Healthy Comfort Foods: Homemade Bone Broth

On my quest for healthy comfort foods, I've found that nothing is quite as cozy as a bowl of hot broth on a chilly day. And there's a reason our we crave broths and soups in cold weather! When fresh vegetables would have traditionally been scarce, bone broth is a major source of vitamins and minerals. It is also full of collagen and amino acids -- just what your body needs for healing during winter season.

Bone broth is especially helpful for...

• Gut Issues.  Bone broth is very healing for the gut, and should be a go-to for anyone with digestive issues. Collagen reduces inflammation in the gut, gelatin maintains the mucus lining that protects against microbes, and glutamine provides energy to the cells in the gut.

• Fighting Illness. There's a reason we often crave chicken soup when we're sick. Bone broth is a great immune booster because of its high amino acid content -- in particular the amino acid proline. Proline stimulates the body to produce more white blood cells to fight against viruses and bacteria. A cup of warm broth is also a good way to get protein and nutrients into your body when nothing else sounds good!

• Mineral Deficiencies. Bone broth is a great way to boost your mineral stores from a very bioavailable (and delicious! ) source. It's full of magnesium, potassium, calcium, and many other minerals.

• Bone and joint health. This is a natural (and cost-effective) way to get collagen and gelatin into your body to support your bone and joints. If you experience joint pain in the winter, your body could be calling for a cup of bone broth!

With all these benefits, bone broth is truly the superfood of winter!

Despite bone broth being so nurturing and healing, we know that the cost of buying bone broth can be prohibitive. But we have great news...making it is basically FREE, and takes very little time! All you need is some intentionality.

A few weeks before you want to make your broth, start collecting bones and meat scraps until you have enough to make a batch. If you want to get even thriftier, you can collect vegetable scraps as well...carrot peels, the ends of onions, and other parts you would normally throw away. Keep a bag in the freezer and add your meat and veggie scraps to it for several weeks. Once you have enough, let the cooking begin!

Homemade Bone Broth

Ingredients:

• 4lbs assorted chicken or beef scraps/bones

• 8c filtered water

• 2 ribs celery (or scraps), chopped

• 2 carrots (or scraps), chopped

• 1 medium yellow onion quartered, skin on for more nutrients

• 5 clove garlic, minced/smashed

• 1Tbsp apple cider vinegar

• 10 whole black peppercorns

• 1 tsp sea salt (Redmond Real Salt)

• 2-4 tsp of any other seasonings you enjoy

Instructions:

1. Place meat scraps/bones in your Instapot with other ingredients and stir.

2. Secure the lid, move valve to sealing, Pressure Cook on High for 120 minutes. (See recipe notes if you're using a slow cooker.)

3. Allow a 30 minute natural release, then quick release.

4. Cool for 15 minutes then carefully pour the broth through a fine mesh strainer with a large bowl or pot beneath. Discard the scraps.

5. Pour into mason jars and keep refrigerated up to a week or frozen up to 3 months.

Notes:

• When the broth cools in the fridge, you'll see some jiggly semisolids start to appear, this is gelatin (collagen for your gut lining, joints, skin, hair and nails) which gives your broth tons of delicious flavor and added nutrients.

• The more scraps you use, the thriftier you will be! Try throwing in other veggie scraps to use whatever you have on hand.

• Modify for a crockpot by cooking on low for 12-36 hours. The longer you cook it, the more intense the flavor will be, and the more "good stuff" will be extracted.

Use this homemade bone broth in your favorite winter soups or warm it up and enjoy like a cup of tea! Extra "cozy points" for consuming your broth under a fuzzy blanket or in front of a fire place.