It was not too long ago I hung up the apron and tongs to pursue my career as a Lifestyle Consultant/Strength Coach here at Sport
and Wellness. I spent 10 years cooking in various styles of restaurants from diners to fine dining. Despite the stressful evening rushes, weekend line ups and high temperature atmospheres I loved cooking. I grew up in my Grandma and Mother’s kitchen always curious how to prepare food but mostly to score treats. Learning to cook is one of the most important life skills one can have.
A strength blog I was reading recently said “we should maybe consider teaching our children about nutrition and not soccer”. Soccer could be substituted for any sport really, no offense footy fans, and the message is clear we need to spend more time with our children teaching them how to prepare proper meals.
Cooking meals from scratch allows you to decide what goes into the meal and at the end of it there can be left overs. Companies often fill their products with unpronounceable ingredients from most to least on their products ingredients list. When preparing a meal find ingredients that can be multi purposed or create a batch that can be frozen or saved for leftovers. With fall approaching, warm, hearty and nutritious soups make a great option.
Before you start with anything, invest in mason jars and Tupperware.
Here’s my recipe for a homemade stock.
Ingredients:
- 2-3 Carrots rough chop, 4-5 Celery stalks rough chop, 1 med./lrg. Spanish onion quartered
- 5 leaves of Sage, 2 sprigs Rosemary, 5 springs thyme, 3 bay leaves, 5 pepper corns
- 1 whole chicken carcass (optional)
- 6 litres of cold water
Directions:
- Heat (medium) up a large stock pot with a lug of olive oil and throw in the celery, carrots, onion and whole garlic cloves to sweat for 5-6 minutes.
- In the mean time tie the herbs together with butcher string and place in the pot with chicken carcass (if you have one saved) and peppercorns.
- Fill your stock pot with the cold water and bring to a boil. Once at a boil bring to a simmer. Allow the stock to simmer for 3-4 hours while skimming the top.
- Pass the stock through a fine sieve and allow to cool for an hour before storage.
- Freeze and store in mason jars or Tupperware for a couple months, pull out when ready to use.
