Getting the most Bang for your Bite! A Nutrient-PACKED recipe collection
Let’s talk about Broth, baby!!
If you were being deserted on an island and could only take 5 healing foods with you, you better pack this one! Bone broth is a STAPLE in the Nutrient Dense lifestyle and once you start, you can’t (and shouldn’t) stop. And you will definitely never buy broth out of a carton again. Bone broth has even spread to the streets of New York City in the form of a walk-up window!! Ask Gina, she has actually gotten to check it out. The really cool thing is that this isn’t just a fad. The Bone Broth “movement” is a Nutrient awareness that has been resurrected and is thankfully spreading and sticking strong. If you remember me referring to the work of Dr. Weston A. Price in this post and his studies of primitive diets and their use of the entire animal, Bone Broth was/is the perfect way to use the bones of the animal. Instead of just tossing them out to the little ancestral pups laying out back, here are just a handful of reasons why using bones to make broth became such an important component of primitive diets around the world:
Great source of bioavailable protein
High mineral content makes it a natural electrolyte source: Calcium, Magnesium, Phosphorus, & other Trace Minerals (Gatorade has nothin’ on it)
Rich in gelatin (remember all of the AMAZING things gelatin has to offer??)
Digestive Support and Healing
Skin, Bone, Joint, and Nail Health
Immune Support
Hydration Support
Fatty Acid Absorption
I mean, hello! There’s a reason your body craves broth and soup when you’re sick and need mega-nutrients! If you need more convincing, here are a couple of great articles from:
So, my goal is to make this so easy for you, you will have no reason not to keep your fridge stocked with this nutrient power-house. We make a batch at least once a week and everyone in our household has a mug or two daily…even the pups!
Today, I’m going to walk you through a pretty basic chicken broth, because it is super simple, full of flavor, aaaand you get several servings of chicken out of it! Bone broth is usually simmered for a longer amount of time, compared to stock – some like to simmer longer than 24 hours. If I want to set it and forget it, I use my crock pot to get my broth up to a nice boil on high, and then turn it on low to simmer for a day or so. If you want yours sooner than 24 hours, I would recommend cooking it for at least 4 hours, or pull out your pressure cooker/Instant Pot, like you will see with this recipe. (There are tons of recipes online that you can find for any tye of broth, stock, or bone broth you can imagine…do some research!) Okay – the Instant Pot Chicken Bone Broth method…
1. First season and cook your chickie. This one has a mix of Himalayan Salt and Celtic Sea Salt, Black Pepper, Thyme, and Rosemary. Of course, I recommend the highest quality chicken, herbs, and spices you can find and fit into your grocery budget, keeping in mind that the better quality, the more nutrients will be available to you and your family when eating it.
2. When finished, pick all of the beautiful, yummy chicken meat, and put it aside to use in your favorite pulled chicken recipe later. Mmmm, maybe a curry chicken salad with sliced almonds?!?! Yuum
3. You can either capture that initial broth that is left from cooking your bird, or leave it in and add to it to make your Bone Broth. And the skin – it’s your choice to eat it or throw it back to be included in the Bone Broth. I do a little of both.
4. After your bones have returned to the pot, cover the bones with filtered water, a tablespoon of Apple Cider Vinegar (helps to leech minerals from the bones), and more of the same seasonings you used to season your chicken. You can also add some veggies and egg shells at this point to maximize your nutrient load.
5. Cook it up baby! You really can’t overcook it (I have even done a continuous batch, where I would skim off my broth every day, and then refill my crock with water to cover the bones and repeated batch after batch, until the bones started to break apart). When you finish cooking, strain your broth into a glass container for storage. You can either toss it in the fridge to re-heat (on the stove, please!) and sip on throughout the week, or freeze it for future use. I have even seen recipes that freeze them in rubber ice cube trays to keep them as single servings…Find whatever works best for your needs.
A few tips:
* Stock can be a good place to start if you’re new to the scene.
* Knuckle and joint bones make the broth nice and gelatinous.
* Fish head broth has incredible nutrients, but takes a STRONG person to be able to choke, I mean get it down…more power to ya if you can!
* You can continue using the same bones until they actually begin to disintegrate! This means you have pulled all the minerals and nutrients you’re going to get!
* Use the skin!! This adds even more highly healing collagen!
* Beef bones usually need to be roasted first if you’re looking for a good flavor in your broth.
* Adding egg shells can increase the calcium and mineral content.
* Toss in whatever veggies and herbs you have on hand…this will only add to the nutrient density!
I promise that once you start incorporating Bone Broths into your Nutrient Dense lifestyle, it will absolutely become a staple for you and your family. Hopefully, one day there will be a Bone Broth drive through on every corner, instead of a McD’s!
Until next time, Enjoy and be well! Leave us a comment below letting us know what ya think and how you used it!
