Today I'm sharing a simple meat recipe for Soy Chicken Wings. This Asian dish pairs well with steamed rice and some green vegetables. As this blog progresses, it's becoming more rare that I post meat recipes for the obvious mission of this blog (if you'd like to read more on that, click here. I still consume meat but only once/twice a week and I only cook with certified humane poultry or wild caught seafood. At restaurants, I can't be too picky so I'll eat what they serve or I'll order something vegetarian. I decided to post this recipe because I think it's important to discuss the matter of humanely raised meat. Humane meat is cleaner, healthier, free of hormones/antibiotics, less likely to be infected with illness or stress-toxins because of their humane living conditions. It's not to be confused with organic meat, that's a completely separate 'category' so to speak. I believe you are what you eat so it's important for my own health to consume healthy humane meat. Yes it's more expensive but only by a few dollars, which is worth it especially if it affects my health.

When I talk to people about this topic, the reactions are all over the board. Some agree with humane meat actively making the switch and others lean away from the topic and continue to eat non-humane meat because it's cost-efficient. I find it interesting that people are more offended when they see dogs, cats, bears or other animals mistreated like the polar bear named "Pizza". Pizza lives in a glass cage in a China shopping mall (click here for an article on her). Last I heard, she's being temporarily reprieved from her glass cage but it's only for a short period of time. It's heart-breaking to see even through pictures when she should be running in the wild, catching fish, doing what normal polar bears do. There are petitions to help save her. But how often do we react this way towards the animals we eat on a regular basis? Most chickens, cows, pigs and lambs live in small cages slaughtered in horrific ways so why don't we have that same reaction? Well if you asked me the same question two years ago, it was because I chose to turn a blind eye to the inhumane treatment of these animals - I just wanted to eat them. I was unaware of factory farming and how most farms are mass producing them for cost-cutting reasons.

So now that you are aware of this topic and the effects of it on your health, you do have a choice in whether you will continue supporting inhumane meat or not. There is growing movement of humane animal producers that make their meat very accessible and they sell to most large chain retailers like Loblaws, Sobeys and more. In addition, there are more restaurants now serving humane meat like Flock. These humane animal farms are certified by the Certified Humane Organization. In order to become certified, these animal producers must follow strict regulations from how much sunlight the animals get, to the amount of outdoor time and how they are handled. Click here to read more about the Certified Humane Organization. To know if you're buying certified humane meat, look for their logo on the packaging.

Step 1: CERTIFIED HUMANE COMPANIES

If you consume chicken, pork, beef, eggs or dairy, these are some companies that support the humane treatment of animals. Visit their website Store Locator in the links below:

Blue Goose Pure Foods for Humane Poultry
DuBreton for Humane Pork
Aspen Ridge for Humane Beef
Burnbrae Farms for Free-Range Eggs
Organic Meadow for Humane Dairy Products
Whole Foods Grocery Chain also sell a Variety of Humane Meat

For a full list of producers that are certified humane, please click here.

So before you cook this recipe, please consider humane meat for your own benefit and for the health of your family. As I once heard, "If you take care of your animals they will take care of you".

Step 2: INGREDIENTS

YIELDS 12-15 CHICKEN WINGS | PREP TIME 40 MINS | COOK TIME 12 MINS

1/2 pound of certified-humane chicken wings
3 stalks of green onion chopped
3 garlic cloves minced
2 tbsp of Manuka honey
2 tbsp of light sodium soy sauce
1 tsp of sesame oil
1 inch of fresh ginger thinly sliced
Juice of 1 lime

Step 3: INSTRUCTIONS

Prepare your chicken wings by washing and drying them.
In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients except the chicken wings. Mix well until you have a marinade.
Add your chicken wings and allow this to marinate for at least 30 minutes in the fridge.
When you're ready to cook, in a non-stick frying pan set on high heat lay your wings down. Save the marinade for later. Sear the wings on each side for 1-2 minutes.
Then pour the marinade into the hot pan. Lower your heat to low-medium and cover with a lid. Cook the wings for 8 minutes.
Serve immediately with rice and you can garnish with more green onion.