With winter on its way, we need to stock up on our bone broth. Bone broth assists your bodies’ immunity levels, help maintain gut functioning and gives your body the comfort it desires as it gets colder outside. You should start including it in your daily menu plan and ensuring
What is bone broth?
Bone broth is typically cooked for 24 hrs+ in a slow cooker or on the stove. You can use beef, chicken or fish bones and also veggies at the end to sweeten it up. Cooking the bones in water with some Apple cider vinegar (something acidic, to better pull nutrients out of the bones) , for an extended period of time allows the bones to not only break down but also leach minerals and nutrients from the bones into the water. Broth is rich in calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and other trace minerals and these are easily absorbed in the body. Bone broth also carries glucosamine and chondroitin which has been shown to assist in the rebuilding of your joints, alleviating arthritis/joint pain. Lastly, bone broth is rich in Gelatine that helps with the connective tissue in your joints and great for your hair and nails. It has also been known to assist in the healing of the gut lining, assisting with gut pain and problems.
What an AWESOME mixture of goodies in a VERY easy and inexpensive meal. Plus you are sure the quality of the product, when you make it yourself. The brand you get from the shops are watered down and not as nutrient dense as the version you can make at home.
After you have cooked it, you can save some for the week in the fridge and freeze the rest. Pull some out when you are ready, gently warm it up on the stove (not the microwave, it’ll just kill the goodies) to drink straight up or add some noodles, chicken, beef, veggies… you name it!!
My kids LOVE my chicken soup, the one I have shown here has noodles, chicken, seaweed and carrots. The boys will drink a cup of it without anything in it.
Great for boosting their immunities for winter and an alternate drink to water. Win, win!
Instructions:
Bones (chicken, beef, fish, etc)
Water
Apple cider vinegar
Veggies mix (onions, carrots, pumpkin, broccoli, celery, or whatever you have)
Preferred spices/powders/herbs (onion, garlic, turmeric, fresh herbs)
NEVER add salt to the broth, only add salt to the finished recipe you are using the broth for, as the salt content can become concentrated during the long cooking process of the broth.
Get crock/stock pot, put bones in, cover with water add ¼ cup of Apple cider vinegar and let it cook on low for 24-48hrs. For the last 2 hours, add in the veggies you’d
like, and in the last 10min add the seasoning/herbs.
Two options here, either let it simmer down to a concentrated version, without adding additional water, OR continue to top up with water till your done cooking for a full version. When time is up, strain all the juice out into a big bowl, mashing all the juices out of the leftover bones and veggies. Let the bowl cool down in a sink of cold water. You can keep some in the fridge for the week and freeze the rest in convenient portions.
If you have condensed it, you can use an ice tray to freeze it then move to a plastic bag for easy portioning (see picture to the right).
If you added water through the whole process you can freeze in 1 cup portions to take out and use whenever. Either way, they both workout to be convenient, easy and yummy! ENJOY