Boost Your Health With Bone Broth

Bone broth is a clear, protein packed liquid made by slowly simmering animal meat, bones and connective tissues over many hours. It can be used as a base for soups, stews, sauces, gravies, risottos or drank on its own.
 
Anthropologists believe people have been making bone broth since prehistoric times. Today, people from different cultures throughout the world make and enjoy bone broth.
 
Bone broth is simple to make, and its nutritional benefits are huge.
 
For maximum nutritional value, you should:
- Use joint bones;
- Cook low and slow;
- Use an acidic ingredient (apple cider vinegar) to maximize nutrient extraction;
- Add vegetables and herbs for added flavour and nutrition.
 
Bone broth has many potential health benefits:
1. It helps boost your digestion and gut health. Gelatine, the most prevalent protein in bone broth binds with water in the gut helping food move through it. Studies indicate gelatine combined with some of the other amino acids in bone broth can be therapeutic for inflammatory bowel disease.
2. It can help you lose weight – the protein in it curbs your appetite making you feel full.
3. It helps you with hydration.
4. It helps improve immune function through amino acid absorption and protection of the small intestinal barrier.
5. It can help support joint health – collagen from chicken cartilage improves pain, stiffness and joint function in people with chronic arthritis.
6. It can help you sleep - the amino acid glycine it contains supports healthy sleep patterns.
7. It may even be anti-aging! The collagen in bone broth increases bone density and improves the skin’s elasticity, hydration and appearance of wrinkles.
 
Simple Chicken Bone Broth Recipe
What you will need:
- 1 roasted, pasture-raised Foxfire Farm chicken
- 1 medium-large sized slow cooker
- 12 cups of water
- 2 unpeeled carrots
- 2 celery stalks with leaves
- 1 medium onion
- 2 cloves organic garlic
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
 
Directions:
1. First step – after roasting one whole pasture-reared Foxfire Farm chicken (see recipe idea below), allow the roast chicken to cool and then remove as much of the meat from the bones as you can.
2. Take these bones and use them to make bone broth (your roasted chicken can be eaten straight up or kept for adding to various delicious meals, curry, salad, sandwiches, etc.).
3. Place all ingredients in your slow cooler on low for 15+ hours. This is the set it and forget is method (I love it; it’s easy; and it makes the house smell great!). You can either leave the slow cooker on overnight, while you are at work or while you are home on the weekend.
4. When done use a fine-mesh sieve to drain as much of the liquid (your bone broth!) into a separate bowl. The solids can be discarded or used in some other creative manner.
5. The bone broth can be cooled to room temperature and then refrigerated.
6. If you pour it into smaller containers before it solidifies, this will ease use.
7. Within 24 hours it will solidify. You can remove the fat from top of it if you like.
8. Either way, you should aim to use this bone broth if kept in the fridge within the next 3-5 days or you can freeze it for future use.
9. When you heat it up, it will liquify again.
10. Use as a base for soup, stew, sauce, risotto, gravy or warm it up and drink it as is for a protein packed nutrient punch to your day.
 
Stay healthy and stay strong. Thank you for being here!

-Shari