Now is the perfect time of year to add some Bone Broth to your diet. If you haven't heard of this, it's a healthy broth made by simmering bones (chicken or beef typically, I make chicken) over a long period of time. It's excellent for your immune system and helps balance your digestive tract. The collagen and minerals from the bones (the same collagen that is good for your skin) benefit the gut lining, which takes a beating from all the bad things (processed food, coffee, stress, alcohol) we ingest. It's basically like sipping chicken soup, without the actual chicken, and it's really very warm and comforting.
I make large batches of this and keep it on hand in my freezer. When I feel especially worn down I will sip on a large mug of it. It's also great if you actually get sick, there is truth to the touted healing benefits of chicken soup. I'll share my step-by-step recipe below, it's really very easy but it does take a long time to cook. If you don't want to make your own, you might find it locally from a health food vendor or you can order this brand from Amazon.
I get an organic whole chicken from the store, ideally on sale. I'll first make that for dinner, usually roasting it in a traditional style along with some vegetables. The next day I pull off any leftover meat and store it for another use, typically soup or a casserole. I put all the ingredients in a slow cooker (I use this one, it has a detachable ceramic insert), and let simmer on low all day long. I typically turn it off at night, stick the whole insert in my larger outside fridge, then pull it back out again the next morning and cook the broth for about another 6 hours, that way the bones simmer for a total of around 18 hours. Once it's done, I let it cool, strain the broth into a large bowl (discarding the solids) and then separate into containers. I order these in bulk for soups and broth, I make sure they are BPA-free, and while I don't like that they are plastic I haven't found a better option. (I try to use glass food storage but I don't like freezing glass). I then thaw and reheat when I want some.
Chicken Bone Broth Directions:
Ingredients:
8-10 cups filtered water
1 organic whole chicken, cooked and cooled.
2-3 organic carrots, peeled and chopped into large chunks
1/2 an onion, chopped
4-5 garlic cloves, diced
1 T salt (ideally with iodine)
3 T apple cider vinegar
1 T Tumeric (optional)
1 t pepper
Remove most of the meat from the chicken carcass, separating the bones. If you have a heavy, sharp knife you can hack into the joints of the bones a bit, I think this helps the minerals to seep out of the joints as it cooks.
Fill a large slow cooker with the filtered water. Add bones and other ingredients and stir to combine. I typically start on high to get everything to temp and boiling, then turn it down to low and let it all cook all day. Stir occasionally. At the end of the day, you can either cool and store or store it overnight in the fridge and start again, or even let it cook overnight if you are comfortable with that. Be careful with straining so you retain the broth and discard the chicken and vegetable solids.
Store in individual containers and freeze. Use in soups or drink on its own.
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