What is bone broth?
At its core, bone broth/chicken stock is made when bones and vegetables cook low and slow, creating an extraordinarily nutrient-dense and delicious broth.
What are its benefits? How to consume?
Drinking warm bone broth every morning will jumpstart your body with nutrients and minerals, like collagen and gelatin, which are great for our gut health, skin, nails, and energy. Collagen will give your skin a fuller and brighter appearance. If you have gut health issues or a leaky gut, this will help with chronic pain and repair gut tears. Bone broth is also great for your joints because it is loaded with glucosamine and calcium, so consuming it regularly will help with bone health and reduce symptoms of osteoarthritis. Lastly, bone broth is filled with amino acids, which will help our bodies recover from workouts and also aid in digestion and organ function. Most bone broths have high glutamine, arginine, proline, and glycine levels.
DIY> Store-bought broth
Skip or control the added sugars and ingredients in your broth. Also, it's a safer way to make sure you're not getting any added preservatives or "natural"/synthetic products.
How to make it?
Because I teach lifestyle and sustainability, I save bones in the freezer instead of purchasing bones to make my broth. Yes, it's more time-consuming, but you'll be surprised how much and quickly they add up! I love grabbing a rotisserie chicken from sprouts and saving all the bones after I eat it. 2-3 months' worth of saving or 3-4 cups will do. Making it this way is a great way to use all the scraps you would typically throw away, and it costs virtually nothing!
What you'll need:
Bones and water in its simplest form; however, I like to add veggies and herbs for flavor. It's completely optional, but you can throw in carrots, onions, celery, thyme, and rosemary. You can also add apple cider vinegar too.
Storage:
In airtight containers (5-days) or put in the freezer
Ingredients:
1lb bones
2 cups celery stalks; halved
2 cups carrots, halved
2 teaspoons dried thyme
8-10 cups of water (or enough to fill to the top of your crockpot)
Instructions
Place all frozen bones onto a baking sheet and bake at 375 for 1 hour
Add all ingredients into crockpot, cover with water, and cook on low for at least 16 hours, no longer than 20 hours
Allow broth to cool slightly, and run through a fine mesh strainer