Hitting the road made easy with this inspiring meal planner

No doubt you are anticipating a long awaited break over this coming weekend.

When I was younger, long weekends always meant camping.

A big part of the time out camping was spent preparing meals. And considerably less time spent eating them. Somehow everything always tasted better cooked in the fresh air of the high country or over the open fire. 

We would experiment with combinations of leftovers in the jaffle iron. My fav was left over roast lamb, cheese and a basil pesto dip. Unfortunately our lamb won't be ready for this weekend but you'll find leftover roast beef would be just as good.

We found making spaghetti sauce before hand and freezing it flat, in ziplock bags is a space saver and a simple, home cooked meal ready to reheat.

Larger items like roasts and briskets are great frozen and act as an additional ice block.

If we are honest, although the week prior to going away can be exciting, it can also be a little stressful.

So I’m going to make it simple for you. Have you packed…

Tent? Check

Spare socks? Check

Meat? Check

Kids? Check

You are set.

No, of course there is more involved than just that. So I’ve put together a basic planner to help inspire your meals.

I hope you find inspiration and have a stress free, enjoyable long weekend wherever you find yourself.

Happy travels,

Farmer Steph

10 Tips to help relieve stress

At this time, in this year, many of our customers are dealing with high levels of stress. With that in mind, I have compiled a list of 10 helpful tips that may assist in easing some of your stress.

1. Try to live one day at a time - Do not increase today’s anxieties by adding tomorrow’s to them. Quite often things do not turn out the way we may fear they will.

2. Identify what stresses you and note your thoughts, feelings and behavior. Can you eliminate those things or reduce their impact? If you can’t eliminate them, can you change your perspective? Can you change thoughts like “I HAVE to...” into something more positive like “I GET to…”?

3. Treat yourself kindly - Do not make harsh or unrealistic demands on yourselves. Don't belittle or malign yourself!

4. Set priorities - This will help you focus on the important things and it will reveal which ones you can put off, delegate, or even eliminate.

5. Develop healthful habits - Rest, sleep, spirituality, exercise, eat nutritious food, enjoy nature etc

6. Try to be organised - Make a practical schedule, and make every effort to stick to it. Identify and correct any attitudes that cause you to procrastinate.

7. Do not be a perfectionist - be modest and avoid setting unrealistically high standards for yourself or others. Keeping a sense of humour will relieve stressful situations and brighten the mood.

8. Keep technology in its place - avoid unnecessarily checking emails, texts and social media.

9. Be forgiving - In the Journal of Health Psychology, Loren Toussaint states that “stress degrades [health] and forgiveness protects health.”

10. Get support - Ask for help. Can you delegate a task or share the workload? Talk things over with an understanding friend. Getting professional help is not an admission of failure.

A little activity to help entertain the kids while in Melbourne lockdown

Restrictions are lifting here in regional Victoria. We are grateful for that and thankful for all your support!

But we are still thinking of everyone in Melbourne continuing to endure lockdown. So here is a little activity to help keep the kids occupied, and bring the farm to your home.

Ignore the mess, embrace the chaos and enjoy turning your living room into a paddock and having these farm animals roam the carpet.

Print off, cut out, colour in and stick theses animals together to bring the farm to you.

Why not take some photos and email them back to us? We would love to see them!!

info@re-genfarms.com

Enjoy and hang in there!

#clickforvic #lockdownactivitiesforkids #melbournekids #lockdownactivities #farmactivities

How to cook a T-Rex 2in thick rib eye steak to perfection

So you have opened your pack and been blown away by your 2in thick RibEye!

Your mouth is watering, but how do you cook this delicious cut and do it justice?

Here is a simple recipe from Damn Delicious that will have you cooking like a world famous steakhouse.

Grab the cast iron pan out of the camping kit and give it a go.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 x Regenerative Farms bone-in ribeye steak, 2-inch-thick, at room temperature

• Kosher salt (salt flakes) and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter

• 3 cloves garlic, smashed

• 3 sprigs fresh thyme

• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary

DIRECTIONS:

• Using paper towels, pat both sides of the steak dry; season generously with 1 1/4 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.

• Heat a medium cast iron skillet over medium high heat until very hot, about 1-2 minutes; add  a generous knob of butter.

• Place the steak in the middle of the skillet and cook, turning every 2-3 minutes, until a dark crust has formed on both sides, about 12-14 minutes.

• Reduce heat to medium low. Push steak to one side of the skillet; add butter, garlic, thyme and rosemary to opposite side of the skillet, tilting the skillet towards the butter and cooking until butter is foaming, about 30 seconds to 1 minute.

• Working carefully, spoon butter and herb mix over steak for 1-2 minutes, turning over once, until it reaches an internal temperature of 49 degrees C for medium rare, or until desired doneness. Let rest 15 minutes before slicing.

Alternatively:

Sear both sides in your pan.

Cover with foil and into a moderate oven (180-200) for 15-20mins.

Let it rest for half the time it cooked.

Cut it away from the bone, then slice it into portions.

Enjoy it with your loved ones.