Soups On!: Homemade stock.

Happy Food Revolution Day! I'm posting every hour on my Facebook page today: Facebook.com/lifeinbalancewellness.  I'm sharing recipes and cooking techniques throughout the day. As promised, first up is a basic necessity in every kitchen: Chicken stock... or for you Paleo heads out there, Chicken bone broth.

Its a rainy and chilly spring morning here in PA so I think of soup on damp days like this. Not to mention, the baby has been ill a few days and now I'm feeling a tad queasy. Some homemade chicken soup is just what I need. The base for every chicken soup and a lot of other things is stock.  I just can't justify paying a few bucks at the store for something I can make at home with things I have in my pantry and freezer all the time.  Not to mention, who wants all the added salt and preservatives in their food? Not me.

A lot of people don't roast their own chickens fro dinner anymore. Its pretty easy to do but most don't have time so they pick up one of those rotisserie style ones for about $5 a the grocery store.  I bring this up because you will need your own roasted chicken or one of the rotisserie ones for these recipes.   I keep things easy by any time I do roast a chicken or a turkey I take the leftover carcass, pop it in a ziploc bag and toss it in the freezer. This same bag is a good place to pop the neck that comes in the package too (that most people never use.)

So, take the carcass from your freezer or the leftover one from your rotisserie chicken and begin letting it thaw. Next take your favorite stock pot and add  your mirepoix to the bottom: thats equal parts diced carrots, celery and onion for those who don't use culinary speak.   (I used 4 carrots, 4 ribs of celery and 1 large onion here.) I like to use my dutch oven when dealing with a smaller carcass. Sweat the mirepoix with a little bit of olive oil for a few minutes and then place the chicken carcass on top.  Pour in cold water until the carcass is submerged. Fill a sachet, muslin bag or tea ball with a few peppercorns, a garlic clove, 2 bay leaves and  some parsley stems. Drop this in the pot as well.

Cook on high heat until you begin to see bubbles break through the surface of the liquid. Turn heat down to medium low so that stock maintains low, gentle simmer. Skim the scum from the stock with a spoon or fine mesh strainer every 10 to 15 minutes for the first hour of cooking and twice each hour for the next 2 hours. Add hot water as needed to keep bones and vegetables submerged. Simmer uncovered for 6 to 8 hours.

Strain stock through a fine mesh strainer into another large stockpot or heatproof container discarding the solids. Cool immediately in large cooler of ice or a sink full of ice water to below 40 degrees. Place in refrigerator overnight. Remove solidified fat from surface of liquid and store in container with lid in refrigerator for 2 to 3 days or in freezer for up to 3 months. Prior to use, bring to boil for 2 minutes. Use as a base for soups and sauces.

Gluten free update & some meatballs

Note: This Post was writen back in October 2012. It never made it up until now due to computer issues.

Sorry for the long delay between posts, been having some computer issues so I'm posting some that I actually wrote over the last several weeks and haven't uploaded yet. Hope you find them useful!

 My kitchen remodel finally is done and its amazing the difference a functional layout can make. My husband and I noticed I've been cooking nonstop since it was installed. This gluten free diet is so much easier being able to finally cook again. I've had a few yummy successes this past week.

First up I sautéed some andouille sausage in some olive oil & garlic. Then I added broccollini, zucchini, shrimp and tossed in some cannellini beans. This was definitely a winner. The smokiness of the sausage flavored everything else. The dish was nice and filling too. It didn't need any kind of side dish or starch accompaniment either.

My mom came to town and I made a paleo recipe of pork with apples slow cooked in the crockpot. Quite yummy!

The next night I was feeling lazy but still did not want to order takeout so I made meatballs. Growing up, I loved helping my mom make meatballs, especially when she'd quote that tv commercial in a funny accent and exclaim "that's a spicy meatball". The spiciest always came from loads of garlic in the meatball mix. I decided I wanted the garlic but I also had to de-gluten her recipe And wanted to make them a bit healthier. They turned out really yummy & I created a new recipe. Score!

Here's what I did:
I mixed 1package of ground turkey, tossed in a half package of thawed frozen spinach, 2 very large cloves of garlic minced, 1 egg and a generous sprinkling of Parmesan cheese. I also tossed in about a cup of gluten free panko bread crumbs. Next I sautéed the meatballs in some olive oil with about 2 more cloves of garlic mixed in.  As soon as the meatballs are browned on the outside I place them In a stoneware baker. I pour some of my slow roasted tomato sauce over the top and let it bake for about 30 minutes. Then enjoy!

