Reclaiming my Health
I was consistently pushing my body to do hard things during my time at Jack Mountain Bushcraft School. I had bare feet in the dirt daily, I had constant fresh air in my lungs and delicious clean well water to drink. There were so many aspects of my lifestyle that had me feeling so healthy, that I was able to feed myself whatever food was available and my body would turn it into fuel without a complaint.
Returning back to society was a struggle in many ways but the hardest aspect has been staying on top of my health. I started a new job with late night hours. I suddenly work, eat, sleep, and hang out indoors. My exposure to sunlight is minimal, as my time outside during the daytime is limited, and it is often cloudy here anyways. My bare feet haven’t touched dirt in months. My emotional self is entirely dysregulated as well, as I was intending to go back to Oregon where I have family, friends, a job, and a home base, but my van decided she didn’t want to drive back across the country again and sprouted a leaky head gasket. So instead, I ended up in a brand new place surrounded by brand new people, very far away from home.
I have been mildly sick since I arrived in Vermont. I have had an ongoing cough and congestion, and a sore throat that comes and goes. My energy levels have plummeted, meaning most of my time at home is spent sleeping. It has been very difficult to keep up with my current job, and putting together my own business for the summer, taking care of my dog, staying physically active, putting adequate time towards my new relationship that has been developing over my last couple months here, and navigating my poor health.
I hit a breaking point. I had to take control of what I could, and a big factor I knew I was slacking on was my eating habits. In order to have time for everything I wanted to get done in each day I was resorting to eating the quickest food I could find, and it was not the healthiest. So I started with small steps, switching energy drinks and black coffee out for Om Superfood Mushroom Blend coffee and forcing myself make time to eat breakfast every day before the coffee. The little adjustments helped, but it wasn’t enough.
I needed to eat better throughout the entire day, rebuild my strength, and be intentional about my nutrition. I started to get back in to the routine of meal prepping every few days so that I could have quick, easy and healthy options to reach for instead of sugary snacks and fast food from the resort I work at. I went through my pantry and threw out or gave away all of the sugary snacks I had stockpiled. Every little adjustment I made helped to regain my health.
All of the momentum I was building up with my health journey led me to organ meats. I already knew they were nutritional powerhouses, packed with iron, B vitamins, and other essentials, but the idea of actually preparing and eating them? That was another story. Liver felt too intimidating for a first attempt—too strong, too mushy, too… liver-y. But beef heart? That seemed manageable.
Prepping and Cooking a Beef Heart
I wasn’t sure what to expect when I pulled the beef heart out of its package. It was dense, firm, and covered in a thin outer membrane that I instinctively peeled away, which was weirdly satisfying. I trimmed off the veins and hard fat, realizing pretty quickly that my knife desperately needed sharpening. I sliced the heart in half filet-style before cutting it into strips about an inch wide.
For the marinade, I kept it simple:
• Olive oil
• Red wine
• Salt & fresh ground black pepper
• A pinch of garlic powder
• A pinch of ginger powder
• A splash of lime juice
Everything went into a bag to sit in the fridge overnight, absorbing all that goodness.
The next morning, I made a full meal to go with the beef heart:
• Rice: Cooked in beef bouillon for extra flavor.
• Veggies: Green beans and broccoli, tossed with olive oil, salt, and chili flakes, then roasted until lightly crispy.
• Sautéed Goodness: Onions cooked in butter, then set aside. Next, I seared the marinated beef heart strips before removing them and quickly cooking some sliced bell peppers.
Once everything was packed into my meal prep containers, I had three solid, nutrient-dense dinners ready to go!
Eating Heart… and the Unexpected Side Effect
I was a little hesitant taking my first bite, but honestly? It was good. Rich, slightly chewier than a steak but once I knew what to expect that didn’t bother me. It was definitely not as scary as I’d built it up to be.
I packed up my bag, threw in one of my prepped beef heart meals, and headed off to work.
It was a quite average work day. I took my dinner break at 6:30, reheated and ate my beef heart and veggie meal. Then, about an hour later, something unexpected happened.
I got the cleaning zoomies.
Suddenly, I had so much energy that I tore through the shop at work, scrubbing and organizing everything. By the end of the night, the shop looked better than it had all season and I felt amazing.
Final Thoughts
Beef heart turned out to be a game-changer. It’s affordable, nutrient-dense, and—once you get past the initial hesitation and slight texture difference, it’s delicious. Plus, with the energy boost that followed, I might just be making this a regular thing.
Would I try other organ meats now? Maybe. But for a first step, this was definitely a win.
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