As part of my journey back to health, I have embraced Bone Broth – drinking it daily. It has become part of my morning ritual. Bone broth contains many important nutrients that have great health benefits, including protecting the gut and boosting bone health.
Making your own is easy and it has become a satisfying process for me of roasting a chicken every week and putting the bones in the freezer. I also save all my veggie scraps (you don’t have to peel them) – celery, carrots, and onions & garlic (now that I can) – in a bag in the freezer as well. It is a great way to use all the misshapen veggies from the garden and to load in things like kale which are so good for you but I still can’t bring myself to like. I make broth every couple of weeks and store extra in the freezer to bring out as required. It lasts 3-4 days in the fridge.
The basic recipe is healthy on its own but if you are so inclined you can add other vegetables, mushrooms, seaweed and a range of different herbs and spices to supercharge the health benefits. Sometimes I prepare an extra bag of these ingredients at the same time so that it is quicker to prepare the next time.
You can drink it for a health boost or use it to add flavour and nutrition to soups, stews, and other savoury dishes.
Chicken Bone Broth (Basic Recipe)
Bones of 2 whole chickens
4 cups vegetable scraps (celery, carrots, onions, garlic – don’t need to peel)
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar (helps extract minerals from the bones)
1 litre water
Roughly chop the vegetables. Add everything to your stockpot. Bring it to the boil. Reduce the heat and allow it to simmer for 24-48 hours (a slow cooker is great for this). Strain the broth.
Extra ingredients (optional)
I use a slow cooker with approx 6L capacity, put the chicken bones in first and then keep adding my other ingredients until the pot is nearly full to the top (if there is still space there is the opportunity to add more goodness). Then I fill it almost to the top with filtered water.
I regularly add roughly a big handful of each these (as available) to my broth:
Beetroot
Leeks
Kale or spinach
Turmeric (root or powder)
Ginger (root or powder)
Mixed mushrooms (fresh or dried)
Mixed seaweeds
Potato and/or Kumara
Black peppercorns
Bayleaves
Parsley
Oregano
Thyme
I also add 2 tbsp Miso paste at the end to the strained broth.
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- Chicken carcass
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- Frozen vegetables, mushrooms, herbs etc
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- Put all into stockpot and cover with water
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- Bone broth
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