The Healthy Movement Podcast—Episode 10
Intro/Show Open
Welcome all…come on in, find a seat anywhere you can. Aint’ no assigned seats here. And welcome to y’all. Looks like in the great game of internet download hide and go seak, you managed to find us. Y’all must be tellin’ you friends, too—since those numbers are climbing pretty well. It’s either that, or our concession making us the sole podcast available for deportees in-flight is working out according to plan.
I know y’all hit the button, but just in case there’s some short term memory loss, or you’re listening in a friend’s car—this is the Healthy Movement…Podcast—I’m Shawn Staerker, and someone once certified me as a Corrective Exercise Specialist a long time ago, and I’ve been eatin’ off that ever since.
To my right is Otto, the black and white delight. He’s a Great Dane and doesn’t do much more than studio security. Bailey, Ellie and Kels are on assignment today, so we’re not gonna hear much from ‘em. [boo’s]. Don’t worry, they’ll be back after the holidays with some good reports on fitness wearables and such.
Far from leaving ourselves short-handed today, though, we’ve got Sancho doing a little heavy lifting on a No-shave November segment coming up a little later on.
Of course, I’ve got the real work today with our feature on Thanksgiving and Turkey facts that might help your selection process…if you haven’t already picked up a bird.
And since it’s our Thanksgiving episode—I’ve asked a coupla our friends to give us a few things they’re thankful for. You might, also, notice that we’re not carrying as many ads for this show. That’s because our friends donated their ad $ to sponsor this show up front, so we could bring in some words of thanks without running the show too far over time. Be sure to give YobCo and Concepts in Greenery, among others and big HM Thanks.
Now, Let’s cue one of those up if you got ‘em handy and listen to some gratitude before we head into our feature segment.
Turkey/Thanksxgiving Facts
Well, it IS that time of year when we all like to get food drunk and try to overdose on tryptophan. And we’re not that show to tell you not too, either. If we’re super worried about having at it on a holiday meal, then we’re doing something wrong the rest of the days. Just sayin’
–No shortage this year. Avian flu didn’t kill as many as predicted.
Since we’re gonna have at that bird carcass like a school of starving pirana, let’s take a closer look at the centerpiece poultry and see just what’s on the label…
“Fresh: Again, this bird was not hanging out on the farm with his bros this morning, it just means the turkey has never been below 26°F. This label could also be, “Never Frozen.”
Frozen: Speaks for itself, mostly. This means poultry was held at 0°F or below. “Previously frozen” may also be used to mean the same thing.
Free-range: Was your turkey running free on the plains? Maybe, or maybe not. This label means that an animal has spent a good portion of its life outdoors. But in order to gain that distinction, the U.S. Department of Agriculture only requires that outdoor access be made available for “an undetermined period each day.” Four hours a day? Perhaps. Five minutes? Could be.
Organic: Food has to be produced without most conventional pesticides and synthetic fertilizers and without antibiotics, growth hormones, genetic engineering, or irradiation to earn this label, and animals had to have had access to the outdoors. A diet of organic feed free of animal byproducts is also required. Our siblings over at Consumer Reports recommend buying organic because of that absence of antibiotics.
No hormones administered: Beware this label — its claim means nothing, considering hormones are already prohibited in poultry production. That’s like a label saying, “This Turkey Is Not A Cow.”
No antibiotics administered: This means exactly what it says. There’s no verification system in place, but the USDA is accountable for proper use of the claim. Only two companies report not using anti-biotics: Tyson (Hillshire Farm), and Hain Pure Protein (Plainville Farms brand). Most of the others use ‘em for “disease prevention,” although a couple companies still use some controversial peptides for lean muscle growth. (ractopamine)
Natural: Consumer Reports takes issue with this label, which means that the turkey doesn’t contain any artificial flavoring, colors, chemical preservatives, or synthetic ingredients. The label is not a verified claim, and says nothing about whether the animal ate a natural diet or how it was raised. Because there’s no government definition for the word, the claim is based on the processor’s word alone.
Cage-Free: No turkeys are raised in cages — more than 95% of all commercial turkeys live in open houses, according to the ASPCA. So again, this is basically a meaningless label.
Young: This bird is not the poultry equivalent of veal — it just means that it was killed at the same age as most other turkeys, which is between 16 and 18 weeks. There’s no USDA definition for “young” turkeys, but if a turkey is older than a year when it’s slaughtered, it must be labeled “yearling” or “mature.”
Premium: Is this the best meat around? Again, the label is pretty much worthless. Any company can choose to call their birds “premium.”
Heritage breed: Descendants from the stock brought over by the country’s first settlers. They’re raised to support biodiversity. relatively pricey and hard to come by, but you can order heritage breeds online.”
If you’re super concerned about how you’re turkeys are raised, there are a few options available to ensure your gobbler was raised and slaughtered humanely. Check for Animal Welfare Approved, which means that the farms are audited at least once a year, and are certified for their responsible farm animal practices.
The Global Animal Partnership uses a 1-6 rating scale on their labels, which help consumers determine, is the birds have been treated well, such as not having clipped beaks and spending a lifetime on the same farm.
