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Nourishment v Nutrition

I want to eat food that nourishes me, not that just provides energy for physical movement and activity and I certainly don’t want food that creates excessive inflammation in my body. Food is one of the most intimate ways that we interact with the outside world, so I want it to be an enjoyable experience, but also one that is good for my body and soul.  What happens out in the paddock with the food’s production is as much a factor of ensuring this, as what I do in the kitchen.

Slow Roasted Grass Fed Lamb Shoulder with Rosemary & Garlic

This lamb shoulder is covered and slow roasted with moisture in the bottom of the pan which assures beautiful, juicy lamb, while the rosemary & garlic and grass fed production mean the flavours will have you back in the kitchen sneaking morsels from the carving board.

Grass Fed Beef Rissoles

Rissoles! A wholesome, satisfying mid-week meal and with grass fed, chemical free mince, served with creamy mash and greens, they’re a nourishing meal choice.

Grass Fed Warm Roast Lamb Salad

We had this lovely warm salad last weekend with the family and it got the thumbs up all round.  I loved it for a couple of reasons; it freshened a roast into a lovely meal for a summer evening and secondly, I have beans, cherry tomatoes, potatoes, rocket and mint all coming from the garden …

Weaning Lambs

This last week we have weaned some of the larger lambs from their mothers, which means drafting (separating) them out and putting them in a different paddock so they can no longer feed from their mums.  We usually leave a few ewes with the weaner mob to ensure they know how to find the water trough and I imagine other …

Grass Fed Beef & Lamb with Nature’s Mineral Cycles

Grass fed beef & lamb are healthy and nourishing when nature’s mineral cycles provide the array of nutrients to the pasture plants and in turn, the animals.

Grass Fed Lamb Shanks Casseroled in Rich Red Wine & Herbs

Grass fed lamb shanks, slow cooked in red wine, crushed tomatoes and herbs of rosemary, thyme and bay leaves make for a fabulous winter meal.  They’re tried and true flavour combinations and there’s a reason why – they just work beautifully together! 

Grass Fed Beef & Lamb – Why It’s the Healthy Choice

The great health giving properties of grass fed beef & lamb and their associated saturated fats have become more widely recognised in recent years.  Optimal neurological function and hormonal health particularly have been associated with a need for ‘good fats’. Our brains are, after all, made of nearly 60% fat! Conventional medical commentary or advice …

Hearty Grass Fed Lamb Stew with Pearl Barley

This is a traditional Irish style lamb stew with pearl barley, which together with the grass fed diced lamb promises for a wonderful hearty stew. As with many Irish stews, it also has potatoes, but it’s not necessarily needed with the pearl barley.  Opt for a home-made bone broth instead of stock for all the …

Why Do We Choose Chemical Free?

For What’s Not In It! The obvious reason why we choose to produce in a chemical free way is for what we avoid in the process – pesticides. This flows on to you avoiding them in our beef and lamb products that you buy from us. What might be littler known, is we also produce this way for …

Grass Fed Lamb Korma Curry with Sweet Currants

This is a lovely flavoured mild curry that can be made with stewing chops, diced lamb or diced beef; I’ve used forequarter chops here.  The sweetness of the currants, the distinctive yet subtle flavour of the curry leaves and the fresh coriander atop make it an easy family favourite here. Ingredients 1 tablespoon olive oil or tallow …

Home Corned Grass Fed Beef Silverside

Finally I have corned my own beef silverside!  I’ve had the intention for a long time and I had an idea that the process would be more complex than it actually is.  I can tell you it is really very easy and well worth doing.  We ate it hot for dinner and then cold for …

Grass Fed Lamb or Beef Gozleme

Gozleme is a turkish flatbread pocket filled with any combination of lamb or beef mince, fresh herbs, cheeses and spinach – cooked in a pan until browned and warmed inside. It was introduced to me as a food when we had lunch with friends after blackberry picking last Summer. Squeeze lemon over before eating for …

Grassfed Beef or Lamb Kofta Meatballs with Middle Eastern Tomato Sauce and Tabouli

These kofta meatballs are lovely and with the warm Middle Eastern tomato sauce and Tabouli, they make a great winter meal. My image above is not great, I know, but trust me, they’re worth a try.  They can be made with either lamb or beef mince (I’ve done both) and a mix would be great too. …

Asian Lamb Ribs

These Asian Lamb Ribs are fabulous as a meal, served with steamed rice and slaw (as below), or to feed a group of kids that you can’t coax inside, so give them something they can eat with their fingers whilst sitting about the lawn. Ribs 1.5kg lamb ribs (2 Conscious Farmer packs) 3 teaspoons olive …

Grassfed Lamb Hampers

Our lamb is consciously raised, chemical free, 100% grassfed and hormone free.  We have decided on a choice of two Lamb Hampers – the Whole Lamb Hamper and the Half Lamb Hamper.

