Easy Homemade Broth (aka Bone Broth)

TOP 10 BENEFITS OF HOMEMADE BONE BROTH
AND A SIMPLE RECIPE

When I started my healing journey I discovered early on that incorporating bone broth was going to be a big part of the process.  I had never heard of this seemingly miraculous super food.  18 months later I couldn't image living without it.  Here are some of the reasons why you might want to consider learning how to make it as well.
 

10. It’s easy!  Anything new and foreign can seem daunting at first, but hopefully I am going to show you how really simple it can be to make nutrient-dense homemade bone broth.

9. It’s inexpensive. Were you thinking of throwing out that chicken or turkey carcass after feeding your family all the meat? If you’ve made the switch to organic, grass-fed meat then you are likely aware that pastured meat isn’t cheap. You can offset this expense by making good use of the bones as well - 8+ cups of nourishing broth worth!

8. It can reduce cellulite. Yes, really! Dr Shanahan says that "cellulite is fat that lacks collagen support” and that “people who have more collagen in their diet… are less likely to have cellulite in their fat.”
 

7.  It helps speed recovery from illness. Cysteine, a natural amino acid found in poultry, can thin the mucus in your lungs making it easier to expel.


6. It reduces joint pain and inflammation. Bone broth contains chondroitin sulphates and glucosamine, both proven to reduce inflammation, arthritis and joint pain. No pricey supplements needed!

5. It promotes strong, healthy bones by providing minerals such as calcium and magnesium in forms that your body can easily absorb.

4. The gelatin helps promote healthy hair, skin and nails.

3. It aids in the removal of toxins from our bodies. The amino acid, glycine, increases the liver’s capacity to detoxify.

2. The gelatin in bone broth can assist in overcoming food intolerances and allergies. Which brings me to my #1 reason for including a healthy dose of bone broth in our family’s diet…

1. It helps to heal and seal the gut. Sean Croxton, of Underground Wellness, explains this one best: 

"To make a long story short, the intestinal lining is supposed to be permeable in order for nutrients to pass through. However, this lining can become too permeable due to lifestyle factors such as poor diet, stress, long-term contraceptive use, as well as bacterial and fungal overgrowths. Just think of poking huge holes in your window screens at home. Yes, the good air will pass through, but the flies, gnats, and mosquitoes will too.

This is how leaky gut — or gut hyperpermeability — works. Undigested food particles can slip through the gut lining and pass directly into the bloodstream. No bueno! When this happens, the immune system freaks out and starts attacking the very foods you eat — we call these food sensitivities.

Over time, this can turn into an autoimmune issue by which your immune system thinks your thyroid — or any other tissue, for that matter — looks like the piece of steak molecule it’s been fighting off for the past few years. In other words, your body starts to attack itself.

According to our good friend Dr. Thomas O’Bryan, autoimmunity will soon be the number one cause of death in this country. Gut hyperpermeability is a big reason why.

What does bone broth have to do with any of this? Well, the gelatin in bone broth spackles the excess holes in the gut lining, so to speak. It’s quite the handyman, and should be part of any gut-healing protocol."

*Of course, all of these benefits can best be received if your bone broth was made from organic, pastured meat. Factory farmed meat is laden with chemicals, antibiotics and toxins that can offset these wonderful benefits!

EASY BONE BROTH RECIPE

1. Place your leftover organic, pastured poultry carcass (or beef, bison or lamb bones) in a crock pot

2. Fill with cool filtered water

3. Add 1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar and let sit for 20-30 minutes

4. Add approx. 1 Tablespoon sea salt, one celery stalk, one carrot and one yellow onion

5. Cover and cook on low for 24 hours

6. Strain and pour into freezer safe mason jars and keep in the refrigerator for up to a week or in the freezer for approx. 6 months

That's it!  That's all there is to it.  Easy peasy!

Now, once you're comfortable with this recipe you can change it up by incorporating any of the following:

• Depending on what method was used to cook your original meat you may want to roast the bones in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes before adding to the crock pot to enhance the flavor

• Add peppercorns, herbs and spices

• Add a few garlic cloves and a bunch of parsley to the pot the last 30 minutes of cooking

• If your bones aren't from a clean, organic, pastured source then you may want to heat on a higher temp for the first hour and occasionally skim off the impurities

• Make a huge batch and store jars for later use - approx. 2 lbs bones per gallon of water

• Add chicken feet for extra gelatin

USES FOR BONE BROTH

• Drink it straight - warm it up and drink it in a mug along with your meals to help aid in digestion

• Substitute for store bought meat or veggie broth in soup - Cream of Mushroom Soup, Roasted Pumpkin Soup, Creamy Zucchini, Walnut and Dill Soup and Curried Cream of Broccoli Soup are a few of my favorites

• Replace water with broth to make simple rice - *this is currently the best way I am able to get bone broth into my children since they haven't learned to like soup yet!

RESOURCES

• Organic, grass-fed, pastured meat - US Wellness Meat, GrassFed Traditions, Good Earth Farms

• Kitchen accessories - mesh strainer, freezer-safe mason jars, stainless steel stockpot