Try as we might, we were unable to find a company who provides turkeys that were shot in the wild, although a few vendors were kind enough to keep shots of wild turkey on hand. Who knew? Enough of that, and tryptophans are pretty inconsequential, aren’t they?
Let’s have a quick break and then we’ll talk about a few lesser-known turkey day facts…
Turkey Day Facts:
1.) The original thanksgiving feast likely occurred between Sept. 21 and November 11—and because, our ancestors liked to party, it lasted 3 days!
2.) The first TGiving wasn’t a thanksgiving at all. To the Pilgrims, a thanksgiving was a religious observation, and many of the festivities that took place (dancing) would have been frowned upon during an actual Thanksgiving.
3.) Minnesota is the top turkey-producer—followed by NC, AK, MO and VA
4.) Abe Lincoln declared Thanksgiving a national holiday in 1863, possibly by Sarah Josepha Hale, author of “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” though it wasn’t set on the current date until FDR in 1941.
5.) Wild turkeys can run up to 20 MPH and are able to fly up to 55 MPH.
6.) More than 40 million Americans will travel more than 50 miles from home for Thanksgiving this year, and highway patrols say the day before thanksgiving is when the most DUI’s are given out…beating both New Year’s Eve and St. Patty’s day. Wow. No word on how many Wild Turkeys are involved.
Let’s take another break and hear what some listeners are thankful for this year.
No Shave November
I mentioned that Sancho is doing a little work today—and here it is… let’s listen as he educates us on the origins and etiquette of No-Shave November.
Meditation Minute
Ah, yes…we’re finally here. What’s arguably the most popular part of the show…it’s the award-winning Meditation Minute; Kind of our time to take off the work shirt, kick off the steel toes and take our pleasure as we please. and invite y’all to join in with us. Especially y’all that are here…y’all know the rules. Just bring glass, we got the rest.
Today’s board is pretty much a compilation of some old and new favorites, but defiantly favorites nonetheless. There just isn’t any brand that speaks to us more than Sweetwater and defiantly nothing gets us going like their 420 Extra Pale Ale. Aside from the obvious, I’m an extra pale fan all the way…I like to keep to something I can sip on all day…and 420 fits that bill nicely. Not a pale ale on the order of Rolling Rock (admittedly, another favorite), but a craftier, hoppier relative. And, they’re blowing up right now…most of us in the south can get ‘em, and if y’all out west have access, I highly recommend.
All of that and their motto is “don’t float the mainstream.” Not much more to say about that. I can tell you that I’m looking forward to drinking a couple on the banks of a Georgia mountain creek as we take our show in the road this spring.
Speaking of 420, it’s about that time! While we were on our NE roadtrip, some friends in Jersey threw us a nice bit of what was local about the time and we ended up with a solid sack of Casey Jones.
Because Leafly does cannabis culture like we do health and wellness, I’d be a fool not to let them give us the lowdown. And, I’m never one to create work, that’s sure as hell true. Check ‘em out online at Leafly.com or on their YouTube channel if you want some really awesome video content. Here’s what they’ve got on our ol’ pal Casey Jones…
(Courtesy of Leafly–https://www.leafly.com/sativa/casey-jones)
“Choo choo! Casey Jones is coming down the track! Casey was a famous engineer who was killed in a train wreck in 1900. More recently, he’s also the name of a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles character who’s fond of hockey masks and vigilante justice. However, this Casey Jones is a cross between Oriental Express (Trainwreck x Thai) and East Coast Sour Diesel that provides an earthy, sweet palate with subtle hints of citrus. Casey Jones produces pleasant sativa effects that are uplifting and great for releasing your creativity.”
Sounds like just the thing to get us in the Thanksgiving spirit!
Let’s grab our 420 and our…well…420 and get on that turkey day express…next stop tryptophan station!!!
[bong hit, beer]
[Casey Jones, Grateful Dead]
Exit…Stage Left…
I feel like a real asshole…here I haven’t offered y’all nothing to snack on. Well, our friends over at Deli Fresh Threads sent in a great suggestion using all of those Thanksgiving leftovers. Their Pilgrim Sliders are amazingly tasty, and they’re super easy. Here’s how it goes: “turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing and cranberry sauce on a dinner roll.”Absolutely wicked good! I’m gonna have two, y’all help yourselves to however much you like. We got plenty this year, thanks to Chuck.
Give our friends Deli Fresh Threads a look at www.DeliFreshThreads.com. They’ve got an incredibly cool line of t-shirts showing reverence to all things sandwich.
While you’re filling your faces, or for those at home, left out like me on an elementary school PE event, just listen to what we have brewing here at the Movement:
Since I’m taking next week off, the following week is gonna require us to hand lower for the sanctity of porcelain. Sancho and I review the poo-pourri line of smell defense and even apply it practically in a few local establishments. We’re gonna be talking with Dr. Ingrando again—this time on the topic of Text neck. Be sure to add us to your podcast lineup by hitting the Download button, so that you receive the next Healthy Movement…Podcast whiles’t it’s still warm and steaming. Plus, it helps us put a little cash in a jar for emergencies.
That’s gonna just about do it for me. I’m still Shawn Staerker. This is still the Healthy Movement…Podcast. Y’all keep it clean and cozy, and have a great Thanksgiving…
