Vital Farms » vitalvoice

Video: Lick Ice Creams makes waffle cones with Vital Farms eggs

admin — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 19:10:35 +0000

Born in Halletesville, TX (10 miles outside Shiner, TX), Lick Honest Ice Creams Owner, Anthony Sobotik, was always fascinated by food.

He painstakingly perfected 30 flavors of ice cream over a year, experimenting with recipes from old family cookbooks and determined to focus on locally sourced ingredients. Flavors like Grapefruit Ginger, Roasted Beets with Fresh Mint and Homemade Eggnog with Brandy really showcase what local farmers have to offer.

“We use low-temperature pasteurized milk from Texas Daily Harvest and fruits and veggies from local farms,” he explained. “All the bowls and spoons are also bio-compostable.”

When it came to cones, Sobotik didn’t want a store-bought feel. “The edges aren’t perfect. Ours are more light, more delicate,” he said. Though most Lick Ice Creams don’t use eggs (there are also always a few dairy-free, vegan options) there are seasonal flavors (like Egg Nog) that do. Vital Farms eggs add an extra richness, courtesy of our South Austin, pasture-raised hens.

Visit Lick Ice Creams at 2032 South Lamar in Austin, TX to try their incredibly crisp, flavorful cones and super fresh, unique ice creams.

National Organic Standards Board votes unanimously for improved conditions for laying hens!

admin — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 20:17:06 +0000

Matt O’Hayer, CEO of Vital Farms, just returned from Savannah, GA, where the National Organic Standards Board voted unanimously to require 2 square feet of outdoor space, with at least 50% vegetative cover, for laying hens. In addition, they increased the inside space requirement to 2 sq ft (up from 1.2 sq ft.). This was a hard fought battle for abysmal spacing, but a huge increase from no legal requirement for outdoor access for organic hens, as was the case.

Follow this link to a PDF of the adopted regulations

Before this becomes law, it must get the approval of the National Organic Program which is under the auspices of the Secretary of Agriculture. Along the way, various government entities such as the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) must bless these rules. It is at the OMB that we expect the big factory organic egg farms, which oppose any outdoor access by hens, to work their lobbying magic and get this overturned. They have invested heavily in massive aviary cage complexes which will be hard to utilize under the new rules and they will claim financial hardship if they can’t continue to keep their birds inside these glorified cages.

Just to put this new NOSB requirement into perspective: Vital Farms’ hens live outdoors during the day on 100-400 total square feet of pasture, per bird. Thank you for your continued support of pasture-raised, Certified Humane®, environmentally responsible egg farming.

Video blog: Vital Farms follows our eggs from the Capital Area Food Bank to families in need

admin — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 17:35:26 +0000

Photo Blog: Vital Farmers in Georgia

admin — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 16:18:29 +0000

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Frittata Recipe from Food 4 Fitness Cafe in Austin, TX

admin — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 21:48:39 +0000

Garden Veggie Frittata

(We love this for breakfast with a side of fruit, or lunch/dinner with a small salad. Enjoy!)

Serves 6

To prepare: Gather your veggies & eggs and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Ingredients

- 10 Vital Farms Eggs

- ¼ cup Water, Milk, OR Almond Milk

- 1 ½ cup Chopped Vegetables (Red Onion, Spinach, Cherry Tomatoes, Corn, etc, use your judgment to fit flavors together)

- ½ package Feta or Pepper Jack cheese

- 1 ½ t Salt

- 1 t Pepper

- Herbs to fit flavor profile

Place veggies in oiled, oven-safe skillet. Whisk eggs with salt and pepper and ¼ cup liquid. Pour eggs over veggies, making sure veggies are covered. Sprinkle with grated cheese. Cook in oven for 8 minutes, at 350 degrees. Rotate and repeat. Make sure the egg is solid in the middle before finishing baking.

Veggie Ideas and Flavor Combinations:

Mediterranean (artichoke hearts, red bell pepper, fresh basil, red onion, fennel, feta)

Southwest (corn, black beans, red bell pepper, green onion, cilantro, pepper jack cheese)

Garden Veggie (shredded carrot, tomato, peas, green beans, kale, feta)

Mushroom Spinach Sundried Tomato, etc.

Dr. Mercola endorses pasture-raised eggs!

admin — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 21:13:01 +0000

Dr. Joseph Mercola, founder of Mercola.com, an extremely popular website for natural health news, recently endorsed pasture-raised, organic eggs as full of health benefits. As the nation’s leading producer, we are really pleased to see the natural health community acknowledge the many benefits of our favorite superfood!

