Bone Broth

Eating for wellness shouldn't have to be expensive. While I love buying vital greens powder for smoothies or sprinkling raw cacao nibs on everything, those ingredients can be really pricey.
I love recipes that highlight that simple things are often the very best for us.

Bone broth is great example of this very principle. It's accessible, inexpensive and requires no skill whatsoever to make.

Very simply - chicken, fish or beef bones are simmered for a long time (up to 2 days). You add a little cider vinegar to help draw out the minerals, chuck in a few vegetables for taste and hey presto you're away.

Bone broth is highly nutritious*, full of really easily absorbed minerals. It's amazing for immunity, digestive problems, skin health, you name it and bone broth will probably help.
The wonderful thing is this tonic costs only a few measly dollars to make.

Make sure you use good bones from a butcher that can ideally supply you hormone free meat / bones.
I make my bone broth in my slow cooker. Just as when making stock, bones are ideally roasted first to ensure a great flavour. I often bring the bones and vegetables to the boil in a pot on the stove first and then dump it all in the slow cooker to do its thing for the next two days.

The finished product can be drunk hot in a mug with some salt and pepper or used as a delicious stock for soup, stews etc. Because lots of vegetables contain fat soluble vitamins, making a vegetable (though obviously not vegetarian) soup with your bone broth will make your vegetable soup even more nutritious.

* My research tells me bone broth contains the following goodies: collagen, gelatin, hyaluronic acid, chondroitin sulfate, glycosamino glycans, proline, glycine, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium and potassium. 

Beef Bone Broth

2 kg beef bones (a variety of bones is ideal)

1 onion quartered 

2 carrots cuts into large chunks

2 celery stalks

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1 small bunch parsley

Place the bones in a large roasting pan and roast for approx 35 minutes at 180 degrees or until well browned.

Place the bones, onion, carrot, celery and apple cider vinegar into your slow cooker. Cover with water leaving about an inch at the top.

Turn the slow cooker onto high.

Once the liquid is bubbling turn the slow cooker to low and leave for 48 hours.

Add the slow cooker for the last hour of cooking.

Leave the broth to cool slightly before straining through a fine sieve.

Pour the finished stock into jars. Once completely cooled a layer of fat will sit solid the top. Scope this off.

Your broth can be stored in the fridge for a week or frozen. 

Note: A successful broth will gel when cooled.