How to Make Grass Fed Beef Tallow

I use grass fed tallow a lot in my cooking. I choose it because it is a saturated fat, has a high smoke point and has great health properties (and, of course, I have plenty at hand!) What is Tallow you ask?  Tallow is the rendered suet fat from cattle or sheep. It creates super …

The Conscious Farmer Sheep!

Exciting news here at the The Conscious Farmer – we have sheep! And they’re quite lovely and to answer the question on your lips… yes, this will mean lamb! (Just not soon).  Here’s a little insight into why we’ve purchased some sheep and how they fit in with the way we care for the land, soil and biodiversity and how we manage our grazing to achieve this.

The Lifeforce Energy of your Grass Fed Beef Meal

I’m fascinated by the idea of the energy of food – not just our grass fed beef, but all foods. I’m not talking about kilojoules, but rather the life force energy of our food and meals.

Grass Fed Crumbed Steak

A crispy, herb crumb around a tender steak with all the goodness of being grass fed and chemical free – this is a fabulous recipe for topside steak. Cook in tallow for that extra crispness and for the great anti-inflammatory health benefits that go with it.

Grass Fed Beef Summer Bolognese

There are endless meal choices with grass fed beef mince and this one is currently on rotation at our place as it’s a fabulous summer option – a fresh, lighter take on the traditional rich saucy bolognese. It’s also an opportunity to use some of the crazy amounts of tasty cherry tomatoes coming from my …

Grass Fed Beef Koftas with Tabouli and Minted Yoghurt

Here are some lovely grass fed beef koftas filled with spices and herbs , served with a fresh tabouli and minted yoghurt.  Great for summer time eating.  I have made them as sausage shapes on skewers but you could also shape them into meatballs and cook them in a skillet. This is likely a better …

Mixed Grilled Vegetables with Grass Fed Beef Steak

It’s BBQ season and these grilled mixed vegetables are perfect alongside some of our grass fed beef on the BBQ – whether it’s steaks, sausages or even home-made rissoles. It is always great to have a few things up your sleeve to serve alongside succulent grilled beef over summer. These vegetables are coated in a …

Homemade Grass Fed Beef Tortillas

Homemade tortillas, wrapped around some grass fed Mexican beef mince, with sour cream and crunchy iceberg lettuce.  A nourishing meal for the family or a casual meal for a crowd and the tortillas are great for a healthy lunch wrap if you have some remaining after everyone’s had their dinner fill! In case you didn’t …

Larder Stores

Stores for your Larder from the Liverpool Plains and surrounding regions A hamper of nourishing food stores grown and produced by family owned businesses from our Liverpool Plains region and surrounds. All ready to fill your Larder. Our Larder Stores will be available monthly and contents will vary seasonally.  In a few months’ time there …

Beef Sausages with Red Wine and Fennel

When there are only so many packs of sausages to go around, it can be hard to pull some away from a grill-up to allocate to a meal that takes at least a little more effort than ‘chucking a few snags on the barbie’. This one however, is well worth it! The base ingredients are …

Cherry Tomato & Fresh Herb Salad

This Cherry Tomato & Fresh Herb Salad will be the perfect accompaniment aside one of our tasty grass fed steaks!

Grass Fed Beef for the Summer Season

Relaxed summer eating – who doesn’t love it! Enjoy sitting outside amongst the scent of the cool evening air and the mouth-watering smells coming from the steaks sizzling on the BBQ. There’s lots of ways to cook in summer…

Sticky BBQ Beef Ribs

Sticky, beefy, chew the bone with your fingers – what more can we say? On the BBQ rotisserie or slow in the oven then on the BBQ grill.

Beef San Choi Bao – Embrace the Messy Fingers!

If there’s anything that mixes things up for dinner for me, it’s eating with my fingers! It’s relaxed, a bit fun and can be nourishing and healthful too. This Beef San Choi Bao is perfect – so roll up the sleeves and embrace the messy fingers!

Carbonnade De Boeuf

Bonjour! It’s been à la française (that’s French for “the French way”) here over the last month. You see, July brings three weeks of  anticipated delight to me with late nights sitting up watching le Tour de France. I love everything about the tour – the scenery, the tactics, the race within the race – …

Beef Terroir – It’s More Than Taste!