Some highlights from the article:

“The idea that eggs, as a source of saturated fats, are unhealthy and promote heart disease is a complete myth…On the contrary, the evidence clearly shows that eggs are one of the most healthful foods you can eat, and can actually help prevent disease, including heart disease.”

“Although egg yolks are relatively high in cholesterol, numerous studies have confirmed that eggs have virtually nothing to do with raising your cholesterol. For instance, research published in the International Journal of Cardiology showed that, in healthy adults, eating eggs every day did not produce a negative effect on endothelial function (an aggregate measure of cardiac risk); nor did it increase cholesterol levels.”

“In a recent study, researchers determined that the yolks from conventional chickens contain Tryptophan and Tyrosine, two amino acids with potent antioxidant properties, which is important for the prevention of cardiovascular disease and cancer. Additionally, as a side note, the amino acid tryptophan is also an important precursor to the brain chemical serotonin, which helps regulate your mood, and tyrosine synthesizes two key neurotransmitters, dopamine and norepinephrine, which promote alertness and mental activity. I mention this to remind you that the potential health benefits of eggs certainly go far beyond heart health…”

“Eggs are also an incredible source of high-quality protein and fat—nutrients that many are deficient in. And I believe eggs are a nearly ideal fuel source for most of us…’pastured’ organic eggs are far superior when it comes to nutrient content.”

“Additionally, testing has confirmed that true free-range eggs are far more nutritious than commercially raised eggs. In a 2007 egg-testing project, Mother Earth News compared the official U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) nutrient data for commercial eggs with eggs from hens raised on pasture and found that the latter typically contains:

1/3 less cholesterol

1/4 less saturated fat

2/3 more vitamin A

2 times more omega-3 fatty acids

3 times more vitamin E

7 times more beta carotene

The dramatically superior nutrient levels are most likely the result of the differences in diet between free ranging, pastured hens and commercially farmed hens.”

Click here to read the full article.

Arkansas + Oklahoma farm tour photo blog

admin — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 20:39:26 +0000
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Vital Farms and the Capital Area Food Bank

admin — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 16:22:14 +0000

Hundreds of pounds of cabbage

As of May 2011, 46 million, or 1 in 7 Americans are currently on food stamps. These astounding numbers go to show that food security is a real problem for a growing number of Americans.

Yesterday we took a tour of the Capital Area Food Bank, accompanied by John Turner, Senior Director of Marketing and Branding, Justin Spencer, Food Resource Manager, and Lisa Goddard, Online Marketing Director.

We learned that the food bank warehouse holds 25.3 millions lbs of food at any time, 365 days a year! Their refrigerated trucks can hold up to 40,000 lbs of food at a time. The food bank serves 48,000 people a week, (28,000 of those served are children). The food bank purchases 15 percent of their food stores, while 85 percent is donated.

Turner, Spencer and Goddard stressed that food safety is number one; many members in the community they serve do not have health benefits. Many are children or elderly, and are thus more vulnerable to food-bourne illness.

The organization has donation agreements with HEB, Target and Wal-Mart, as well as local farms (like Vital Farms) and the Sustainable Food Center’s Farmer’s Markets. Turner said organizations like HEB and Wal-Mart were paying to have food nearing its sell-by date shipped to landfills. Last year, the food bank rescued over 4.3 million pounds of food from organizations like these. Turner said there is a big difference between a sell-by date and a use-by date; many foods are often still tasty and edible after the sell-by date.

Corn

The food bank also has four nutritionists on staff, who teach workshops to children and adults about how to make healthy food choices (even with limited means) and to modify typical recipes in a healthy way. There is also a small teaching garden to the south of the building.

“Hunger is a symptom of many other things that we cannot control,” Turner said. Unemployment, the economy, poverty and lack of education all play a part in contributing to food insecurity.

When asked about boxes full of sodas and junk food mixed in with potatoes, onions, whole-grain cereal and vegetables, the

staff explained that in order to receive food from some large organizations, like Coca-Cola, who also bottle juice and water, they must also accept some of their sodas. They do understand that, “It’s not just about the volume of food, it’s also about what you put in your body,” Turner said.

Food inventory at the food bank is ranked on a level of 1, 2 or 3, with one being the highest level of nutrition, and donations to pantries or individuals are meant to contain 80% of food ranked at a level 1 and 2 and 20% of level 3 food products are allowed.

