I have found one of the most efficient ways to feed a family these days is with a whole chicken. We are a family of four, who eats more like a family of six! That taxes the grocery bill for sure. One thing I try and do weekly, or at least every other week, is buy a whole chicken and aim to get either two dinners out of it or 1 dinner and a couple of lunches.
The first thing I do is make meat stock. Need a recipe? I have a free, simple one here. I then pick off all the meat and usually separate it into dark and white meat piles. Bonus, if it comes with the organs because those can be cooked right in the stock and added to the meal. I usually find the neck, which I save with the carcass to make bone broth, lungs, heart and liver.
After picking the bones clean I freeze them to make bone broth. I typically like to wait to make broth until I have 2-3 carcasses or 2 plus some chicken feet. The feet help make the broth extra gelatinous.
I then plan a meal or two with the shredded chicken. Or I pick one meal that I can add the dark meat into and I save the white meat for lunches for Raleigh and me.
I have been loving these lunch “bowls” lately. I take some of the chicken and drizzle it with a green goddess dressing. I do a variation of sweet potato or wild rice, roasted cauliflower, chick peas or quinoa, pickled red onions and jalapenos, sprouts or micro greens. It’s fantastic!
Simple Meals To Use With The Chicken
***Not all of these will be full GAPS legal – most can be made that way with substitutions***
Chicken Alfredo
Chicken Taco Salad
Chicken BBQ Baked Potato – Sub a squash for full GAPS
Chicken Tikka Masala
Toss into any pasta – Lentil pasta if very advanced on GAPS
Chicken and Vegetable Soup
Get creative! You can easily do a google search for meals to add cooked chicken into. If you need more full GAPS recipes check out my storefront. I have a free 7-recipe download for the full GAPS diet as well as full GAPS meal plans.
The cost of a whole chicken can vary significantly. I typically buy a Mary’s chicken at my local Natural Grocers for around $10. That ten dollars is feeding my family of four for 1-2 meals, plus providing meat stock and bone broth to use at a later date. I’d do the math, but trust me you don’t want me to do the math. It’s a low number – less than $2 a person/meal. In today’s economy that is pretty darn good.
When choosing a chicken don’t break the bank. Animals have a built-in detox system which means they are working their entire lives to get rid of toxins. So if the best you can afford is a conventionally grown chicken then get it! It is better to consume meat stock made from conventionally grown chicken than to not consume meat stock. Likewise, it is better to eat conventionally grown meat than to not eat meat. Animal foods are builders – we MUST consume them to build the body back (aka: heal).