Medicinal Cooking: Chicken — What’s Hiding Behind the Label
Exploring everyday ingredients that nourish the body.
As I’ve continued on my health journey exploring the benefits of herbs and medicinal cooking, I’ve learned so much along the way. While I’m certainly not an expert, I’ve discovered some simple things that have made a real difference for me and my family, and I’d love to share them with you.
Today, I want to talk about something a little different. Instead of looking at the benefits of one particular ingredient, I want to talk about chicken and the importance of understanding the wording we see on food labels and ingredient lists.
As consumers, it’s important to understand how things are worded, what those words actually mean, and ultimately what we’re bringing home to feed our families.
About a year ago, I made the decision to try to buy all of our meat from local farmers or butchers. I’m probably about 75% there. Sometimes, though, it’s simply easier and often less expensive to buy meat from the grocery store.
But the more I learn about meat production and packaging, the more I realize how important it is to know what I’m looking at when I stand in front of that grocery store meat case.
In the attached video, the narrator talks about some of the terminology we commonly see when buying raw chicken. What does “pasture raised” actually mean compared with “free range”? What does air chilled versus water chilled mean? And what information on the package can help us make a more informed decision?
The video also discusses several chicken producers, their practices, and the information they provide consumers. It gave me several things to think about and, more importantly, several things I want to investigate further for myself.
As I continue learning, I find myself becoming much more intentional about where our meat comes from. My goal is eventually to buy 100% of it directly from local farms and butchers whenever possible. Until then, I’m learning to slow down at the grocery store, turn over the package, read the fine print, and understand what those words really mean.
Because sometimes making healthier choices isn’t about finding a new superfood or adding another herb to the pantry.
Sometimes it’s simply about understanding the food we’re already eating.
I’m excited to keep sharing what I’m learning along this journey, and one of my favorite parts has been learning from all of you. If you’ve learned something surprising from reading meat labels, have a local farmer or butcher you love supporting, or there’s another everyday food you’d like me to explore, I’d love to hear about it in the comments.
After all, one of the best parts of good food is sharing it, and we can all learn from one another.
This journey is teaching me that lasting change doesn’t happen overnight. It happens one ingredient, one recipe, and one meal at a time.
I hope you’ll join me for the next installment of Medicinal Cooking.
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