Recipe: Nourishing Bone Broth

Here is my own personal recipe for a deeply nourishing bone broth, which can be used as a rich base for any soup or for any recipe that calls for broth or stock.  It is a perfect start to the GAPS Diet (see an introduction to GAPS).  Make sure to use the highest quality ingredients available. 

If you are new to making bone broths, I recommend trying it at least once from the perspective that you are making medicine for you and your family. This is much more than a food, this truly is powerful medicine!

Ingredients

2 lbs. organic chicken or grass fed beef bones
2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
Filtered water, to cover
5 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
2 large carrots, roughly chopped
1 large onion, roughly chopped
Sea salt, to taste

IF NOT ON THE GAPS DIET ADD:

2 stalks celery, roughly chopped
1 bay leaf
1/2 bunch parsley, chopped

PRESSURE COOKER Directions

1. Add the bones to the pressure cooker and add the vinegar or lemon juice and enough water to cover the bones completely.
2. Add the remaining ingredients, and put on lid and lock in place. Turn heat to high and wait for it to pressurize.
3. When pot pressurizes, turn heat down to medium and cook for 1-1 ½ hours.
4. Depressurize cooker, and remove all bones and bay leaf from pot, making sure that all marrow and soft tissues are off the bones before you discard them.
5. Blend broth with an immersion blender, then strain through a fine-mesh strainer to remove any bits of bone.
6. Season to taste with salt and pepper. The broth is now ready to be made into a soup/stew, or to be used as is. Store in freezer in an airtight container for up to one month.

SLOW COOKER Directions

Place everything in a large slow cooker / crock pot and cover with filtered water. Cook for 4-6 hours before using, starting on high for 1 hour, then reducing the heat to low. You can keep this going for 3-5 days if you continually scoop out the broth and replace what you take with filtered water. This method allows the bones to really cook down.

TIPS

• This recipe can also be made without a pressure cooker, in a regular stock pot. Cook several hours, until marrow and soft tissues release from bones.
• Can also use lamb bones or fish bones.
• Use high collagen joints like knuckles, necks, and feet.
• Use as a soup base, cooking liquid for grains or beans, or to make sauces like gravies (thicken with a roux).
• Season the bone broth and serve as a first course to enhance digestion.
• Other herbs, spices, or vegetables can be added to the broth depending on the desired flavor.
• Season with salt and sip throughout the day if you need a boost in energy or are not feeling well. The broth is both energizing and calming.

About Brooke

Brooke Kaufman is a Certified Holistic Nutrition Consultant who creates customized meal plans for her clients with multiple food allergies and intolerances, and for those who are on the GAPS diet. She enjoys helping people eat nourishing food that is easy to prepare and tastes delicious. She believes that having food allergies and intolerances can be a positive challenge that inspires creativity, and brings a higher level of awareness when it comes to what you put in your body. Brooke believes that when we deeply nourish ourselves inside and out, we can attain optimal health…which includes healing our damaged and inflamed digestive systems.

Brooke received her nutrition education at Bauman College, and has learned through her own personal experience with food intolerances, she also works as a cleanse coach for Cleanse Organic, a 28-day, guided whole food based cleansing program.

Find her at:  Balance Within Nutrition