Bone Broth is a simple and delicious way to support your gut health and reduce food waste at the same time. When deciding on making bone broth you need a couple of things: bones, and a large pot. From there the veggies, herbs and flavourings can change depending on what you are in the mood for – and how you will be using it.
NOTE: I will only ever use organic (or at the very least free range) bones for my bone broth. The reason for this is, how the animal is raised – The food, lifestyle and surrounding pesticides, antibiotics and hormones that it comes into contact with can store in the marrow of the bones. When cooking the bones this matter can go into the broth or stock and in turn we consume it.
For this recipe, I used an organic chicken; which I roasted whole in the oven the previous day to use for lunches and main meals and then used the bones to make the chicken bone broth.
Personally, I don’t eat chicken often so when I do (or if I do) I want to know it is of the best quality possible.
So, what does bone broth do?
Nutritionally bone broth is a nutrient dense simple drink that provides the body with protein, collagen, minerals and vitamins. It supports gut health in that it supports the gut lining and how other vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients can be absorbed.
Making your own bone broth is literally using the whole animal so that there is less food waste. To help flavour the broth I keep leftover veggie scraps and chuck them in when making broth – you can add any green veggie you like, onions, garlic, shallots and leftover herbs but best to leave out the starchy veggies (potatoes, pumpkin etc).
I N G R E D I E N T S
bones from one organic chicken
2L of filtered water
leaves and top stems from one whole organic celery (keep the bottom for delicious things – like peanut butter)
2 whole carrots, roughly chopped
2 brown onions, cut into quarters
4 cloves of garlic, crushed (or more if desired)
1 nob of ginger, roughly chopped
2 sticks of lemon grass
1 whole red chili, roughly chopped
leftover herbs: I used coriander stems, basil leaves, parsley
salt and pepper to season
M E T H O D
- In a large pot, place the chicken bones, water, vegetables, herbs and spices.
- Place on a low heat and simmer for 12-24 hours.
- Once happy with the taste, allow to cool and strain away bones, vegetables etc – discard.
- Store the liquid bone broth in a glass container and use as needed. For easy for storage you able place into silicone moulds, freeze and use as portion size additions.
TO ENJOY
There are many different ways to enjoy bone broth. You can warm it over the stove and sip slow, add it into meals such as curries, soups and pasta sauce to help season the food and enjoy the health benefits at the same time. unsalted bone broth can be added into children’s food and mashes.
* Celery has been one of the ‘dirty dozen’ fruits and vegetables for the past several years. This means that when tested, celery has high levels of pesticides, fungicides and other farming chemicals. When cooked and eaten, we ingest those chemicals as well. Celery is one vegetable that I always go organic
*Woolworths, Coles, Harris farm, Aldi all sell whole organic whole chickens – which are accessible and affordable. Using the whole chicken and using the meat for main meals you helps keep costs down.
* Store any leftover veggies (such as carrot and celery tops, herb stems etc) in a re-sealable bag in the freezer and add to your broth when needed.