You should be making bone broth on a regular basis so you have it on hand as a base for lots of your yummy recipes. It is often used as a healing meal on its own. It’s always a good idea to have bone broth ready in the freezer!

It may seem like a hassle to begin with, but after making it a few times, you will get the hang of it. And preparing it yourself makes it really economical. Remember this is a lifestyle, not a diet, and these changes are to benefit your health long-term.

If you can’t make your own bone broth you can purchase pre-made bone broth from certain supermarkets (I know Food Works in QLD often stocks it) and from health food stores. Pre-made is more expensive but can be convenient (although often only cooked for 12 hours).

Bone broth concentrate is also very handy to have in the cupboard just in case you run out of your own. I take a jar with us when we go away in the caravan as it’s easy and saves space in the fridge or freezer. And as all caravanners know, space is precious!  I simply add it to whatever I’m cooking, or even just add it to a mug of boiling water for a gut soothing addition to my caravanning diet

You can substitute store bought stock in the recipes, but please know that the bone broth is extremely important to a true healthy way of eating. Bonox is NOT a suitable replacement.

Bone broth contains proteins and other nutrients in the marrow; calcium, magnesium, iodine, potassium, phosphorus and much more that won’t be present in stock. Bone broth can help to heal your gut, protect your joints, help you sleep better, is wonderful for immune support, can strengthen you hair, bones and nails, give you glowing skin and more energy! If you feel ‘blah’ a cup on its own works wonders.

There is a vegetarian option, but the healing properties and all the benefits from traditional bone broth, are not present.

A slow cooker is a wonderful investment in your health as it is much easier to flick it on and leave it than worrying about the stovetop burners being left on for hours on end. Slow cookers are very cheap (about $40) and are used ALL the time in our house!

Chicken or Beef Bone Broth Makes about 1.5 litres

Ingredients:

• 2.5k of mixed bones (beef marrow, knuckle bone and some meatier bones like neck and ribs) or 2-3 organic chicken carcasses (roasted or raw)
• 2 litres filtered water
• 2 Tbsp. vinegar (I use apple cider vinegar, but white wine or other vinegar would be fine) OR 1-3 cups of KOMBUCHA VINEGAR
• Herbamere

Method:

1. Oven roast the meatier beef bones for 45 minutes at 170C (optional, you can skip this part, but I love the extra flavour!) of if you have a slow cooker like mine with a sear function, brown them off before changing the setting to slow cook.
2. Soak the less meaty beef bones in water and the vinegar (optional – you can add it later, but it draws more nutrients out this way).
3. Sprinkle bones with vinegar (if you haven’t soaked the bones in it; if you have, add all the water and vinegar together)
4. Add filtered water up to the brim
5. Cook on low for at least 12 hours – if you can, leave it for 2-3 days – the longer, the better (in my opinion!) I leave mine 2-3 days. (you can also boil the broth before transferring it to the slow cooker – this can help extract more of the collagen that helps the broth to ‘gel’ when cooked.)
6. Add water if it becomes extremely thick or the level drops considerably.
7. Strain it into a large bowl (I use a large collander and then repeat with a sieve) and place in the fridge.
8. Stir in herbamere to flavour (or salt and your choice of flavourings)
9. Cool and then scoop the congealed fat from the top (set aside to use for something else if the bones were from healthy animals)
10. Divide finished stock between containers (leave some head space if freezing) or use zip lock bags and save in portions sizes in fridge or freezer for later use. Ice cubes trays are great for smaller portion sizes. I use silicon muffin trays.
11. I always have a 2L bottle in the fridge and my freezer is always ‘stocked’!

Vegetarian Bone Broth Alternative makes almost 3 litres

Ingredients:

• 8 celery stalks, chopped
• 6 carrots (unpeeled if organic)
• 2  onions, roughly chopped
• 2 unpeeled large sweet potatoes (peeled if not organic)
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 bunch coriander (with stems)
• 4 cups mixed of fresh chopped spinach and kale
• 1 sheet seaweed
• Handful of peppercorns
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, roughly chopped
• 3  bay leaves
•  Filtered water

Method:

1. Put all the veggies in a large soup pot. Cover and bring to the boil.
2. Remove lid, and reduce heat to low, so that the broth can simmer gently for about two hours. Add water if the level drops below the tops of the veggies.
3. Add the coriander, parsley, seaweed, peppercorns, and bay leaves during the last 15 minutes.
4. Strain using a strainer over a large bowl.
5. Let broth cool, taste and season to your liking.
6. Cool completely before storing in fridge or freezer.

We should all know how AMAZING bone broth is for us, and we should be drinking some EVERY DAY ….but is tasteless bone broth driving you crazy?

Have you given up having your daily dose because it’s just so ‘blah’?

Here are some simple tips to improve the flavour of your bone broth:

Is your bone broth not ‘gelling’?

Bone broth that doesn’t gel is still good for you and it probably even has some gelatin in it, just not enough to make it ‘set/gel’.  If you’d like a broth you can tumble (rather than pour) out of your jar, there are a few things you can try.

• Adding more collagen-rich animal parts, like skin, feet, and joints.
• Knuckle bones (from any animal).
• Chicken feet, pork, lamb, goat, or pig or beef feet.
• Tendons.
• Entire chicken carcasses (I get these from my butcher).
• Heads. Fish chicken, duck, or goose heads will work just as well. (not sure I could bring myself to try this one!) lol
• Wingtips (chicken, duck, or goose).
• Bring the broth to a boil first. Even if you’re making it in the slow-cooker, just boil the borth in a pot on the stove first, then transfer that straight to the slow cooker.
• Try adding a little vinegar to your bones before you pour in the water. I use ACV.
•  Leave it for a few days – the longer the better