Bone Broth – a Traditional Nutritional Powerhouse

Bone broth has been a fundamental part of most peoples’ diets worldwide for centuries.

Why should you incorporate bone broth into your diet?

• Help recover from injuries and inflammation
• Improved sleep
• Help heal the gut
• Strengthen the bones
• Supports collagen production

From a Traditional Chinese Medicine viewpoint, some key benefits of bone broth include boosting a person’s qi, blood, and yin.

Bone Broth Recipe

Ingredients:

• Bones from 2 or 3 roasted chickens – include skin and be sure to pick off any meat left on the bones and reserve it for use in soup
• 2 medium onions
• 2 ribs of celery cut into chunks
• 2 carrots, cut into chunks
• 1 head of garlic
• 1 small piece of fresh ginger root 
• 7 pieces of thyme 
• 8 sprigs of fresh parsley 
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp peppercorns
• 2 tbsp of apple cider vinegar
• 2 to 3 quarts of cold water or enough to just cover the bones and vegetables

• Add all of the ingredients in the order listed to a 6-quart slow cooker.
• Cook on low for 8 – 12 hours. At the end of cooking, remove the bones and vegetables and discard them. Strain the broth through a mesh strainer to remove the remaining pieces of bones, skin, and vegetables.

Note: If desired, you may place the ingredients in an oven-safe Dutch oven and place it, covered, in a 300-degree oven for four hours. After four hours, reduce the oven heat to 275 degrees and cook for another 3 hours.  After 7 hours total, remove the pot from the oven.

To finish the broth, remove the fat: Chill broth overnight in the refrigerator and then remove the fat layer the next day by scraping it off.

Uses: This salt-free broth can be used in various ways, such as in healthy soups, nourishing stews, gravies, etc.  If you want to drink it like tea, you may wish to add a pinch of salt.

Storage: Refrigerate the broth for up to 5 days. After 5 days, freeze for up to 3 months.

Healing bone broth is an excellent addition to your health regimen. If you are looking for more support, book an appointment with one of our acupuncturists.