During the cooler months, I make at least one pot of bone broth every week. It is a warming, nourishing, flavorful part of most of our days. We love it as a basic chicken soup with noodles, or as a base for minestrone or other soups and stews.

There are many benefits to bone broth:

• minerals – calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus, plus amino acids and gelatin are needed for strong bones, ligaments, and tendons.
• gelatin (comes from the collagen in the bones) – the building blocks for healthy joints (potentially reducing joint pain and increasing joint mobility), strong hair, and glowy skin; it also feeds good bacteria in your gut, and helps strengthen digestive tract lining (important to avoid or heal leaky gut)
• glycine (an amino acid) – helps reduce inflammation, strengthen your immune system, and even help you relax. (Glycine supplements are used to reduce anxiety and panic attacks.)

Bone broth is so easy to make. Add a few ingredients in a pot and boil.

Bone Broth Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 whole chicken, any size that fits in your biggest pot – I use around 4 lbs; OR 4 lbs beef marrow bones; OR 3-4 chicken carcasses
• 3-4 chicken feet or additional chicken backs (optional: adds great collagen, but can be hard to find. Sometimes they’re in the freezer section in the grocery store.)
• 2 carrots, cut in thirds
• 2 celery stalks, cut in thirds
• 1 onion, peeled and cut in half
• 4-5 garlic cloves, smashed
• ~2 tsp. dried oregano
• ~2 tsp. dried thyme
• ~1/2 T peppercorns
• ~ 1 1/2 tsp. salt. (I add more salt later when making soup.)
• 2 T apple cider vinegar

Those are my basic ingredients, but you can add these in also: A few leaves of romaine lettuce; Parmesan cheese rind; Corn cob (no corn left); potatoes; sweet potatoes if you want a sweeter broth; parsley towards the end of cooking; celery leaves. This is a versatile recipe, so experiment with different flavors!

Steps

• Put the chicken in the pot and fully cover with water. Bring to a boil and let boil for about 20 minutes. Skim off the foam that gathers.
• Put rest of ingredients in the pot and bring to a boil again.
• Lower heat and simmer for about 2.5 hours. Take the chicken out (it should fall off the bones easily) and put on a cutting board. Use tongs to remove meat from the bones and put it in a container for later. See
• Optional step: Take a knife and press on the bones to expose the marrow. Put the the bones, skin, and fat back in the pot. 
• Simmer for about 6 hours. When done simmering, the broth should be a rich, golden color.
• Strain the broth and press the veggies with a large spoon to get more liquid out. Discard the veggies and bones. You can eat the veggies, but they will just be bland and mushy.
• Your broth is ready!!

Notes:

If you are not home, you can put the broth in a crock pot to simmer for 8 hours on low.

The broth is easy to freeze for up to six months. Freeze in soup portion size containers or in ice trays, which are perfect for using as a base for sauteing.

How to use it

• Drink it in a mug (My daughter loves it like this!)

• Make soup

• Sauté vegetables in it

• In any recipe that calls for broth