I'm noticing the more cooking I do and the longer I go without gluten, the easier these new dietary changes are becoming.  Hopefully those of you pursuing gluten free diets will have as many successes as I have had these last two weeks.  Happy eating!

Too Much Sugar + lots of fake stuff = Overstimulation!

Morning! I've been experimenting on where I get the most followers from and make daily posts on my Facebook page regularly. So, if you feel you haven't heard from me in a while, that's where I've been. Anyway, It's still dark out as I'm writing this at 0-dark-thirty, but I can't sleep.
You can already see why the title of this post fits, as I've already gone off on a tangent before making it to the 2nd sentence of this post. If you haven't kept up with me on Facebook, you may not know that I'm pregnant.... About 6 months, to be exact. I always have been a mindful eater and this month I've really been focusing (more than usual) and pledged, to spend the month of October not eating processed foods at all.

Yesterday morning, I had to have a test to see if I had gestational diabetes. I had asked my doctor in advance if I could try a more difficult way to take this test that my blood tech from my previous doctor had told me about. This phlebotamist had gotten to know me and the work that  I do pretty well. She explained there's a way to take the test eating only natural foods but it was an insane amount of food and a lot of work. I was willing to try it.  I asked my doctor about this and they said there was no such thing that was accurate and this was my only choice. (red flag!!, but I'll get to that later)

Basically, the normal version of this test is an insane amount of glucose & dextrose that you have to drink straight. They call it Glucola.  You also can't eat anything for two hours beforehand. To make it worse, they add a ton of artificial flavors and colors to it. Most people say it's not that bad and it reminds them of drinking orange Hi-C. It was truly disgusting.  For someone like me, it was a swift reminder of why I have avoided eating/ drinking chemical laden foods several years ago.

Needless to say, my body did not react well (by my standards) and here it is almost 24 hours later and I'm still feeling the effects. The first thing I noticed right away was sweating, jitters and mild shakes. The next thing I noticed while driving to the doctors was that I was in a  very cranky & in a very agitated mood. When I brought up these symptoms, the staff said this was completely normal (scary).  Ok, mini divergent rant: Is this why our kids have no attention span, are anxious and have behavior problems..... If you add up what most kids eat in a day now, compared to what I drank, there is not a whole lot of difference. Makes me wonder....yeah, after yesterday, not so much.

I left the docs and was given the go ahead to start eating and drinking again. I started chugging water like it was my job, but no matter how much I drank, I was still thirsty. I had to run home, finish packing an overnight bag and drive down to MD to see my family. I couldn't focus. I forgot several important things I needed. As I drove, everything was distracting me and I continued being agitated and cranky. My face had horrible red blotches on it. I looked terrible, despite a good full night's sleep.

I pulled over and stopped at a store to get some nuts and other protein hoping to regulate myself out. I couldn't take these symptoms. The protein definitely helped me to focus more on my driving. An hour and a half later, once arriving, I ate some more protein and veg. Leveled out a bit more.  My mantra for the day became no sugar or carbs....only water, protein and vegetables in hopes I could even myself out. It did start to work eventually and spending some happy time with my mom and eldest nephew also helped considerably.

I was doing great until we went to dinner at a neighborhood spot and I forgot myself a moment and got a bread pudding for dessert (one of my favs). I have been tossing and turning all night, with racing thoughts and hyperactivity. I haven't felt like this since college ( not good. I was on medication to treat these symptoms back then). Just after college is when I learned the benefits of changing my diet and never had to be on meds again. The change in how much sleep I began getting, not to mention how much calmer and happier I felt was miraculous.

I am hoping getting back to my normal eating habits today, I'll continue to feel better. But this experience taught me three things
1) I need to stick with my gut feelings and if something doesn't gel with what my doctor recommends I need to speak up and get other opinions/ find another solution we both agree on.... or find a different doctor.
2) I will not be abandoning my eating plan again. It does too much that affects my well being and happiness
3) once my son is born I will be enforcing my healthy habits because I don't want him growing up having to feel miserable and not know there is a better way

I hope my own aggravation during this experience can hopefully help some of you from having to go through the same thing.  I hope all of you have a great day.... and be good to yourselves!