Beef Terroir – It’s more than taste – it’s what this taste reflects about our product’s health. Somewhat irrelevant to homogenous environments like feedlots and greenhouses, yet relevant to grass fed meats and beef, as the soil, pasture types and brush they graze on influences the final product.

Simple, Tasty, Curried Sausages

Curried Sausages – a quick, simple, tasty meal. It’s not only easy, but has minimal clean up, as it’s a one pot recipe!

Tips for Slow Cooked Winter Meals

There are a number of ways to slow cook in winter that stretch outside the relatively simple and best known technique of some diced slow cooked beef in a casserole. This is incredibly delicious in itself, but if you’d like to branch out a bit, here are some tips and ideas.

How is our Farm Chemical Free?

We produce our grass fed beef without using any chemicals (pesticides – herbicides or insecticides) on the animals, in the animals or on the pastures that they graze. We do this because we believe those methods are a band-aid solution that is ultimately destined to fail, and more importantly, we want to eat food that …

Hearty Beef Soup with Basil Pesto

This hearty soup with chunks of tender beef in a clear, salty broth is so digestible and nourishing – cooked with the collagen rich cuts. Top it with some basil pesto for extra flavour. Soup Olive oil 700g diced slow cooking grass fed beef (chuck or round) or 1kg oxtail 1 leek, sliced 2 bacon …

Sweet & Tangy Tomato Relish

The sheer volume of mini tomatoes that I am currently harvesting from the vegetable patch is quite incredible. Along with eggplants, capsicums and herbs it means lots of cooking options. I did however want to preserve some for later enjoyment, so I headed to my Country Women’s Association ‘Preserves’ recipe book and pretty much followed …

What’s in a Conscious Farmer Grassfed Beef Hamper?

When Derek and I began The Conscious Farmer a few years back, we felt strongly about eating clean, nourishing food, produced GMO and chemical free and with no preservatives or additives. We wanted this for ourselves and for our children.  Some years earlier still, we had recognised this and thought that if this is the …

Do We Really Need Fake Meat?

I feel left scratching my head when I think about why the world would actually want, or even need, fake or mock meat.  The reasons why one may state it is needed are exactly the reasons why I don’t want it!  Being purveyors of grass fed beef, you may well expect us to be a …

Fresh Chimichurri with T-Bone Steaks

Steaks grilled on the BBQ are part of the essence of summer, but top with some Chimichurri and it makes a juicy steak even more perfect for a hot summer’s day.  The freshness of the herbs just burst to make this a superb summer topper for a grilled steak.  Chimichurri has South American origins – …

Bite Sized Homemade Sausage Rolls

You know when you’re at a party and there’s lots of delicious finger food but you just want to top it off with something that fills your tummy properly? These sausage rolls are the perfect thing to serve up this festive season. These bite sized homemade sausage rolls are easy to prepare, can be prepared …

Red Wine & Soy Marinated Beef Kebabs

Try these delicious marinated beef kebabs for fun food that you (and the kids) can get your fingers into. Oh, and spouses love them too! (Who doesn’t love an excuse to use our fingers with dinner every now and then?)  Threading the kebabs is also a great job to have the kids help with.  Have them build their …

Thai Red Beef Curry – Slow Cooked with Pumpkin or Stir Fry with Vegetables

I LOVE Thai red beef curry and I love that I can do it a number of ways – with a quick cook stir fry or a simmered pot, depending on the time I have available.  Having enjoyed several different versions in the last few weeks, it’s on my mind, so I thought I’d share it …

Hand Whisked Lemon, Olive Oil & Yoghurt Cake

This cake is certainly more interesting than a standard lemon butter cake, or even a lemon syrup cake, but still very simple to make.  The olive oil and yoghurt give it a much more complex flavour. Our olive oil has quite a bite to it, so when I first made this cake, I wondered how …

Satisfying Apple & Almond Cake

I love that having olive oil in our product range allows me to sneak in the odd sweet recipe! The problem is, I love to bake cakes and now that I’ve dropped this image in the box above and started writing here – I want to leave and go and bake! OK, I’m back! Yes, I …

Beef Ribs with Winter Slaw & Mash

This is the best combination of ease and deliciousness for cooking ribs that I’ve found.  The fresh slaw with dill is the perfect accompaniment to the rich, saucy, beefy ribs!  And for Winter, serving this all on a bed of mash is a great base. This really is a simple recipe.  It doesn’t take long, but …

Hearty Winter Oxtail Soup

This oxtail soup left me feeling well satisfied after dinner the other night.  I’m sure you know the feeling of finishing a meal and wanting to reach for something sweet, like a piece of dark chocolate or berries and cream. I think it’s the body’s way of telling us it needs some immediate energy to aid …

Moree on a Plate – We’re Coming!

