If you are on a weight-loss journey, you need to create a happy gut so that every meal you feel satisfied and well. Pain or discomfort in the gut can create a constant need to eat or drink so as to relieve the pain.
Bone broths are one of the best foods to deliver an almost immediate soothing effect to the gut lining.
You can buy it in supermarkets e.g. Sadie’s Chicken Bone Broth.
Animal bone broth is a source of calcium, magnesium and phosphorus for your bones, especially important for women aged 40yrs + and young growing children, especially during their growth spurts.
You also get some of the cartilage that sits between the joining bones of the chicken/lamb/cow and this provides us with collagen, elastin and other materials needed to repair our cartilage matrix as well as maintaining good skin.
The Gelatin like broth calms and soothes the lining of our entire gut and improves the digestion of milk/dairy, beans and proteins such as gluten e.g. gravy with meat is a perfect combo. Homemade stock is an excellent choice for anyone with poor gut function. You do not get the nutrients from a stock cube.
When making home-made broth, ensure you buy a well-reared chicken/lamb/cow:
When we move and exercise, we build stronger bones, bigger muscles and as a result we have less fat on our body. The same principle applies to any living species. Battery chickens are fatter and less muscular and a poorer quality protein choice as they are stressed with tight muscles as we would be if we were housed-up. I recommend buying a free-range and ethically-reared chicken etc if you are using its bones to make broth.
Farmer’s to Market do a range in the supermarkets Tesco, Supervalu & Dunnes.
How to Make a Chicken Broth
I recommend saving 2 to 3 chicken carcasses after the Sunday roast, storing them in the freezer and then cooking them all together up together to make a big pot of broth Remove skin from a chicken, bin it and keep the bones. There may be a little meat remaining on the bone which is better again.
Place the carcass and bones into a large pot and cover with cold water. Add about 30ml of vinegar as the acidity helps to leach the minerals from the bones (calcium, phosphorus and magnesium). Roughly chop 2 celery sticks, 4 carrots, 2 onions, 5 peppercorns,3 garlic cloves and a bay leaf to the pot. Bring to the boil and turn the heat down and allow it to simmer for 3 hours. Do this on a day when you plan to be pottering around the house.
Skim frequently to remove off any frothy material or fat that is on the surface. You can quickly cool the stock by placing the saucepan in a sink of cold water (re-fill sink 2-3 times). Cooling the stock quickly prevents any bacterial growth or spoilage. Strain and the liquid is your stock. Bin the bones and vegetables. Add ice-cubes to the cooling stock to help congeal any fat to the surface and remove. Store in the fridge if you intend to use in the next 3 to 4 days. It becomes a gelatine substance. The more gelatine-like, the better the stock. Freeze in batches for future use.
Use the stock in place of stock cubes in soups, sauces, curries and stews.
When you work with me, I like to give clients life-long food skills that help to maintain health.
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