As I sit here on a cold, chilly morning, I am so grateful I made my big pot of bone broth yesterday! For me, I can feel the goodness slide down my throat and into my tummy, making me feel warm and nourished!!
We all know the saying “I can feel it in my bones” – which means to sense something strongly and intuitively – but cannot explain why! Well, I feel very strongly about bone broth, and these are my 3 main reasons why …
Immune Boosting
Amino acids in bone broth, such as, arginine, glutamine and cysteine, have been shown to boost immunity. So relevant right now!!!
Anti-Inflammatory
Amino acids, such as cystine, histidine and glycine, reduce inflammation and L-glutamine is specifically good for gut health as it reduces gut inflammation.
Gut Health
Not only does the L-glutamine reduce gut inflammation, it also helps maintain the function of the intestinal wall and has been known to prevent and heal leaky gut.
Other benefits include : anti-aging, improved sleep and brain function, improved mood, weight loss … you had me at anti-aging, and, and, and – who wouldn’t want all those benefits!!!
What is Bone Broth??
Bone broth is simply getting back to basics and is much easier to make than you think!
There are many different recipes out there, but for me it is basically placing some bones and veggies in a pot, covering with water and simmering away for at least 12 hours. I love beef bone broth, but the following recipe is my favourite.
Go experiment, have some fun and I would love to hear which is your favourite broth to sip on!
My Bone Broth
1 whole free-range organic chicken
1 large onion, peeled and quartered
3 carrots – peeled and roughly chopped
3 celery ribs – roughly chopped
3 – 10 garlic cloves – squashed (my family love garlic, hence the huge qty difference)
1 small piece of ginger, sliced
2 or 3 bay leaves
1 Tbls apple cider vinegar (not essential, but helps extracts the vitamins and minerals)
Herbs of your choice
Place all ingredients in a large pot and cover with water (I prefer to use filtered water)
Bring to a simmer and keep at a gentle simmer. After an hour, remove the chicken, remove all the meat from the bones and return bones to pot. Let simmer for at least 12 hours, up to 48 hours. The longer you leave it, the richer and more gelatinous it will become.
Once done, strain the golden elixir, add Himalayan salt (also filled with essential mineral) and feel those health benefits start to kick in. Enjoy!!
Note : I use the chicken meat that has been removed, for chicken mayo, as it is one of the only things my child will eat. I also use it to make a delicious chicken chakalaka dish – I will post the recipe for this shortly.
You do not need to use a whole chicken, you could use the bones only (either raw or from a roasted chicken).
My venison bone broth is coming along superbly. Thank you for the recipe.
Thanks so much for your message Adele. Love hearing good broth stories, you are so going to love sipping on it xxx