Hey Moree – We’re coming to see you again this year! Derek and I (we’re The Conscious Farmer!) are bringing our nourishing Grass Fed Beef to Moree on a Plate on Saturday May 12th 2018. We love to talk about nourishing food and how we can best sustain our bodies with mindful food production and …

3 Things to Love About Our Beef & What They Mean for Health

I’m fascinated by the different comments that our customers make about our grass fed beef and the difference that they notice to some other beef consumed.  But what really interests me is how those aspects relate to the health of our beef and what we’re doing on the farm that might result in this experience …

Cooking with Mince – Mexican Beef Mince with Roast Sweet Potatoes

The sweetness of the baked sweet potatoes and the coolness of the yoghurt that can top this Mexican Mince are the perfect accompaniment to the spices in the mince. Also, I love a meal where the things that top the dish can be placed on the table in bowls when the meal is served – the avocado, the yoghurt and the coriander. It feels more communal as the bowls are passed around and it makes dinner more fun for kids as they assemble their own meals.

How to Avoid Additives for Better Health

We all want to be as healthy as we can be in life and if you’re choosing our beef then you’re likely already quite conscious about your health and your food choices.  There are however, times when we might purchase something that is not a whole food – which can have some undesirable additives in …

Festive Chocolate & Olive Oil Cake

The family and I are off down our dusty dirt road to the Neighours’ place for a Christmas Party tomorrow evening. I’m taking something sweet, so decided on this Festive Chocolate & Olive Oil Cake – made festive with an icing sugar star on top, which looks great against the dark brown of the cake!  …

Crispy Topped Lasagna

This crispy topped lasagna is perfect for filling the tummies of a hungry crowd or for cooking that lasts many family meals.

Cows Can Heal the Land!

We need actively growing plants, pumping life into the soil, and a groundcover of litter from these plants trampled to the ground to protect the soil. We add livestock, managed well, to graze these plants, keeping the pumps going and trampling the mulch to the ground.

Livestock to graze the plan

Choose Chemical Free Food

Pesticides have been associated with a wide number of health issues – they’re used in our environment and present in our food system. Some pesticides used in Australia are even banned from use elsewhere! Making a conscious food choice can be good for you and the wider environment!

Tips for Wholesome Winter Cooking

For winter warmers, I’m reaching for round, blade, ribs osso bucco and diced chuck for slow cooking, but there’s so much more we can do with grass fed beef at the change of the season to keep our tummies warm.

Spice Roasted Root Vegetables with Sirloin Steak

A tasty steak can easily transform from a fresh summer meal (with a crisp salad), to a wholesome winter meal when served with roasted root vegetables. Here’s a recipe for roasting with lovely spices and honey.   Ingredients 1 swede – cut into thin wedges 2 parsnip – cut lengthways 2 carrots – cut into quarters lengthways 1/2 sweet …

Cooking with Chuck – Provencale Beef Recipe

Any meal cooked with chuck steak is bound to be delicious and nourishing leaving you feeling totally satisfied – so long as it is slow cooked and slow cooked for long enough. It doesn’t have the most gracious of names, but believe me, it’s a fabulous cut of beef, I think it’s probably my favourite cut. …

Farm Forage Day – You’re Invited!

You’re invited to visit our farm, pick your own olives, have morning or afternoon tea on the lawns, learn about our Grass Fed Beef and chat with us, the farmers – Derek and Kirrily. Sunday, 7th May 2017.

How Conscious Are Our Food Choices?

How conscious are our food choices? Do we truly understand everything involved to make informed choices? What value do we place on the life of one living creature over another? Do we even know the impact that our food choices might have? How do we change something if we don’t know what to ask? Consciously or not, our choices shape the world that we live in every single day. We’d love you to inform yourself by asking lots of questions about your food.

Food for Developing Young Brains

Are our diets reducing the capacity of our children to learn? “There are two windows of time in which the brain is especially sensitive to nutrition: the first two years of life for a growing baby and the last couple of decades of life for a senior citizen. Both growing and aging brains need nutritious fats”.

Cooking with Topside Steak – Recipe Ideas

Learn the best ways to cook with Topside Steak. Try these recipes for Thai Beef Salad and for these great Steak & Salad wraps that the kids will love to get their fingers into!

How do I Eat for Best Health?

