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Nourishing Chicken Laksa

May 16, 2016 · 6 Comments

Nourishing Chicken Laksa

 

In my early twenties, I managed a bar and restaurant in Perth and was lucky enough to work with some Malaysian chefs. They introduced me to a whole new world of food – laksa, beef rendang, nasi lemak and more. Delicious!

I make my own laksa these days and while it’s never quite as delicious as one cooked by a Malaysian chef brought up on the stuff, it still tastes good!

What is a laksa?

A laksa is a coconut curry based soup with noodles, fish, seafood or chicken. There are many regional variations.

My version is kid-friendly, not too spicy and easy for busy mums to make. I load it up with immune-boosting super foods ( garlic, ginger, turmeric and bone broth) so it’s perfect in winter time to warm  you up and help you avoid the lurgies.

 

Nourishing Chicken Laksa

Vital Stats: gluten free, egg free, dairy free, nut free (depending on your paste)

This is what you need:

1 tablespoon organic coconut oil

1 onion, finely diced

2-3 cloves garlic, crushed

1 small knob turmeric, finely grated

1 small knob ginger, finely grated

500g organic chicken thigh fillets, thinly sliced

200 packet dry rice noodles (or noodles of your choice)

2-3 tablespoons laksa paste

500ml organic coconut cream

1 small carrot, julienned

1 small red capsicum, julienned

3 green shallots, julienned

2 litres chicken bone broth or use bone broth powder and water

100g fresh bean sprouts

4 tablespoons fresh coriander

 

NOTES:

Choose organic produce where you can.

You can use any vegetables you like – asian greens work well too, but add them right at the end to just wilt. Traditional laksa doesn’t have loads of veggies, but I add them to everything to boost our nutrition!

If you need a vegetarian laksa, simply use strips of tofu instead of chicken and vegetable stock instead of broth. If you need a paleo or grain-free laksa, simply use zucchini noodles instead of rice noodles.

Choose a laksa paste that has no nasty additives or vegetable oils or make your own if you have time. Irena at Eat Drink Paleo has an awesome laksa paste recipe – make up a double batch and freeze it until you need it!

You can use coconut milk but I like the slightly thick, decadent texture the coconut cream brings to the soup!

 

This is how you do it:

In a large stock pot, heat the coconut oil and over a medium heat, fry off the onion, garlic, ginger and turmeric for a few minutes until translucent.

Add the laksa paste and chicken strips and cook for one minute, stirring frequently.

Add the vegetables (except bean sprouts and coriander) and broth and simmer gently for about five minutes.

Add the coconut cream and noodles and simmer again for five-ten minutes until the noodles and chicken are cooked through. The timing will depend on how deep your stock pot is, how thick your chicken is and what sort of noodles you use.

Serve into some noodle bowls and top with bean sprouts and chopped coriander. Use chopsticks and an asian spoon if you want to be authentic!

 

NOTES:

This recipe serves four large portions. It reheats the next day on the stove really well, just be gentle not to break up the noodles too much.

You can add some freshly cut chillies if you like it really spicy. It is sometimes hard to know how spicy a curry paste is until you cook with it, so I always add a bit more than I think and then later it is easy to calm it down simply by adding more coconut cream. Or take out the adult servings and then add some more coconut cream for the kids’ servings. Taste and season before you serve. You may need a little salt.

My kids have eaten this since they were little and love it.

 

I would love to hear your feedback, let me know what you think!

 

Filed In: FOOD / Tagged: asian soup, bone broth, broth, chicken broth, chicken laksa, family dinner, healthy dinner, laksa, noodle soup, nourishing soup, soup, winter soup

A beginner’s guide to bone broth

June 1, 2015 · 40 Comments

A beginner's guide to bone broth

 

A beginner’s guide to bone broth.

Bone broth is the buzz word of the moment! It’s funny because bone broth is not actually a new thing – it’s been used by ancient cultures for centuries! However as people start to become more aware about their health and nutrition, this ancient healing remedy is seeing a resurgence. There is a good reason for that – bone broth is really good for you, it’s easy to make and it’s cheap.

However, I notice a lot of my readers have questions about bone broth, so here is a beginner’s guide to give you the basics.  I have asked The Bone Broth Goddess herself, Micheline Andrews (founder and former owner of Broth of Life) to help me with this article and share her amazing recipe.

