natural health — Maca — Rachael Stott Natural Health

Now that the weather has cooled down, it feels like soup weather and that means broth weather for me. Broth is such a simple food and so nutritious. It can be used as a base for soups, sauces, stews and added to nacho mince and other savoury dishes. I love that it feeds into that ‘nose to tail’ eating idea, as we can be so wasteful in developed countries. Plus all of those bones are full of so many goodies. Bone marrow is even a delicacy in many traditional cultures.

In essence, it is meat stock and can be cooked for varying durations. I tend to cook mine for around 8-12 hours to avoid histamine issues. Also, it can increase glutamine to high levels if it is cooked for a longer duration and that makes it too similar to MSG for my liking. You can cook it for as little as 2 hours and still benefit from it.

Broth is such a simple food with the basics being bones (preferably long bones and roasted), salt and pure water simmered. When cooled the high gelatin content makes it solidify. You can also add parts like chicken feet to make the broth more gelatinous. You can also add a mixture of bones. I usually add some chicken bones, a chicken foot or two along with a large beef bone, some apple cider vinegar, sea salt and filtered water. So simple. You can add vegetables and herbs to the broth too. Anything goes.

Tip: ask your butcher to cut any beef long bones and joints so the marrow is exposed.

Nutrients in bone broth:

Protein: this is a rich source of protein so may be satisfying for those who eat it.

Nutrients may be increased in the body due to it containing many fat soluble vitamins (particularly vitamins A and D). Minerals such as calcium may be more bioavailable as the bones are broken down into the broth.
Amino acids such as glycine may be high in broth. Due to developed countries throwing out rich sources of glycine, we may have less of this in our diet than in traditional cultures. This is found in the cartilage, collagen, tendons and bones. The liver needs it for detox and we need it to support our cells as collagen is one of those nutrients that some women may take as they may have heard it can prevent the skin ageing. For those with leaky gut, it may support the gut walls.
Easily digested so it may benefit people who are unwell. Chicken broth is known as ‘Jewish penicillin’ as it would often be given to people who were sick.

Bone broth

2kg roasted bones (long and joint beef bones cut in half by the butcher, chicken including carcasses, lamb venison, chicken feet, etc)

2t sea salt

2T apple cider vinegar (optional)

Onions, carrots, celery, herbs (optional)

Pure water to cover

Place bones and other ingredients in a slow cooker and simmer 2-12 hours. If froth rises to the surface, skim off. When cooked to taste, cool and strain. I like to leave the marrow in my broth so I can eat some every time. You can choose whether to leave the fat on or to skim that off and use for other cooking. Store in fridge or freezer in jars (leave lids off jars if freezing).

Tip: broth will keep 4 weeks in fridge if there is a solid layer of fat on top of it to seal it. This is more straight forward with broth which is made from beef bones.

Beautiful bone broth