Bone broth has received a great deal of press in the past few years, today you can even buy bone broth pre-made for you in jars at many markets and grocery stores. Bone broth has been associated with numerous health benefits and has been used by our ancestors for years. Mothers, grandmothers, and doctors recommended homemade chicken soup for when you are sick for good reasons, the vitamins and minerals found within the bones are beneficial to our immune system.
Our ancestors would remove the meat from the animal and then boil all the bones, ligaments, and tendons for long periods of time to release substances such as collagen and glucosamine, along with many minerals such as calcium, magnesium, sulfur, and phosphorus. An important note is that these are released into the stock by the long and slow simmering of the bones and our bodies recognize them in these forms, which makes it easy for us to absorb them unlike taking synthetic versions of them.
I use bone broth when my family starts feeling under the weather, when I feel stressed or like my body needs some extra support. I also like to make a large batch and keep it on hand to make soups with, drink it straight, cook my quinoa in it or add it to a pan to steam my veggies. I always add turmeric to my bone broth to enhance the immune-supporting benefits, check out my post for golden milk which contains links to several research studies on the health benefits of turmeric.
I mentioned I am starting to see that you can buy bone broth now, but the versions I have seen are $20.00 for about 4-6 cups. This is crazy to me! It is so quick and inexpensive to make a large batch, this is why I wanted to share a recipe I use a lot to show you how simple it is to make. Whenever I roast I chicken I use the carcass after to make bone broth or you can ask any butcher for a bag of bones and for only a few dollars. This week I got 3 lbs. of beef femur bones you can see in this recipe, just full of marrow, which is lovely for bone broth for 4.00. So the next time you pick up a jar of bone broth for $20.00, put it back, walk away and give this one a try. There are many other health benefits to bone broth that support your overall health and wellness.
Immune Supporting Turmeric Bone Broth
Ingredients
- 2-3 pounds bones (chicken, turkey, beef, mixed)
- 1/8 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp celtic sea salt
- 10-12 cups water
- 4 large carrots, roughly chopped
- 4 celery stalks, roughly chopped
- 2 sweet yellow onions, roughly chopped
- 1 cup chopped cabbage
- 3-4 cloves garlic, separated and peeled
- 1 inch piece turmeric, peeled
- 1 bunch fresh dill
- 1 bunch thyme
- 1 tbsp whole black peppercorns
- 2 tbsp goji berries
Instructions
- Place the bones in the bottom of a large soup pot. Add 1/8 cup of apple cider vinegar, sea salt and fill with water until the bones are just covered with water (about 2-4 cups). Heat for 30 minute on low-medium heat (scum can form around the edge of the pot, I like to spoon this off and discard it.
- Add the ingredients and the remaining water (8-10 cups) to a large soup pot. Turn the heat up to medium-high, until the water begins to boil
- Once boiling, reduce heat to low, cover the pot and allow it to simmer for 6-8 hours.
- Strain Broth, allow to cool and store your bone broth for further use.