Bare All with Confidence - Bone Broth

Bone Broth is Fabulous for Fat Loss!

And... it needn’t involve hours in the kitchen! Not only are animal bones super-rich in collagen - an essential protein which is vital for healthy bones and muscles and wrinkle-free skin but in combination with a few vegetables, herbs and spices, a good bone broth helps to keep inflammation (one of our major weight loss adversaries) at bay. It is also extremely nourishing whilst providing loads of energy-generating rather than waistline-expanding calories to our day.

My quickest and easiest bone broth involves putting 8 chicken wings (and a couple of chicken feet if you can get them!) into an oven-proof pot with an onion, a carrot, a couple of celery stalks, a few garlic cloves, a bouquet garni (or a bunch of fresh thyme, some parsley and a bay leaf), half a dozen black peppercorns, a teaspoon of sea salt crystals and a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar, covering the whole lot with water, bringing slowly to the boil then transferring the pot to the oven on its lowest setting for as many hours as you can (overnight works well).

Next day, strain the broth into a bowl through a fine sieve, transfer to the fridge and leave until very cold (this results in the fat and any scum rising to the top, becoming hard and therefore super-simple to remove with a slotted spoon). Simply return the broth to a soup pot and simmer over a medium heat to reduce (the more reduced, the tastier), check the seasoning then bag in portions (small soup bags are great), refrigerate or freeze and heat one through thoroughly in a microwave or on the hob before devouring mid morning, mid afternoon or whenever you need a nourishing pick-me-up.

View all my Bare All This Summer Top Tips here.

The Cleansing Properties of Soup

Hands up everyone who is fed up reading about the cleansing properties of soup! A good soup has always offered nutritional perfection in a bowl (a phrase I started to champion some considerable number of years ago but I am certainly not about to claim as my own as the Imperial Physician to the Emperor of the Yuan Dynasty beat me to it around 800 years ago!)

A truly cleansing soup takes time and patience, requires the very freshest of organic ingredients (and yes, you have to grind your own fresh herbs and spices) and is definitely what I would call a labour of love but if you are that patient person who has the time - go for it!

Alternatively, you may simply decide to get soup into your life on a more regular basis because it is delicious, nutritious, warming, comforting, satisfying, easy to transport, often very quick to prepare and there is no limit to the varieties you can concoct once you become a dedicated soupaholic!

If you find yourself debating the cleansing properties of juices versus soups - don’t! My advice is to mix it up and enjoy both. Despite what you may have read, juicing is not ‘out’ whilst soup is ‘in’, that’s just media and marketing hype. The bottom line is that the more vegetables you get into your day the better for health and wellness (aim for 7 and don’t beat yourself up if it’s only 5). And don’t forget to add 2 or 3 fruits into your juices and soups or have them as a snack with a handful of fresh nuts which deliver cracking good levels of protein and healthy fats.

If you are feeling a bit sluggish or suspect you are at risk of going down with one of the rather many viruses that seem to threaten us at this time of the year, have a go at my soup and juice clean up for a few days and benefit from the outstanding properties of both.

Add Some Soup to Your Chinese New Year

To maintain overall good health, the Chinese regularly sup soups and broths - either on their own or before a meal. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) focuses on keeping balance within the body and herbs and spices plus the broth created from hours of cooking meat bones are just one of the many principles it champions.

In the West, we take rather many liberties with traditional Chinese cooking but nevertheless, we are enthusiastic fans and have, over the decades, learned a lot from their food culture and increasingly relish the health benefits of a nutritious and delicious broth. So, with the greatest respect to their age-old doctrines and in a bid to share (albeit from a Western perspective) in the Chinese New Year celebrations this year, why not try my light, quick, easy and warming Duck Broth with Egg Noodles and Bok Choy.