Why did the chicken cross the road?

After reading a frightening article on how much saline is pumped into chicken breasts, such as Tyson (those chickens are some 34- DD's) I haven't been so quick to fall for a $1.99 per pound sale.  If you don't believe me, check for yourself.  Pick up a thing of Tyson or your store brand and compare it to the organic brands-big differences in the sodium content.

You will notice a taste difference as well.  The chicken cooks cleaner.  It might not look as if you are getting a lot for your money, but per pound you are paying for water with the other brands.  My favorite brand is Just Bare.  A neat feature of buying their brand is you can trace the package back to the farm the chicken came from.

In my efforts to buy as much local products as I can, chicken is one that I can get locally but will not be making the switch to.  First of all, it is very difficult to find local chicken already broke down (or cut up).  You can primarily buy it whole. The processing for a farmer to have it be butchered is very expensive, so that cost will be your costs as well.  I would love to say I had more of a reason to not buy whole chickens and break them down myself but my reasoning is pure selfishness.  For one, I have an almost irrational fear of raw chicken.  I am surprised I can cook with it at all, but usually if I can slide it from its packaging on to a plate and then use tongs I am good to cook with it.  Getting all up in one's cavity would probably have me scrubbing myself and my kitchen for days.  Which leads to the 2nd reason, time.  I don't have time to process chicken.

Buying organic chicken will raise the cost of your grocery bill but be on the look out for sales.  Just bare usually runs $4.99-$6 a pound at Hy-Vee.  I try to pick up 3 or 4 packages when it goes on sale.  It still isn't ever a $1.99 but it is worth the difference in taste and texture.

So now that you had to read through this boring blog just to finally have the eternal question of why the chicken crossed the road answered I guess I will let you in on the fact I already have.

To get breast implants.