Health always forms part of my goals and the New Year is a great time to refocus on whole, nutritious eating. These are some of the things that I consider when cooking for my family. I’m not saying these things will be right for you, but being aware of how different foods might affect us, can help us to determine if they are right for us.

Happy Healthy Tummies

If you’ve ever had digestive disturbances like a bloated stomach, you’ll know it’s not very comfortable. So, it’s always nice when we solve such a problem for a customer. I was most excited to hear from Derek that we had some feedback from a customer at the Tamworth Grower’s Markets recently that our sausages are the only ones …

Regenerating our Farm While Producing Healthy Food

What if farmers could regenerate and improve their land while producing a healthy product? Well they can, and we do! Derek and I often write or talk about how we are regenerating our land while we produce healthy grass fed beef for you and we want to show you what we mean. We have a …

Grass Fed Beef Steaks with Cafe de Paris Butter & Caramelised Baby Carrots

This Cafe de Paris butter adds a little more to your favourite Grass Fed Beef Steak. Serve with Caramelised Baby Carrots for a wonderful meal!

Beef & Vegetable Stir-Fry – with cashews & fresh basil

A stir-fry is a great easy meal and is a simple way to include lots of vegetables in the meal. Here’s one of my favourite ways to cook a beef stir-fry – and it’s lovely with fresh basil leaves from the garden. Just be sure to cook your beef on a fairly high heat and …

Silverside Cooking Tips & Beef Rendang Recipe

I love this Beef Rendang Curry (and Derek LOVES it too) which I’ve cooked with our silverside cut just this week. Before I share that recipe with you though, let’s look at the different options for preparing a silverside. Silverside is a very lean cut, so not a completely foolproof cut to cook. Fat is …

See you at Tamworth Farmer’s Markets this Sunday

We are at the Tamworth Farmer’s Market this coming Sunday – August 14th. Come and see us there and take home some beautiful, chemical free, grass fed beef. Find out what cuts and hampers we’ll have available.

Why Grass Fed TALLOW is a Great Choice for Cooking

What should you consider when choosing a healthy oil or fat to cook with? Learn why tallow is a healthy and versatile choice.

How to Cook Bone Broth or Stock

There’s quite a bit of hype around bone broth at the moment – and there’s good reason for it! There is a growing recognition of the health benefits of slow cooking and cooking with bones. Making bones broths is great because of the nourishment and health benefits it provides, but also because it helps to make …

Who’s Gonna Make the Gravy?

I’m proud to say I am the king of sauces, custard and gravy… well in our house, anyway! When we want something smooth and free of any lumps, I’m the go-to-man. So, I’m sharing with you, how to create that smooth, delicious home-made gravy to go with your Conscious Farmer grass fed beef roasts, but this can also …

Where Does Your Conscious Food Dollar Go?

What benefit is there in buying your produce direct from the farmer? Buying direct from the farmer means choosing who (and what production system or farming methods) you would like to support. When enough people do this, it eventually shapes and influences the farmer’s means of production through supply and demand. Knowing your farmer can …

Benefits of Cooking with Grass Fed Beef Bones

If you haven’t heard about the benefits of cooking with bones then it’s time you found out!  If you have inflammation in your body, or you just want all round wellness from being proactive about your health, then slow cooking with bones and certain cuts is a great choice for you to make… and it’s …

Eating from Instinct & Grass Fed Beef

You may have heard us speak before about how domestic animals, like our cows, still have some instinct to know what to eat for their best health or to fix an ailment.  Wild animals certainly still have this instinct, but what about people?  Do we still have such instincts? Would instinct back up what science …

Conscious Farmer Twist on the Classic Shepherd’s Pie

I love a classic shepherd’s pie and I also love the pumpkin & feta twist that we have put on it. So, cook it traditionally or try our twist – either way, we’re sure you’ll find it a pleaser.

Health Benefits of Grass Fed Beef v Grain Fed

If you’ve ever tasted the difference of beef fed on diverse pastures, there’s an inherent knowing that it must be better for you, because it tastes so good. But why is Grass fed Beef better for us than grain fed beef?

Grass Fed Beef – How to Cook Each Cut

Derek and I often often chat with those who buy and enjoy our beef about suggestions for the best way to cook some of the cuts. We also share tips about how to cook for the best nourishment and share what we know about how this can contribute to good health.

Cooking Tips for Our Grass Fed Beef

Every cut of beef is a great cut – providing you know the appropriate way to prepare and cook it. Chuck steak is one of my favourite cuts, but not if I was to throw it on the BBQ!