It was around 40 degrees when I woke up this morning, and you know what that means? Soup weather! But where to start? I decided to start with the whole chicken from the farmer’s market that’s been tucked away in the freezer just waiting for cool weather. I prepared the chicken in the crock pot by simply dicing an onion, throwing the onion in the bottom of the crock pot and then placing the chicken that was thoroughly rubbed with paprika, thyme, onion powder, garlic powder, pepper and salt right onto the onions. No need to add water, just turned the crock pot on high for 4-hrs and there you have it!
Two days later, all that’s left of the chicken are bones, some skin, and all the “extras” that I removed before cooking that delicious hunk of meat. So I broke out the electric pressure cooker and cooked the heck out of those bones for a couple of hours. Yes, I’m being thrifty, but that’s not the end of the story. I’m also caring for my bones.
When I say the word “bone,” I’m guessing that the first word that pops into you mind is “calcium…” and now your wondering if you ate enough dairy today. But there’s so much more to the story than just cheese. To start with, our bones are approximately 35% collagen – a protein structure that gives our bones flexibility. If our bones weren’t flexible, we’d be breaking limbs left and right every time we stubbed a toe or banged our shin. The other 65% of our bones are comprised of mineral salt, mostly calcium phosphate, but also magnesium, sodium, potassium and a few other essential minerals.
Our bones act as a sort of savings account for minerals in the body. Let’s say you’re low on potassium (a mineral involved in nerve signaling). Your body will tap into that savings account (your bones) and put the necessary potassium into circulation (no pun intended). I won’t go into too much detail other than to remind you that the real way to take good care of your bones is by eating lots and lots of vegetables, especially green leafy ones that are high in calcium and other minerals (i.e. kale, collards, cabbage, and other cruciferous veggies). Dairy supplies you with calcium, but there are other minerals involved here too.
Another great way to care for your bones is by making your own broths. Annemarie Colbin has an entire book written on the subject of bone care – The Whole Foods Guide to Strong Bones – that includes a number of crazy bone recipes, but I’m simply not adventurous enough to cook a whole fish in the pressure cooker for approximately 9-hrs or until the thing disintegrates. So, I’ll have to settle for cooking the heck out of some chicken bones in a pressure cooker. Her point is to incorporate bones and bone broths into your diet as a way to quickly replenish bone minerals (build up that savings account). Just remember that the longer you cook the bones, the more they’ll break down and the more minerals will be released into your broth. So, do your bones a favor, save all of those unwanted bird bones (or any of type of animal) over these next few months of holiday season and get to cookin’!
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