 

What is bone broth?

Bone Broth is a nutrient-dense soup or broth of slowly simmered raw animal bones, where the nutrients are extracted with a pre-soak of apple cider vinegar. It helps the body to digest foods, help to cope with stresses, removes toxins and promotes healing.

 

What’s the difference between broth and stock?

The main differences are:

♥ bone broth is simmered rather than boiled at a high heat

♥ bone broth is cooked for a lot longer time

♥ bone broth is usually made with raw bones, not roasted or cooked bones

♥ bone broth contains apple cider vinegar to draw out the goodness of the bones

♥ bone broth is a healing soup rather than a flavouring base like stock

♥ commercial stocks are made with added flavours/preservatives/MSG and provide little healing benefits

 

A beginner's guide to bone broth

 

What are the benefits of Bone Broth?

Bone broth is a magical, nutrient-dense elixir full of proteins, vitamins and minerals that the body can easily absorb.

It’s packed with calcium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, magnesium and sulfur. It’s great for everyone, but particularly good for those that have an illness, gut health issues or cannot eat a lot of food.

Another point to make is that it incorporates the ‘nose to tail’ approach to consuming animals. Bones are not wasted, they are used to provide more nutrients.

 

Benefits of Bone Broth

♥ helps to reduce joint pain due to the glucosamine and chondroiton

♥ helps to heal illnesses such as cold and flu and tummy bugs

♥ reduced inflammation in your body

♥ has a calming effect which can help with sleep

♥ helps you digest your food better

♥ helps to heal and seal your gut

♥ promotes strong and healthy skin, hair and nails due to the collagen

♥ helps the liver to remove toxins

♥ reducing, preventing and healing cellulite and wrinkles.

If you want to read up on the benefits, this article by Sally Fallon is a good one.

 

HOT TIP: When you have strained off the broth, you can whizz up the bones (as long as they are soft) and vegetables and use it for dog food. You just have to take out the onion and garlic or make it without.

 

How do you make Bone Broth?

There are heaps of recipes out there and different ways of doing it. Once you have been making it a while, you will probably come up with your own recipe, based on your preferences and tastes.

This is the basic recipe that Micheline uses, which she has adapated from one at Weston A Price.

 

Mich’s Bone Broth Recipe:

Ingredients:

Raw grass fed organic bones

Chicken: frames, thigh bones & 2 wings per frame, neck bones

Beef/Lamb/Pork: marrow, meaty rib bones, any meaty bones that still have cartilage attached

Up to 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1 large onion

2 garlic cloves

2 carrots

3 celery stalks + tops

Filtered water

Salt & pepper to taste.  Optional herbs & spices ie: parsley & turmeric to be added at the end.

 

HOT TIP: Chicken feet, wings and necks and beef marrow and knuckles help make your stock more gelatinous.

 

Method:

Place bones in the pot and cover with water.  Add apple cider vinegar.  Pre-soak bones for one hour minimum.

After the pre-soak add the remaining ingredients.

Bring to the boil. Reduce heat, cover & simmer for 8-12 hours, longer if you have the time to do so. It will give you a richer flavour.

Once time is up turn off the heat and allow the broth to rest in the pot to cool.

Remove bones with tongs and leave any meaty residue in the pot.

Now you have 2 options –  strain everything and have a clear broth or blitz with a food processor and have a thicker more flavoursome soup style of broth.

You can also make broth in the slow cooker – use the low heat setting.

 

HOT TIP: You can also add leftover vegetable scraps to your broth. Save them up in the freezer until you have enough to use.

 

How do you store Bone Broth?

Place into storage containers – ideally glass is the best option. Let the broth rest in the fridge – a fat layer will form and this will help to preserve the broth. Refrigeration will help the broth to gel or congeal if it has not done so.

It can then be stored in the fridge up to a week if it has a fat layer or frozen for 6 months.

If frozen in a glass container leave a gap at the top so that expansion of the liquid does not cause the glass to smash. See how I freeze and defrost in glass jars here.

You can also freeze it in ice cube trays (stainless steel is best) for quick and easy use in recipes.

 

How do you consume Bone Broth?

A lot of people just drink a cup of bone broth as it is. You might want to add a little salt and pepper and water it down to suit your tastes. Some people also drink it with lemon or crushed garlic!