The food bank is open 6 days a week. Last year, they welcomed 16,000+ volunteers, which meant they didn’t have to hire the equivalent of 44 full-time staff members. They always welcome new volunteers, corporate groups, families and children as young as eight are welcome to come and help to make a difference.

Capital Area Food Bank and the Blanton Museum of Art are hosting a film screening of the Award-Winning Documentary Dive! on Thursday September 15 from 6-8pm. Tickets are free!

Florida Whole Foods Marketing team braves the Texas heat!

admin — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 21:29:11 +0000

We were pleased to host 17 members of the Florida Whole Foods Market Marketing team at our South Austin Farm last week. The group braved the morning heat, had tons of great questions and really enjoyed visiting our girls, as well as site-seeing and eating ice cream made from Vital Farms eggs at great restaurants, like La Condesa. Thanks for the visit, Florida! We look forward to having groups of bloggers, chefs and customers out to the farm in the Fall.

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Check out some of our visitors’ quotes below:

The farm was absolutely beautiful. Letting chickens be chickens -
running around pecking the ground for bugs, worms, natural nutrients!
It put everything into perspective when Jason said “Our chickens don’t
just have access to the outdoors, they are outdoors with access to the
inside.” Just another example of the importance of knowing our farmers
and creating win-win partnerships. Thank you again for letting us see
first hand how farming is meant to be! P.S. La Condessa – AMAZING!
Highly recommend to anyone visiting Austin, TX.
– WFM Naples

Last night 18 or so of us were fortunate enough to enjoy the ice
creams at La Condesa made with your eggs … amazing! Since we
couldn’t all agree on a favorite, we’ll just have to make another
visit back soon (and get more breakfast burritos too!) Thanks for the
hospitality and the education, we’ll never look at egg farming the
same way. Keep up the good work and say hi to ‘the ladies!’
- WFM Aventura

Tell the chickens we had a great time hanging out with them in their
beautiful green pastures and thanks for all of the most amazing eggs!
– WFM Wellington

At vital farms pasture-raised organic eggs, the story begins with
organic, green pastures where their girls spend each & every day.
Their humane farming practices provides the birds with an outdoor
lifestyle where they are free to exhibit natural behaviors & forage.
- WFM Boca Raton

Hi there! We truly appreciate your taking the time to show us your
incredible farm. La Condesa was amazing – especially the ice cream
using eggs from Vital Farms! We’ll definitely be in touch.
- WFM Coral Gables

Thanks so much for having us out and showing us around. It was a great
learning experience and we’ll be taking it back to educate our
customers and team members. Dinner was really good. Didn’t have a bad
meal the entire time we were in Austin. What a great city. Thanks
again and we’ll be in touch if we need any more info about your
amazing eggs. – WFM Ft. Lauderdale

Thank you so much for the tour! We LOVE VITAL FARMS!!!
– WFM Palm Beach Gardens

Making Flour-less Chocolate Cake (with Vital Farms Eggs) with Chef Alain Braux

admin — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 14:21:39 +0000

French Chef Alain Braux, a trained chef de patisserie and Executive Chef at People’s Pharmacy in Austin, Texas allowed us to watch him make his famous (and extremely delicious) Flour-Less Chocolate Cake. All three People’s Pharmacy locations (South Lamar, North Lamar and Westlake) now carry Vital Farms eggs to purchase, (they also bake with the eggs) and make their hearty chicken soups with Vital Farms chicken.

We have known Alain for years, and it was really enjoyable to catch up, talk about food and his new book, which will be a little more opinionated and political than the last two, How to Lower Your Cholesterol with French Gourmet Food and Living Gluten and Dairy-Free with French Gourmet Food. (Both books are available on Amazon, through his website, at Book People and at People’s Pharmacies). Braux plans to donate $2 of every sale of his new book to the Austin Sustainable Food Center.

“I’m telling people they have to fight for their food. It’s not just about saving money at the register, though most people are on a budget now. Basically, all you need to be healthy is to eat fresh food,” Braux said.

We only used 8 ounces of organic Turbinado sugar in our recipe for this cake, which is enough for 6 or 8 servings. On special order it can be made gluten and dairy-free. On a slow day at the Pharmacy, he makes about 2 cakes per day, but can make 4 or 5 on a busy day!

“I don’t want a stigma attached to gluten-free food,” he said. “I don’t want you to know it’s gluten-free unless I tell you.” (The full-recipe is on page 282 of Living Gluten and Dairy-Free).