Let me sing you a song of bone broth.
YOU SHOULD BE DRINKING 6-8 OZ OF BONE BROTH EVERY SINGLE DAY.
We all should.
Listen, this stuff is genius. It contains bio-available collagen, which is absolutely necessary to heal your gut. And as I hope you understand by now, you’re going to have to heal your gut in order to heal your skin (or your autoimmune condition).
The lining of your gut is only one cell thick. Chances are that at the moment, it is all ripped and torn. Collagen is the stuff that is going to smooth those edges and help repair that damage.
Our bodies begin to decrease collagen production around age 25, and by age 50 we have stopped producing this magic substance altogether. So we must consume it from an outside source. Collagen is the glue that keeps your body going, the holy grail of your immune system, the stuff that sticks your skin and your bones together. You will not be able to heal your gut without it.
And bone broth is the way forward. If there is ONE things that you do in addition to drinking your kefir, make it this. We heal the gut with the bone broth, and then put good bugs back into it with the kefir. Together, bone broth and kefir do a swanky healing tango.
Added benefit of bone broth – it’s completely blinking free! How good is that?!
Plus, it’s super easy. If you’ve ever read up about it and thought that it was too complicated, or too time-consuming, let me argue otherwise. It’s dead easy and simple, and completely worth the tiny bit of effort it entails.
Here’s what you do:
- Buy an organic chicken. Needs to be organic, because you’re going to be boiling it, and you don’t want bad nasties inside the bone marrow.
- Roast the chicken. Eat the meat. Have a nice dinner. Whatever you fancy.
- Take the carcass and chuck it into a big saucepan of water.
- Simmer for 3-4 hours. Strain out the bones.
- Job done! That’s your bone broth. It’s that easy.
Now let’s talk about how to consume it. I do not mean that you should be having soup for supper once a week.
I’m talking about a therapeutic dose of bone broth – an entire mug full – every single day. Think of it as tea instead of soup. A snack, instead of a meal. I have mine with a pinch of sea salt and a squeeze of lemon – yummy! Soothing, nourishing, comforting. It’s lovely around 3 pm for a pick-me-up, but bone broth anytime is a good thing.
You cannot overconsume bone broth. The more the merrier. If you can get it down your neck three times a day, go for it!
So, in order to have a daily dose, how are we going to manage that? Obviously we can’t go making broth every single day – and I don’t. I do mine once a week, or once every two weeks. Then I freeze my broth in individual size portion. I use a jumbo ice cube tray that I ordered online. It’s designed for freezing baby food.
So I pour my broth into these jumbo silicone ice cube trays, and freeze them, and then I just pop out one cube at a time. Pop it in a mug, top up with boiling water from the kettle, add sea salt and a slice of lemon, and Bob’s Your Uncle. Sip and enjoy!
Q&A
I’m vegan – what about me?
Collagen is still incredibly important. Go for a vegan-appropriate collagen supplement that comes in a capsule.
Don’t you have to put veg in your bone broth?
No, you do not. The important thing is the bio-available collagen, which comes from the bones themselves. Use some of the broth as a base for your supper if you like, but think of that separately to your therapeutic daily dose of bone broth.
Can I use other meats for bone broth?
Yes. In fact, it’s a good thing to use different kinds of bones, because there are different kinds of collagen – beef, fish and chicken bones produce different types. Mix it up.
Why do you say chicken to start with?
Because chicken is easy – and because the collagen comes from all the little joints and tendons between the bones, so there’s lot of collagen in chicken broth.
Can you add apple cider vinegar?
Yes, you can add 2 TBSP of apple cider vinegar if you like – but it’s not necessary.
I’ve read about bone broth before, and it said you had to boil it for 24 hours.
No! 3-4 hours is fine. You just need it to get to the point where it turns jelly-like in the fridge. That jelly consistency is the gelatin that gets converted to bio-available collagen inside your system.
Can you re-use the bones?
Yes. You can use each batch of bones twice. After the first boil, stick them in a plastic bag and pop them into the freezer. When you’re ready, pull them out and re-use.
Here’s a joke my husband tells:
Two guys pool their savings to buy a pub. Business isn’t great, and they’re struggling to make ends meet. One says to the other:
“Hey, maybe we should think about opening a brothel!”
Second guy snaps back:
“Don’t be stupid, if we can’t make a living selling beer, how are we ever going to survive selling broth?!”
So… get a-brothing!
Hugs,
Shann.x
