Kick the Winter bugs in the Butt!

This week we all went down with a cold and hit super hard the first day and man oh man was it tough parenting haha.

Now when this happen this really reminds us that we have let things slip - our Oily routine and nourishing our bodies - so it reminds us we need to pick our game up again (we rarely get sick). So it was time to kick things back into gear and nourish our bodies.

Now while I was sick i also decided to watch the Magic Pill documentary with the kids, they found it really interesting and they really dont understand why the food in the supermarkets is there and why people eat all the packaged processed fake foods. Proud Mummy moment I must say!!!! It was another great reminder that our eating habbits had dropped a little and we needed to stop making excuses why we couldnt do better again! I mean we now have a full functioning Kitchen with a sink with running water and all haha, although a fridge/freezer bigger then 100L would be much much better, but again just an excuse haha. So i decided right then and there that we would do the 10 week Paleo Way program (which is FREE here!), even though i know how to eat this way and we havent been eating too bad, We just need to reset habbits & mindset so the recipes, meal plans (totally editable), and the shopping lists is just going to make that so much easier!

One of the staples I knew we would need was Stock or Broth, Plus because we were all unwell we needed to get some chicken soup into us! So I thought I would share how I make my chicken stock or broth (a beef one will come later but not until we have hot water on tap because its just too much of an oily mess to clean up when you have to boil the kettle for hot water).

I make mine in a slow cooker but you can do it on the stove as well you will just need to adjust the cooking times. I generally use a whole chicken because i can use the meat to make a soup or casserole or even just for lunches. The vegetables you use in the stock can vary depending on what you have on hand you can also use the scraps, peels and stalks of veggies you are using for other meals as well, but keep it as fresh as you can so they still contain their goodness.

Remember to do your best to use organic ingredients as much as possible especially when making this stock because the liquid will be filled with everything from the ingredients you put in to the pot. If you are unable to buy organic then be sure to wash them really well to remove pesticides, fertilizers, dirt and any other contamination - see 3 ways to do this here.

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Chicken Stock

What You Need

Whole Chicken or Chicken Carcass

Chicken wings

Chicken feet - if you like

apple cider vinegar

Salt & Pepper

Garlic bulb

Onion

Celery - i use the tops and leaves

Carrots

Ginger

any other veggies or veggie off cuts you have to add

some herbs if you have them on hand are great to

Turmeric is also great to add

Food Grade Essential Oils of - Oregano, Lemon, Turmeric, Clove, Rosemary, Ginger

Add the chicken to the slow cooker pot cover with filtered water (I use Kangen 9 pH water). Add the remaining ingredients - except for the Essential Oils - to the pot.

If using a Whole chicken Cook on Low setting for 6-8 hours until the chicken is cooked, then removed the chicken meat and set it aside while returning the bones, skin and cartilagey bits back into the pot until the total cook time is 10-12 hours.

Let the stock cool for a bit in the slow cooker before you remove and strain off. Add in your essential oils as the stock is cooling and stir through.

Once the stock has sat and cooled for a bit start scooping out the contents into a strainer over a large bowl. have another bowl off to the side to put the strained contents into. once you are finished let the contents sit for a bit and then drain out the extra liquid that drains to the bottom of their bowl and add into the stock.

Put your stock into a container or divided into several containers depending on your needs. Allow the stock to cool, once cool you may decide you want to scoop the layer of fat that forms off the top - this can be used as cooking oil - or you can choose to leave it and store in the fridge or freezer with the fat on top.

The stock will Freeze for upto 3 months and store in the Fridge for upto 4 days.

Stock is great to consume on its own or to make soups or used in the base of sauces or other recipes.

Check out my Chicken Soup recipe or how i use it in our Paleo Big Breaky