We choose to eat pastured beef, pork, chicken, lamb, goat, and milk from pastured cows and goats on a daily basis. We also consume eggs from pastured chickens. Although we do have meatless meals, we rarely have a meatless day, as we are both "protein types ." We prefer to go one additional step and give preference to farmers raising heritage breeds on pasture, something that Nature's Harmony Farm has committed to. By "voting" with our food dollars three times a day in this manner, we are supporting our local sustainable farmers, saving heritage breeds from extinction, improving our local environment, supporting the humane treatment of animals, and eating the most nutritious and delicious meals. It is definitely a win-win situation! Resources You may be wondering where to buy pastured meats in your area. My first recommendation is to contact your local chapter of the Weston A. Price Foundation . The chapter leaders keep lists of local, sustainable food. We are continuing our membership drive and chance to win registration at the fall conference. If you want to join, use this membership application form and contact us so we can enter you in the drawing. Other resources include Eat Wild, Local Harvest , Jon and Cathy Payne no 1:06:28