POPEYE'S POWER SOUP (pg. 104)
Stocks & Broths
This is a very green soup!  I think it's green enough to scare most of the people most of the time, except for Popeye and, let's face it, he's an animation!

Popeye's Power Soup

There are many plus sides to this soup.  It's spinach and if you like spinach you will love this recipe. It is a "Fuel Pull" (FP) soup with many the vitamins and minerals necessary to keep your energy high while still remaining low in fat and carbs.

If you like to be very purposeful about what you eat this soup can help you out.  For example, I am usually always seeking out iron, and if for some reason I feel like I need a major iron boost, I will very intentionally make this to encourage that boost to my system for it's iron-rich qualities.

Unlike the last two soups I blogged about, this one doesn't require a chicken broth or stock so it is a quick recipe.  Which leads me to the next subject I would like to divulge in a bit more.

Stocks & Broths
There are some additional things I would like to mention about stocks and broths for those of you who might be unfamiliar.

Broth
A good example of a broth is when you (or someone else) cooks a turkey for Thanksgiving.  After the turkey has been roasting and comes out of the oven there are lots of juices at the bottom of the pan.  If you drain those juices into a measuring cup, that is considered broth.  As the broth sets in the measuring cup you will see a slight surface building up that is darker in color.  That is fat separating from the juices and you can skim that off.  Broth is simply the juices from BOTH the meat and bones of the turkey (or meat, chicken, fish, etc.). In the case of turkey, I use those juices to make the best gravy ever! Or, you can save it and use it in soup recipes that call for stock/broth.

Stocks
After you remove most of the meat from the bones, the carcass (bones) is what remains.  Put the carcass in a crock pot or large pot with just enough water to cover the bones (and some vegetables and seasonings if you like) and about a 1/2 cup of vinegar.  Let it cook for up to 5 hours.  When it's done cooking you drain EVERYTHING from the juices using cheese cloth or a couple paper towels in a strainer.  Save the juices and that is considered stock because it's made with just the bones and not the meat.

If you put that stock/broth in the refrigerator you will find something interesting happens that doesn't happen to store-bought broths.  It starts to firm up in a similar way to which gelatin would firm up.  That is due to the collagen that is found in broth/stock that has been pulled from the cartilage in the bones (the vinegar helps with this process).  This is simply pure goodness and is highly desirable for it's health benefits and flavor.

"Liquid Gold"
As of today, I call my homemade stocks and broths "Liquid Gold." A term I borrowed from Bone Broth Diet book. It is a very interesting read if you want to know more about broth.  While I'm not personally endorsing any diet (including THM), I consider the information in both books very valuable.  Some of the benefits of bone broth according to Dr. Kellyann in the Bone Broth Diet book, is it's packed with collagen, detoxifies the body, is anti-inflammatory,  heals your gut and joints.

If you read "Serene Chats" for the "Purist Bone Stock" on pg. 495 of THMs' book, Serene says, "Hardly any work...cheap as dirt...better than any expensive health food supplement!"  If you like what she has to say about stock, be sure to turn to the next page (496) to read "Pearl Chats" and her perspective on stock.

After a little research, I did find you can purchase good-quality bone broth online with different seasoned flavors. Of course, anything you don't do yourself starts to come at a cost.  However, for those with the cash, but not the time, you may want to check out sites similar to Bare Bones Broth.  I personally will continue to make my own since it really doesn't take much effort, just planning.


CONCLUSIONS:
You do not need to make your own broth, I just wanted to make sure to emphasize the benefits in case you feel it's for you.  Some may consider broths and stocks a current trend, however, I would argue that if that's the case, it's the trend that Great Grandma started back when people still valued home-cooked meals.  If getting "back to basics" becomes trendy then it is one of those few trends that I hope has staying power for a very long time.

OOPSIES WORTH MENTIONING:
I am in denial and don't wear my reading glasses even when I probably should.  Instead of adding 1/4 cup of nutritional yeast, I accidentally added 3/4 cups (oooopsie).  It turned out to be a happy accident, but a bit more than the recipe asked for. :)

Stay healthy and strong!
Chris :)