Grandma always said to drink chicken soup when you were sick. But when this tradition started I doubt our ancestors meant Campbell’s brand. The former soups were made from bone broth. There are numerous benefits to consuming bone broth including benefits to your immune system, beauty, and energy.  I also love the fact that I can use all parts of the gracious animal that gave it’s life for me.

Benefits

1. Gut Health: A cup a day works miracles for leaky gut syndrome but it’s also good for protecting non-leaky guts. The gelatin in the bone broth (found in the knuckles, feet, and other joints) helps seal up holes in intestines. This helps cure chronic diarrhea, constipation, bloating and even some food intolerances.
2. Immune Function: This doesn’t surprise grandma. Due to high concentration of minerals it helps strengthen your immune system.  A Harvard study even showed that some people with auto-immune disorders experienced a relief of symptoms when drinking bone broth, with some achieving a complete remission.
3. Look Younger: Bone Broth is a rich source of collagen. Collagen not only provides the youthful bounce to skin, it is beneficial for your hair, nails, bones and joints. I always have a rosy glow after consuming the broth.
4. Sleep better, and feel better. The glycine in bone broth has been shown in several studies to help people sleep better and improve memory.
5. Protect your joints. Every health store sells glucosamine supplements to help with joint pain, but it turns out that bone broth has glucosamine too. Unlike pills, the broth also includes a host of other goodies that help keep your joints healthy like chondroitin sulfate, shown to help prevent osteoarthritis.

Healing Organic Lemon Ginger Bone Broth

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 8-24 hours

Total Time: 8 ½ – 24 hours

Serves 8

 Ingredients

• 1 small to medium chicken breast (I ordered mine from Primal Pastures)
• 1 medium onion, peeled and sliced in half length-wise and quartered
• 3 celery stalks, chopped
• 3 carrots, chopped
• 1 piece of ginger (3 inches), chopped
• 1 kombu sheet
• 1 tsp of turmeric
• 5-6 sprigs parsley
• Zest from 1 lemon, peeled into strips
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar (optional)
• 10 cups water

Directions

1. Place all ingredients in your pot or crockpot. Add water and bring to boil.
2. Once the chicken is cooked, transfer to a plate. Remove the bones and skin, shred the meat and reserve for another use.
3. Place the bones back in the pot. You can break the bones to release the bone marrow, a good source of protein.
4. Allow to simmer for at least 8 hours (and up to 24 hours). During the first few hours of simmering, you’ll need to remove the impurities that float to the surface. A frothy, foamy layer will form and it can be easily scooped off with a big spoon. Throw this part away. Grass-fed and healthy animals, will produce much less of this than conventional animals.
5. Pour the broth through a fine mesh sieve (lined with cheese cloth, if you have it) into a large bowl. Discard the solids.
6. Cool the broth as quickly and efficiently as possible. To do this you can use ice-cubes, as your broth will be plenty flavorful, and transfer to a shallow and wide container where it will cool. A hot broth can be a breeding ground for bacteria and putting a hot broth directly into the fridge can invite bacterial growth, or offset the temperature in the refrigerator and potentially contaminate other food items. 
7. Once cooled, transfer to quart containers and refrigerate overnight. The next day, use a spoon to skim excess fat from the surface of the broth. Reheat the broth until it is piping hot, then transfer to mugs and serve.

*I order all of my meat and bones through Primal Pastures (www.primalpastures.com). Make sure to use organic, grass-fed meat when possible for the highest amount of nutrients. The most nutrient-dense bones come from ox tails, chicken necks, beef knuckles and tiny, creepy, feet. You can also find bones at the Asian market.

*Adding the vinegar will help to extract the minerals from the bones

I recently read that bone broth is one of the three pillars of the LA Laker’s official team diet. If it’s good enough for the pro’s, it’s good enough for me!