If you don’t like the taste straight up, incorporate it into your cooking. Where a recipe calls for water or stock, use bone broth instead. Don’t forget that your broth may be concentrated, so do a taste test and add water as needed.

You can incorporate the fat layer into your meals or just skim it off and use it as a fat for cooking.

 

Why didn’t my Bone Broth gel?

There are a few different reasons for not getting a nice jelly consistency to your bone broth. Read this article: why didn’t my bone broth gel? 

 

Chicken Broth

 

How to use bone broth in your cooking.

♥ Poach eggs in a little broth

♥ Use it as a base for your favourite soups

♥ Turn broth into a gravy by thickening with cornflour or arrowroot

♥ Cook your rice, pasta or quinoa in broth

♥ Use in risottos or pilafs

♥ Add a little to homemade pureed baby food

♥ Use broth in mashed potato instead of or as well as milk

♥ Use half broth and half cream to make a delicious potato bake

♥ Use in place of milk in white sauce (or use half and half)

♥ Freeze in ice-cube trays and pop one or two in your smoothies

♥ Add it to your homemade pasta sauce or tomato sauce

♥ Add a dash or cube to stirfrys

♥ Use it as a base for curries, casseroles and stews

♥ Add some leftover vegetables and meats for a nourishing soup

♥ Use in savoury mince, chilli, shepherds pie and chow mein recipes

♥ Add to sliced mushrooms, cook and reduce for a lovely side dish

♥ Use it to make a flavoursome couscous

♥ Use in stroganoff and goulash recipes

♥ Put a dash in pesto and dips

 

Bone Broth Recipes

♥ Chicken Laksa

♥ Broth Bolognaise Sauce

♥ Mushroom Carbonara Sauce

♥ Hoisin Braised Chicken with Eggplant

♥ Coconut Vegetable Biriyani

♥ Slow-cooked Goat Chops with Polenta

♥ Greek Lamb Kleftiko

♥ Fussy Kids White Soup

 

Buy Bone Broth

Now if you really can’t be stuffed making your own broth or need a non-perishable and portable option, you can buy bone broth. However, you need to make sure the source is trustworthy and they are using the highest quality ingredients. Unfortunately some use meat from overseas and fillers like tapioca starch in their broth powders.

The one I trust is Take a Broth Tasmania which Micheline makes. She sources the bones and ingredients locally and has a one on one relationship with the farmers. Micheline makes bone broth powders, strips (a world first), broth salts, broth spice rubs and even broth lollipops!

 

 

More reading:

For some further reading about bone broth and all sorts of nourishing foods, you can’t go past Sally Fallon’s, Nourishing Traditions cookbook. It’s a must have.

 

Micheline Andrews

Micheline’s story:

I came across broth via my own personal journey about 4 years ago after not healing properly from a hip injury/surgery.  I knew that I had done some damage to my gut from pain medication.

I discovered the Weston A Price Foundation and it triggered a memory of my grandparents who had a pot continually on the stove top.  Having nothing to lose and having my own produce, I started making and consuming broth.

Hair and nail growth was the first thing I noticed, then movement in my injury site improved along with the pain.  I was so overcome that something that was so simple and all natural helped me so much, I wanted to share it with others to help with their healing.

Find Micheline’s amazing broth products here.

 

Want to talk broth? Join Micheline in her Facebook group, Bone Broth Basics.

 

Who make their own bone broth? What other tips do you have for us?

 

 

 

 

Filed In: FOOD, HEALTH / Tagged: beef broth, bone broth, broth, chicken broth, gut healing, health, paleo, stock

10 Nourishing Winter Soups

June 17, 2014 · 15 Comments

 

Winter is officially here!

I don’t know about your family, but we start to turn away from salads and tuck into hearty, nourishing soups.

Soups are such a cheap, healthy meal.

♥ Add in loads of veges – the kids don’t notice too much, especially if you puree.

♥ Make a good quality bone broth as a base and get all the gut health and immune system benefits.

♥ Add lots of fresh garlic, turmeric and ginger to keep winter lurgies at bay.

I know you all love the recipe collections, so I have ten healthy recipes to share with you today from some of the best healthy food bloggers in Australia!

 

Tomato Noodle Soup from Natural New Age Mum.

 

 

Coconut Lemon Chicken Soup from Quirky Cooking

 

 

Middle Eastern Lentil Soup from Nourishing Hub

Middle Eastern Red Lentil Soup with Sumac and Mint from Nourishing Hub.

