Why You Need Bone Broth

Homemade broth is a wonderfully delicious and nutritious medicinal food that will strengthen the body, nourish the blood, benefit the immune system (especially during the cold season) and help prevent bone and connective tissue disorders. It is filled with minerals (such as calcium, phosphorus and magnesium), gelatin, other health boosting components such as glucosamine and chondroitin, as well as keratin, hyaluronic acid an many more which benefit the body as a whole and as well as the bones, skin, teeth, hair, nails and joints. It is very nourishing and supportive to the entire digestive system, improving the healing and lining of the GI tract, which is critical when healing from chronic conditions and/or auto immune diseases. Digestive issues have also been linked to may neurological and mood disorders such as anxiety, depression, ADHD, dementia and autism. I have also found it to be very helpful for the healing of eczema and other skin disorders. It is superb for beauty, fertility, pregnancy and babies.

The broth may taken as a snack, a light meal or used to cook vegetables, grains or meat. It may also be as a base for other nutritious soups. I usually keep half in the fridge which lasts for about a week and then freeze the rest in 8oz mason jars.

How to Make Bone Broth (Easy & Tasty TCM version)

4-5 lbs of bones (chicken, beef, lamb or any combination)

Juice of 1 lemon, 1/4 c of wine,  or 1 T cider vinegar (choose one of these acid options)

2-4 carrots chopped

2-4 ribs of celery chopped

1 onion quartered or chopped

2-4 cloves garlic

peels of any of the above

handful of green herbs such as parsley (add any favorites, marjoram, thyme, tarragon or whatever looks good in the garden or at the farmers market). You may wish to add the fresher herbs like parsley during the last 30 minutes of cooking to keep the flavor bright.

A small handful of Chinese Herbs such as Ginseng (I like American Ginseng), Dang Gui, Dang Shen, Huang Qi or Chen Pi may be added to increase the medicinal properties of the broth.

Directions:

Combine everything in a crock-pot or a large dutch oven
cover with water
bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer
cook for 12-24 hours.

Remove scum as it arises.
Add hot water as necessary to keep the bones submerged.
It is done when the bones are soft and crumble when pressed.
Strain and pour into jars.
The broth will thicken and gel as it cools.
A layer of fat may harden on the top and this can be removed and discarded or used for cooking.

Enjoy!