Bone broth - best and cheapest super-food on the planet?

Hey friends! Just a quick post to tell you how to make nourishing, mineral-rich bone broth and why you should be incorporating it into your daily diet. Seriously folks, bone broth is the cheapest super-food on the planet! Not only is it an excellent source of calcium, which most people I know are concerned about, and other minerals, it is rich in gelatin, which helps to heal the gut and treat intestinal disorders such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. 

Other benefits of bone broth include:

• Improving joint health – reducing inflammation and symptoms of arthritis
• Minimise cellulite – the collagen in the broth helps to reinforce the collagen layers in our body, thus preventing the occurrence of Mr Orange Peel. 
• Like fermented foods, broth can improve immunity and help to prevent or shorten colds and flus. 
• Glycine, an amino acid in broth, helps to aid in muscle recovery, and improve digestion by increasing stomach acid secretion, which is required for the proper breakdown and hence absorption of foods (side story - Az (husband) came home incredibly sore from rugby last night so I told him to dose up on some broth. He did and woke up with no pain! Unfortunately he played rugby again today, broke his ribs and tore his AC joint. I'm now making double quantities of broth to help speed the recovery along. Bloody rugby!)
• Gelatin can also improve skin and nails, aid sleep, and help reduce sugar cravings
• It is so so very cheap, even when using the best quality bones. I think each batch I make costs me around $5, and that makes about 4L. What?!!?

This kind of sums up how I feel about bone broth….just substitute “bird” for “broth”…( know it doesn’t rhyme, but whatever – just enjoy it already!)

Oh how I love Family Guy.

Anywho - we have bone broth daily and absolutely love it! I have it first thing in the morning or in the afternoon if I am feeling a little peckish before dinner. If you don’t want to drink it straight-up, use it to add to soups and stews instead of crappy store-bought stocks which have lots of added nasties and are devoid of all benefits. 

Recently I have been preaching a fair bit about the health benefits of bone broth and (excitedly) as a result people have been asking for me to share the recipe. So here it is!

**Recipe – Nourishing-oh-so-good-superfood-your-grandma-was-right-bone broth

First of all, you need yourself a slow-cooker. Seriously, how many times do I need to say this? It will revolutionise your life! OK – got it? Good. Now in your slow cooker (the bigger the better – ours is 6.5L and digital), add the following:

• ½-1kg bones from organic, grass fed animals (I think beef tastes best, but all are good)
• 2 organic celery stalks, chopped
• 2 organic carrots, chopped
• 6 small cloves organic garlic, smashed (this is important to do BEFORE chopping to release the beneficial phytochemicals (P.S: “Phyto” = “plant”. You’re welcome)
• 1 organic onion, chopped
• Sprigs of fresh herbs – rosemary, thyme and sage work well but I’m sure you could add in whatever you like
• Kelp or other sea vegetable for trace minerals that are hard to otherwise find, such as iodine (very important for thyroid health and foetal development) - optional
• Sea salt and black pepper to taste
• ¼ cup organic apple cider vinegar (this is essential for drawing the minerals out of the bones)
• Filtered water – enough to cover everything.

Instructions: throw everything in the pot. Cover. Cook on low for around 20hrs. Allow to cool and then strain off the liquid (including the fat) into glass storage containers. Refrigerate. A really good broth will go like jelly, however I have thus far only managed to do this with beef bones, so if you find the secret to the others, then let me know. PS: you can also use a big stock pot if you prefer. 

Let me know how you go! If you live in Sydney and want to try some broth but not quite ready to make your own big batch, let me know - I'm happy to share a little of mine. The way I see it, bone broth makes people healthy, and healthy people are happy people. Therefore, bone broth makes the world go round. Wouldn't you agree?

Alternatively, my friend Soulla runs fantastic bone broth-making workshops in Sydney (among other great workshops while also creating delicious and nutritious read-to-eat products). Check out her blog - mystaranise.wordpress.com

Geez - will I ever be able to write a short post??

If you want to contact me, shoot me an email at kate.theholisticnutritionist@gmail.com. I'm currently also taking nutrition consultations for 2013, so if you are interested in optimising your health in any way, shape or form, please feel free to give me a shout!