The other night – straight out of work, I’m in the kitchen chatting with my husband… and before he can finish his story, I’ve finished dinner! With little effort – I’m serving up a delicious taco salad, complete with all the toppings, a lemon zest dressing and shredded chicken simmered in green chilli sauce. My husband thinks I’m a genius 😉 Really, I just learned a few good tricks that help me look good…
Simplify your Kitchen
A lot of us have the intention to eat healthy. We love the way it makes us feel – but it can be a real struggle to manage home-cooking and we often see those healthy intentions break down.
Sound familiar?
The first point is to remember that the path of progress, for everyone: goes up and down. So it’s really about having the tools to get out of the ruts and back into the swing of things.
I’ve gotten super curious about how to create simple systems, to make it easier to do the things that make us feel our best.
That’s what I want to show you today – how to turn one hour in the kitchen – into a week of quick, nutrient dense meals!
Here’s what you do:
You start with one whole chicken…. plus a few extra feet. I know. But here’s why: chicken feet are a rich source of gelatin – which is tremendously good for us. It’s beneficial to our joints, it supports healthy hair and nails, plus it stimulates collagen which helps keep our skin tight. So yes, I add a lot of feet in there! A big plus is that they’re really inexpensive, so you get more bang for your buck!
Toss in a sprig of rosemary. You can also go with thyme or parsley.
Chop up your veggies! A few carrots, an onion, a few cloves of garlic…. I cut the garlic in half and left the skins on…
In the pot they go, covering up all the feet and making it looking much prettier!
One or two teaspoons of salt
Top it off with just enough water to just cover the chicken and veggies.
Let that all simmer on the stove top for 2-4 hours. The longer the better. People go up to 15 hours (in a slow-cooker) for a really potent broth. Pull out the chicken and discard the veggies and feet. You’ll then have a whole chicken for shredding and a big pot of broth for soups and more!
- Shredded Chicken: Use it to throughout the week to add into soups, salads, sandwiches, pastas and more.
p.s. to make a super quick salad – this is how I store my leafy greens. - Broth: There’s so much flavour and goodness in this broth. Use it to make a big pot of soup, which you can eat all week or freeze for later.
- Stock Cubes: Add protein, nutrients and flavour to rice, quinoa and steam-fried veggies. Just toss one in!
The broth itself is delicious and makes a healthy tonic! Bone broth is becoming the new green juice – with broth bars popping up all over New York. It’s a comforting drink, full of goodness – nutrients minerals and vitamins. It’s great for your skin and even helps to promote restful sleep! Skim off the fat, and store it in the fridge for up to 5 days. Heat up a cup everyday before bed!
Smart Freezer Idea
To avoid hacking into a massive block of frozen broth – use muffin tins to make portioned stock cubes. They’re a great way to easily add nutrients and flavour to your rice, quinoa and steam-fried veggies. Once they freeze, pop them into a baggie and you can easily grab one at a time.
To make more room in your freezer, try using stackable trays like this. I picked these up at a dollar store and they work great!
Hope this give you some good ideas to simplify your time in the kitchen! You’ll thank yourself every time you pull out a cube of chicken stock or whip up a quick chicken salad!
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I’d love to know: What’s your best time-saving tip for quick healthy meals? Share with us in the comments!
3 responses to “Simplify your Kitchen: Batch Cooking with Chicken”
I love this kind of cooking and can’t stand it when people put the carcass of a roast chicken in the bin without boiling up the bones. The stock produced works really well in a bolognese sauce and when making up risotto, couscous or quinoa too xx.
I absolutely agree Claire!It’s not just about waste – it’s just good cooking 🙂 There’s so much flavour there and nourishment – the girls will only eat white rice, so I cook in the most nourishing broth to at least get something good in there 🙂
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