We are often speaking with our fertility clients about increasing “spleen friendly” or “blood building” foods. