Homemade Bone Broth
Have you noticed how bone broth is the hot new superfood every one is talking about right now? I even saw an article on FB the other day about how trendy New Yorkers are giving up their Starbucks in favor of a nice cuppa broth. It’s so exciting to see real food becoming mainstream! Maybe Americans are getting tired of raised cortisol, out of control blood sugar and digestive issues from that big ol’ cup of cream and sugar-slash-caffeine overload? Hmm…
Anywhoo… if you haven’t jumped on the bone broth band wagon yet (say that five times fast!), let’s talk about why you should. Bone broth is chock full of gut healing properties that your body needs. Two compounds in particular are great for your gut health: collagen and gelatin.
Collagen and Gelatin
Collagen is a structural protein found in the connective tissue of animals. In fact, it’s the most abundant protein found in the human body. You may have seen beauty products touting collagen as an age-fighting ingredient. That’s because collagen is great for your skin! Rather than slathering collagen on the outside of your skin along with a slew of petrochemicals, or even- yikes!- collagen injections, why not use that collagen where it will benefit you the most: internally.
When collagen is broken down through the cooking process, it gets to change it’s name to gelatin, just for fun. This stuff is considered a super food because it is great for the gut! In her book, Gut and Psychology Syndrome, Dr. Natasha McBride credits the gelatin in broth for healing the damaged gut lining associated with leaky gut syndrome by providing the building blocks for the rapidly growing cells of the gut lining and soothing inflammation.
Minerals
Adding a bit of vinegar to your broth while it’s simmering will help to pull the minerals from the bones. Broth is a great way to get minerals in a form that is easy for the body to assimilate. I won’t go into how most vitamin and mineral supplements are made out of synthetic forms of the nutrients your body really needs, making it difficult for the body to utilize them. Or how that rock hard supplement pill sitting in your stomach may not even get broken down in your system enough for them to be even minimally effective. Just suffice it to say that bone broth is the UPS of the nutrient delivery world, making sure your mineral packages get delivered where they’re needed. Specifically, calcium, phosphorus and magnesium are found abundantly in bone broth, as well as other minerals such as sodium, potassium and sulfur. I think it’s especially important to note that bone broth is a source of calcium for those who don’t consume dairy products.
Have I convinced you yet that homemade bone broth should be making a regular appearance in your diet? Good! Now let’s cut to the chase and make some already!
Some of you may already be making bone broth regularly. I hope I’m not insulting your intelligence by suggesting you need me to tell you how to throw some bones and water in a pot and turn on the heat 🙂 But I also know (because I’ve been there) that when you are new to making your own traditional foods, it can be a little intimidating getting started. If that describes you, then this recipe is for you! I can’t wait for you to give it a try and tell me how it turns out!
- 1 chicken carcass
- 1 onion, quartered
- 1-2 carrots, peeled and cut in halves
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tbsp peppercorns
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 12 cups filtered water
- After you have pulled the meat off your chicken carcass, place it in your slow cooker. Add all other ingredients and carefully add water to slow cooker.
- Set slow cooker to low and turn it on. You can allow the broth to simmer for 8 to 24 hours.
- Once the broth has simmered, strain through cheesecloth into a glass container. Broth will keep up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator and up to 6 months in the freezer.
I hope I fired you up to add bone broth to your diet if you haven't already. I didn't want to get too technical, but I could go on and on about the benefits of broth in your diet. If you want more information, check out this great read containing everything you could ever want to know about bone broth. I've got a great recipe coming up soon that will put all that delicious bone broth to good use!
