Supplements or soup?
Skiing as much as I do, one might think I ache at the end of the day, yet I rarely do. I do not take supplements either but I do make a phenomenal amount of stocks and broths. Let food nourish us, I think...
I let the slow cooker do the work, whilst I am tackling a black run (I have been known to!) and enjoying fresh air and sunshine, I leave my crock pot slow cooker doing the work at home. It is a perfect relationship and eco friendly too as a slow cooker uses very little electricity! Investing in a slow cooker/crock pot is wise even if you are working in an office as it can be cooking all day and give you a delicious dinner on your return home.
Home-made broths and
stocks provide the body with vital nutrients and
minerals.
Stocks often have large amounts of glucosamine, which many folks pay a great deal for, by way of supplements, when in fact making 'free' stock would, in many cases, remove the need for a supplement at all.
The gristle round chicken bones also has chondroitin which again is available in supplements. Chondroitin works in synergy with glucosamine and keeps cartilage and joints healthy.
Perhaps we could simply enjoy home-made soup and save money? It always used to be that way, making stock from left overs and eating soup and a hearty crusty loaf of bread. Yet many now rely on tinned soup rather than a slow cooker to produce rich and nourishing stocks and broths, I feel this is an art that needs to be revived.
I used to take a multi-vitamins and mineral supplements, I shudder to think how much money I spent on supplements! Now I simply eat real food and take a teaspoon of Blue Ice Fermented Cod Liver oil and Butter Oil. Where as, in years gone by, we nourished ourselves with food, I have returned to 'let food be thy medicine' as Hippocrates so rightly said.
My Chicken Stock Recipe
Ingredients:
One carcas of a chicken from a previous meal, pull apart and add into slow cooker/crock pot, even if you have used chicken drum sticks, you can still put them in an make stock! Often butchers will give you bones for free, simply ask!
One onion, roughly chopped
One carrot, chopped
Half a leek, chopped
One stick of celery, chopped
One clove of garlic with skin on, chopped
Celtic sea salt & pepper, stalks of parsley or thyme, dried are good too in winter!
1/3- 1/2 cup of apple cider vinegar
METHOD
Fill slow cooker with enough water to cover the chicken bones and vegetables.
Leave stock to stand for one hour, allowing time for cider vinegar to infuse the water (this helps to draw minerals and nutrients from the bones- the goodness!).
Turn crock pot/slow cooker on 'HIGH' for one hour and then down to 'LOW' to simmer overnight, or during the day, top up with boiling water if needed.
The stock will then need to be strained through a sieve, and left to cool. You can either pour into a pudding bowl or into storage jars. It will keep in a cold fridge for about a week. The best way is to freeze it in ice cube trays and then you can add into a soup or sauce, effortlessly!
There will be a nice layer of fat on the top which is wonderful for frying onions in, I use it for chicken soup or just adding into the soup making it super hearty and nourishing. I find, in winter, that I eat a great deal more fat, from stocks and roasting. We need fat for cell communication and filling us up. Here is Why fat is good for us.
The Chinese feel that chicken soup is a healing broth for all manner of ailments, I would have to say that whilst I have no actual scientific evidence, if I am feeling under the weather I certainly feel my body appreciating real chicken stock.
Tags: chicken stock, healthy fats, supplements, bone broth, real food