 

 

 Alexx Stuart's Coconut Seafood Soup

Coconut Seafood Soup from Alexx Stuart.

 

 

Lamb Shank soup with gremolate from Brenda Janscheck

Slow Cooked Lamb Shank Soup with Gremolata from Brenda Janscheck

 

 

Pumpkin-and-Bone-Broth-Soup from Cut out the Crap

Pumpkin and Bone Broth Soup from Cut out the Crap.

 

vegiesmugglers-witches-stew

Witches Stew with Croutons from Vegie Smugglers.

 

 

Zucchini Noodle Ramen with Miso Eggplant from Kelly Gibney

 

 

Cauliflower and Mushroom Soup from The Wholefood Mama

Cauliflower and Mushroom Soup from The Wholefood Mama.

 

 

Beetroot, Coconut and Ginger soup from Well Nourished.

 

Do you have an amazing soup recipe? Share it with us or link us up!

 

 

 

 

Want more healthy WINTER warmers? Check out my 10 nourishing winter dinners post.

Filed In: FOOD / Tagged: bone broth, broth, chicken soup, family food, healthy soup, nourishing, nourishing soup, soup, stock, tomato soup, vegetable soup, winter

3 Nutrient Boosters to Add to Your Meals

September 13, 2013 · 21 Comments

three nutrient boosters

3 Nutrient Boosters to Add to Your Meals

These are my three favourite ‘boosters’ that I add to my savoury cooking.

I am giving my family a huge nutrient boost, without them even realizing.

Brilliant.

So what do I use them in?

Curry, soup, stew, casserole, rice dishes, egg dishes, stirfries, chow mein, spaghetti sauces …… to name a few!

Pretty much anywhere it’s going to be mixed in with something.  These nutrient boosters add both flavour and nutrients. The taste is very subtle. Most times, I use a teaspoon or two of all three, adjusting accordingly.

Okay so I wonder if you have guessed what any of them are?

Let’s go, left to right.

1. Dehydrated Bone Broth

I am loving this stuff. I do make my own bone broth occasionally. But with limited freezer space, this option is making it so much easier for me! I usually use chicken, but sometimes I use beef, depending on the meal.  You can find the ones I recommend here.

So, what is bone broth and why is it good for you? 

Bone broth is simply stock with vinegar that is cooked for a long time to extract the goodness from the bones. It’s really good for helping with digestion and gut health, reducing inflammation in joints, boosting your immune system and keeping your thyroid healthy. Dehydrated bone broth has had the water removed to leave behind all the goodness. If you want to make your own bone broth, read my beginner’s guide here.

2. Dulse Flakes

These have been very hard to track down! Check your local health food store or order online. I use this brand as it’s raw, certified organic and harvested in Canada. There is no need to worry about radiation from Japan where a lot of seaweed is harvested.

So, what is dulse and why is it good for you? 

Dulse flakes are simply a type of seaweed. It’s packed with vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B6, B12, C, and E, and minerals like potassium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorous, chromium, iodine and zinc and trace elements. It helps heal poor digestive systems, rebuilds and maintains all glands in the body and help cleanse the body of heavy metals. It’s also high in calcium, fibre, and protein and helps support healthy brain function. You can also get dulse combined with pink salt in this seaweed salt to be used in your salt shaker.

3. Vital Veggie Power

This stuff is gaining legendary status amongst mums all across Australia with fussy eaters. This concentrated goodness is from Gold Coast based company, Superfoods for Kidz . Get it here.

So what is Vital Veggie Power and why is it good for you? 

Basically it’s a selection of certified organic fruit and vegies that have been freeze-dried and powdered. Each teaspoon contains around 3 grams of powder which is equivalent to roughly 21 grams of whole carrot, tomato, pumpkin, mango, spirulina, barley grass, chlorella, alfalfa, and psyllium. It’s a great way to add a boost of vegetable goodness into your diet.

My secret is out! These are my amazing nutrient boosters I use to keep us all healthy and our immune system in top shape.

 

Have you used any of these? What did you think?

 

Changing Habits Dulse Flakes

Filed In: FOOD, HEALTH / Tagged: bone broth, broth, dulse, superfood, superfoods for kidz, Vital Veggie Power

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