Bone Broth: slow food, healing food
The reasons why I love bone broth Monday fasting routine
1. It’s one day when I simply feel that I need time to find a groove and can feel behind before I have begun so I like that I don’t have to think about food.
2. It clears my head and body after a weekend filled with fun but also too many margaritas and tacos- (yes, REAL margaritas and tacos!)-Eating well doesn’t mean you must be a health food freak. A good diet allows for few favorite junk foods occasionally.
3. It supports healthy digestion by healing and sealing the gut and encourages breakdown of damaged cells.
4. It makes me feel warm inside, and puts some pep in my step
I know that when I fast, my body still needs all the essential nutrients for healing and repair. That’s why bone broth is the perfect fluid to sip. It’s full of amino acids and collagen for bone and skin health and a myriad of vitamins and minerals to lubricate my metabolic circuits.
I know that bone broth is the hottest new health trend but this ‘remedy’ has been used and prescribed for centuries by physicians and grandmothers alike, in almost every culture’s culinary traditions to help heal you from the inside out.
Ingredients (scale according to the weight of bones)
1 litre cold water
1 kilo organic grass fed beef bones such as short ribs
3 celery stalks, halved
2 medium onions, quartered
3 carrots, halved
2 whole cloves of garlic
A bunch of parsley or other herbs such as sage, thyme, oregano or rosemary
1 litre cold water (again)
2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
Whole peppercorns
Pinch or two of sea salt
Method
1. Place the bones in cold water in a large crockpot, add apple cider vinegar and let the mixture sit for 1 hour so the vinegar can leach the mineral out of the bones.
2. Preheat the oven to 200’C
3. Drain the bones making sure that you keep the liquid and roast them in the oven until they are brown and crispy.
4. Carefully place the bones back into your boiling pot and add the celery, onions, garlic, parsley and carrots.
5. Add more water if needed just to cover the bones.
6. Simmer cover, and cook for 24-72 hours. This will allow for the bones and ligaments to release more healing components.
7. Let the broth cool and strain the bones, ensuring that all marrow is taken out of the bones and into the broth.
8. In the fridge it will last up to 7 days and in the freezer for up to 6 months.
