My obsession with bone broth!

I’ve been obsessed with making bone broth for the last few years now. Sometimes I’ll roast chickens just so that I can make broth! It has gained popularity over the last few years because it’s loaded with nutrients that are easily absorbed by the body. You can now even buy “bone broth” in stores. It’s sold with the regular packaged chicken and beef broths and stocks. There is a difference between the regular broths and stocks on the shelves, and actual bone broth. In a pinch, the packaged bone broth is good, but it’s SO much better for you if you make it yourself. It will also have a lower sodium content, which is always a good thing! Bone broth has been called “nature’s multivitamin”. The main benefits of drinking it are:

1. It helps to protect the body’s joints.
2. It’s good for your gut health.
3. The collagen in the broth helps to maintain healthy skin.
4. It supports immune system function.
5. It boosts detoxification.
6. It promotes anabolism and helps the metabolism.

I’ve included a link at the bottom of the page. The link is to an article that explains the benefits of bone broth in more detail. I won’t pretend that I invented the research, but I will help show you the way to it. The process I use to make my chicken broth, or bone broth, takes a couple of days. But it’s not difficult, and I promise it’s worth it! I start by roasting two chickens. I make sure to use organic, free range chickens that are free of hormones and antibiotics. We’ll have the chicken for dinner that night and I’ll save the carcasses and the juices in the bottom of the roasting pan. If I plan to make chicken noodle soup out of the broth, then I’ll save the leftover chicken too for the soup. Otherwise I’ll make another dinner with what is left over. If I know it’s going to be a few days before I will have time to make the broth, I’ll freeze the chickens and the juices. You won’t need to thaw them to make the broth though. Everything can be used frozen and put directly into the pot from the freezer. The next part is super easy. You just need to make sure to choose a day that you’ll be home for the few hours that the broth will need to cook. In my largest pot I’ll put the chicken carcasses and the pan juices, and then cover them to about an inch above with water. Then I add:

• Salt (to taste, I use Light Salt)
• Black peppercorns (a couple TBSP)
• 2 bay leaves
• Fresh thyme (a small handful)
• 3 or 4 sprigs of fresh rosemary
• 2 or 3 sprigs of fresh sage
• 1 lemon (cut in half)
• 1 onion (white or yellow, cut in half)
• 1 entire bulb of garlic (cut in half horizontally)
• 2 or 3 carrots
• 2 or 3 ribs of celery
• Apple cider vinegar (about 2 TBSP, the apple cider vinegar can’t be tasted and helps to draw out the nutrients from the bones)

Simmer this, loosely covered, for about 4 hours. Be sure you simmer and not boil. If the broth hard boils for long, then it will become cloudy. After it’s been simmering for a couple of hours, taste for salt and adjust if needed. When finished and cooled slightly, pull out the large solids and pour the liquid with the smaller solids into a large bowl or Tupperware through a fine mesh strainer. Cover and chill overnight. As the broth chills, the fat will rise to the surface and solidify. You can then easily skim the fat off the top and you’ll be left with delicious, healthy, nutrient-dense, fat-free broth! Turn it into rich, tasty chicken noodle soup, freeze it in small containers to use whenever you have a need for chicken broth, or drink it daily as part of your healthy meal plan. As always, if you try this, let me know! I’d love to hear your thoughts. In health, Ally https://draxe.com/the-healing-power-of-bone-broth-for-digestion-arthritis-and-cellulite/

