Homemade Bone Broth

Fall is here! As the weather gets chilly, nothing beats curling up with a nice hearty warm bowl of soup. It’s comforting, delicious and perfect for this time of year! I recently started making homemade broth from scratch. Homemade broth has incredible healing power and is nutrient rich with no added fillers just the hearty, healthy things that nourish you from the inside out. Here is a simple crockpot recipe you can use to make your own homemade bone broth. I use the remains of a chicken carcass, but you can also purchase frozen bones from the food store. They usually will have them if you ask at the meat department. So help your body and immune system stay strong through the winter with this delicious recipe!

Some benefits of homemade broth:

●     nutrient rich

●     organic - no added chemicals or preservatives

●     loaded with minerals you won’t get from canned soup or bouillon cubes

●     lower sodium

●     great support for your immune system

●     helps fight inflammation \

●     tastes so much better than canned broth (ok that’s my opinion, but still ;)

Ingredients:

●     Bones or carcass from a chicken or turkey (you can buy a small rotisserie chicken and use the remains)

●     3-4 garlic cloves (can add more to your liking)

●     3 whole carrots

●     2 onions chopped up

●     1/2 inch piece of fresh ginger

●     4-5 stalks of celery

●     one pepper - sliced into pieces (you can start with half of a pepper if you aren’t a pepper fan)

●     small handful of parsley

●     optional: handful of thick leafy greens like kale or spinach

●     1-2 tablespoons of Apple Cider Vinegar

●     2 teaspoons of sea salt (can add more to the taste)

Directions:

1) Remove all meat from carcass (you can save and use to make soup with!)

2)Place all ingredients in crockpot and cover with water, filling it to the top.

3) Turn to HIGH and bring to a boil. Then cook on low for 6-8 hours. (You can let the broth cook longer than 8 hours, I like to set it up in the morning and then let it cook all day. The longer it cooks the more flavor and nutrients you get! So there is no harm in letting it cook longer!)

** A helpful trick I learned, if your crockpot has handles on the sides, slip the spoon you're using through one of the handles so you can stir it throughout the cooking process**

4) After it cools, strain the chicken carcass and vegetables and viola! you have yourself some delicious bone broth. You can keep the vegetables and use them to make soup if you like!

This broth freezes great! You can store it in the freezer then defrost and use it for cooking, soups, or even to boil rice...it adds great flavor to any dish. You can freeze it in an ice cube tray and keep the cubes on hand and use them like bouillon cubes.

 So don’t throw away that turkey carcass after Thanksgiving next month!! You can stick it in the crockpot the day after Thanksgiving and make yourself some delicious and healing broth!