A Beef Club? I Want to Join!

While working on an olive oil project for a client, I came across information about a local tribe with a large cattle ranch offering membership in their beef club. As someone who grew up on a farm with a cow-calf operation and loved the flavor of grass-fed beef from our cattle, I wanted to join the club. And I wanted

Read More »

The Ignorance and Arrogance of So-Called Experts

Disclosure: While I am a National Dairy Council Ambassador and a member of the Beef Checkoff Beef Expert Bureau, I was not asked to or compensated for writing this blog. The views expressed in this piece are my own. I recently heard the most cited nutrition researcher in the world say, “We need to eliminate feeding grain to cattle. The

Read More »

Baby Red Potatoes with Fresh Dill and Butter

Baby Red Potatoes with Fresh Dill and Butter I love simple vegetable side dishes like this, especially ones that bring back such fond memories of growing up on the farm. In early July my mom would often “steal” baby red potatoes from the plants in our garden. Instead of digging up the entire plant, she’d run her fingers in the

Read More »

Breeding, Feeding, and Butchery: Why Most Beef is Lean Beef

DISCLOSURE: I am a member of the Beef Checkoff Beef Expert Bureau for which I receive an annual honorarium. I grew up on a family farm in North Dakota with a large cow-calf operation. Most of the food we ate on the farm came from what we grew, including beef. To feed his family of seven, my dad would typically

Read More »

Are Potatoes a Vegetable?

By Amy Myrdal Miller NOTE: This article originally appeared in the November 2016 issue of magazine.   A client called me at 5 p.m. this past Friday, which is never a good sign.   “How can I help?” I asked tentatively. “Are potatoes a vegetable?” he implored. I laughed, assured him potatoes are indeed a vegetable, and then asked why

Read More »

Making Any Meal a Family Meal

By Amy Myrdal Miller, MS, RDN, FAND My mom told me recently that she was removing the center island from our family vacation home. “Why?” I asked. “I love sitting there with family.” “I hate seeing people perching on those awful stools,” she said. “Meals should be eaten at a table!” she said officiously. And there lies one of the major

Read More »

Ferment and Foment: What’s the Best Diet for Dairy Cows?

By Amy Myrdal Miller, MS, RDN, FAND National Dairy Council Ambassador AUTHOR’S NOTE: This article is the second is a series about my visit to Jasper Hill Farm in late May 2016 as part of a “Food Writing from the Farm” course I took at Sterling College. You can access the first article  here. “Our cows are fed dry hay,

Read More »

Big Isn’t Bad and Small Isn’t Superior: Why Food Choices Based on Size Make Little Sense

By Amy Myrdal Miller, MS, RDN, FAND National Dairy Council Ambassador   As I’m writing this I’m enjoying a few pieces of Cabot Clothbound Cheddar, a cheese I was introduced to recently during a tour of The Cellars at Jasper Hill Farm in Greensboro, Vermont. Founded by brothers Andy and Mateo Kehler, Jasper Hill is well known for producing high

Read More »

Which is more sustainable? Grass-Finished vs. Grain-Fed Beef

  by Amy Myrdal Miller, MS, RDN Founder and President, Farmer’s Daughter Consulting, LLC I was in Costco the other day when I overheard a woman telling her husband, “We need to buy the grassy beef, dear. It’s better for the planet.” Her husband then complained about the price, got fed up with arguing with her, and walked away. I

Read More »

The Joy of Cooking… and Washing Dishes

Pictured above are Megan (center) and her sister Kierstin learning to bake from their grandmother, Rosemarie Myrdal (a.k.a. Granmarie)  By Megan Myrdal, RDN The kitchen is often referred to as the “heart of the home,” and I find, no matter whose home I’m in, it’s where we spend most of our time. When I’m working away in my home kitchen, I

Read More »