Recipe: Chicken Bone Broth

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 12 -24 hours

Ingredients

• 4-5lbs of Chicken Bones/Carcass
• Option of also adding Feet and Giblets
• 1-2 White Onions Chopped
• 3-4 Stalks of Celery with Leaves Chopped
• 2 Carrots, Peeled and Coarsely Chopped
• 3-4 Whole Cloves of Garlic
• 1-2 Bay Leaves
• 2 Tbsp of Apple Cider Vinegar
• Enough Purified Water to Cover Bones
• 1 tsp of Turmeric (Optional)
• Salt and Peppercorn (Optional)

*Please use only good quality bones from a butcher or farm you trust.  The bones should be from free range happy animals that are grass fed and free from growth hormones.

Preparation

1. Place all the Bones in your slow cooker, or large pot
2. Cover Bones with Purified Water and 2 tbsp. of Apple Cider Vinegar
3. Add in Vegetables and Desired Spices (not mentioned above I will use paprika, chilli powder, and braggs all season spices) 
4. If using slow cooker you can cook on low, if using a large pot cook bones until boiling then reduce to simmer
5. Let broth Simmer for 12-24 hours
6. If using an instant pot I cook on broth for 3 hours
7. The longer you cook the broth the more flavorful it will be and the minerals you can obtain from the bones
8. Enjoy!!!

Benefits of Bone Broth

• Heals your gut and helps to overcome food intolerances and allergies
• Reduces Inflammation and Boosts Immunity
• Strengthen Joints and Cartilage
• Improves Skin, Hair, and Nails
• Strengthens Bones, and Ligaments
• Aids in Liver detoxification

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It’s Simple, It’s Effective and It’s Free; Why You Should Take Cold Showers

Paul Chek is a world-renowned holistic health coach and in the brief video below he shares his passion for simple tactics for addressing common concerns.  There’s a lot of insight packed into this clip but I’m going to look at a particular focus on cold therapy, in it’s most accessible form, a cold shower.

This week I wanted to talk about cold showers! That’s right COLD! A lot of us walk around with inflammation, chasing pills, powders and potions to combat the harmful effects.  In future posts I’ll be digging into natural foods that combat inflammation safely but an even easier way is simply taking a cold shower in the morning or after a workout and as Paul says in the video, the best part, it’s FREE!  I’ve read a lot about the benefits of taking a cold shower and realized that the fact that I was resisting trying them was probably a good indication that it was exactly what my body needed.  Some benefits of cold showers include increased alertness, stress reduction, stimulating fat loss, increased circulation and immunity.  For more on cold therapy and the benefits have a listen to Dr. Rhonda Patrick on the Tim Ferriss podcast (https://tim.blog/tag/cold-therapy/) or Tony Robbins, another big proponent of cold water (https://www.tonyrobbins.com/health-vitality/the-power-of-cold-water/)

I won’t lie to you, it took awhile to get used to taking them. The first few times I started hot and then slowly turned the temperature down and maybe stood in the water for 15 seconds (Ian Fleming referred to this as a “Scottish Shower” in his James Bond novels).  My Scottish ancestory must need some reinforcement because this short blast felt like a lifetime.  Gradually, the screams and gasps have reduced and I’ve actually started enjoying them and shocking myself with the coldest water and for a longer period of time.

Further inspired by Tony Robbin’s morning routine and his cold plunge pools or rivers in his different homes I’ve recently taken the opportunity to plunge into cold pacific ocean (yes, it’s October).  We’ve reviewed the benefits above and Tony speaks of it “priming” his day, however I’ve also realized it clears up any fog from the previous night’s extra glass of red wine quite well!

HIT your morning workout head on

Last post I talked about Headspace, a meditation app I use as part of my morning routine in “Taking 10 Minutes a Day“.  This week I thought I would share another quick morning routine I find beneficial.  When it comes to exercise we’ve all heard the excuses but near the top of everyone’s list is, I don’t have time.  I’ve never been much of a runner or into any other form of long slow cardio but have instead always gravitated towards interval or high intensity training (H.I.T.).  In future posts I’ll share some workouts from my favourite exercise coaches but I thought I’d start simple, with no equipment and a picture of my new gym (above).

In White Rock we’re fortunate enough to have a lot of hills to work with and a little incline goes a long way.  Using a hill can deliver a quick workout in a small space. I aim for 2 to 3 days a week.  I start slow with some stair sets and jogging up portions of the hill and then I get set for a quick workout.  I’ve got about 30 seconds running to cover both sets of the hill near our house and it takes about 90 seconds to walk back down.  This has me roughly following a protocol I learned about from Dr. Mercola called Peak 8.  Simply put, Peak 8 is 30 seconds on high intensity and 90 seconds on low intensity repeated 8 times.

The experience looks a little like this:

Warm -up

Peak 1 – 30 seconds, ok I’m getting fired up.

Peak 2 – 30 seconds, alright, feeling good, feeling strong.

Peak 3 – 30 seconds, how many is that? ok, one more for half-way

Peak 4 – 30 seconds, hear we go, halfway there!

Peak 5 – 30 seconds, on my, I’m living on a prayer!

Peak 6 – 30 seconds, I’d stop here but I’ve only got two to go.

Peak 7 – 30 seconds, this is challenging everything I’ve got.

Peak 8 – 30 seconds, last one, leave it all on the hill! and…done.

BAM!  20 mins later and I’m exhausted, gasping, fired up and feeling accomplished.

If you read some of the research on H.I.T. training and specifically Peak 8, this is where the real magic begins with your metabolism fired up.  Read about some of the benefits as well as more detail on the protocol and how you can adapt it for your bike, treadmill or other exercise equipment

http://fitness.mercola.com/sites/fitness/Peak-8-fitness-interval-training-chart.aspx

http://fitness.mercola.com/sites/fitness/archive/2010/06/26/10-minutes-of-exercise-yields-hourlong-effects.aspx

So What’s Next?  The perfect compliment to a hard Peak 8 is a cold shower!  Stay tuned for my next post on that brrrrr!

Disclaimer: Know your body’s limits and workout within them.  Please consult with your doctor or a qualified trainer before beginning any new exercise routine.

Taking 10 Minutes a Day

I didn’t grow up meditating but I’ve recently discovered the wonderful benefits from taking just 10 minutes a day.  There are alot of benefits to meditation that I’ll be talking about in future posts but for now I wanted to share one of my favourite resources “Headspace”.

Headspace is an app created by Andy Puddicombe that has helped me and many others begin the practice of meditation in a simple way.  Check out Andy’s TED talk below to hear it from the source!

 

If you’re interested in learning more or downloading headspace you can visit: https://www.headspace.com/

And the best part?  It’s FREE to get started!