The Vegetarian Chili That You Should Make This Fall

This Nutrition post is per request by a friend of mine. I made this chili a few weeks ago and it was so pretty that I had to snap a pic and post it to my personal FB and IG. My friend asked if I would post it here so she could reference it easily and I thought – of course! It’s definitely pretty enough to warrant a showing here on my website. In September my sister-in-law came out to visit us in Colorado for the first time since we moved here. Now I love cooking for my guys. I put a lot of effort into our regularly scheduled meals. But I really love it when friends and family come visit and I get to cook for them too! (There’s that thing about showing my love through food again!) My sister-in-law’s visit presented me with an opportunity I don’t usually have – she’s a vegetarian. I live in a house with male carnivores. My guys are fans of most things veggie, but if I tried to feed them a dinner that didn’t include some form of non, plant-based protein they’d look at me like I’d grown a second head. My SIL’s visit was the perfect excuse to try fun, new veggie-loaded recipes! I’ve always loved the idea of making chili with sweet potatoes. For a couple of weeks before she arrived, I scoured the internet until I found a recipe that matched the idea I had in my head. I envisioned a sort of sweet-savory flavored chili that was packed with a bunch of veggies. This recipe fit the bill. I didn’t end up changing much from the original recipe when I made this. I felt like it was already about as light as a chili was going to get. I did add a few carrots to the veggie mix though. And I used 2 cans of black beans and 1 can of pinto beans instead of kidney beans. Once I put it all together it needed more liquid, in my opinion, so I used the whole quart of vegetable broth. It turned out exactly like I thought it would. It was delicious! It was savory and spicy, but with an undertone of sweet, earthiness. My sister-in-law loved it! Being that it was vegetarian, it had an extremely low fat content and wasn’t nearly as calorie-dense as a beef chili. My only issue with this, and with any chili or soup for that matter, is the sodium content. Using broth as a base in a dish like this can lead to high levels of sodium without you realizing it. I recommend always using low-sodium broth always. Also, eating dishes like this sparingly will help you keep your sodium levels down. But I digress. Hidden sodium in food is a whole separate issue that I’ll visit in a post in the future. For today though, here is this low-calorie, low-fat content, nutrient-dense, vegetarian chili that is a great Fall recipe to have in your arsenal. As always, let me know if you try it. I want to hear your thoughts! In health, Ally https://cookieandkate.com/2011/sweet-potato-chili-recipe/

One of my favorite Fall recipes – Braised Chicken With Kale

I love food. Like, LOVE food. And I love to cook. I’m from a big, loud Italian family and we show our love for others through our food. I also place a high priority on feeding my family the cleanest, most healthful food I can. One of my favorite things to do is to find a recipe that looks AH-mazing and make changes that will make it lighter and healthier, while still keeping it delicious. I found this particular recipe a couple of years ago, and it quickly became one of my family’s favorites. Both my husband and my son love it. In fact, if given this dish as an option, my husband will choose it over most anything. It’s safe to say that it is in our regular rotation. Here is where I make changes to the existing recipe: The ingredients list calls for using chicken leg quarters, but I use skinless boneless chicken breasts. To make up for the loss of the bones and the higher fat content of the dark meat, and thus lots of tenderizing flavor, I simply use more braising liquid. I use 2 cans of fire roasted diced tomatoes, instead of 1, and a quart of low-sodium chicken broth instead of 2 cups. This helps to ensure that you don’t end up with dry, over-cooked pieces of chicken. I promise that the chicken will come out of the pot juicy and falling apart to the touch! I also thinly slice one medium onion, either white or yellow will work, and saute’ it in the oil with the garlic before adding the kale to wilt. This brings me to the kale. If you can find bags of pre-washed, chopped kale – hallelujah! I prefer to use organic produce whenever possible. I have had a very difficult time regularly finding the bags of organic kale. This means that I usually have to do things the hard way. But chopping the kale really only takes a few minutes anyway, so I just deal. I use 2 large or 3 small bunches of lacinato (Tuscan) kale, but plain ol’ regular curly kale will work too. I also cook it in the oven for closer to an hour and a half, about 15 minutes longer than the original recipe. I serve this delicious sauciness over whole wheat orzo. I’m feeding a husband who works out almost as much as I do and a 16-year-old, soccer-playing son – these guys require carbs! This recipe is super easy to make and requires very few ingredients. The result is a warm, comforting dish that is also light, healthy, and flavorful. And as a bonus it allows me to use my big Le Creuset dutch oven, which I love using any chance I can get! I hope you all try it and love it as much as we do. Please let me know if you do, I’d love to hear your thoughts! In health, Ally

• I should note that I use olive oil instead of the canola oil called for here. I use olive oil for pretty much everything I cook. For the cases where I need an oil with a higher smoke point, I like to use grapeseed oil.
• https://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/braised-chicken-kale

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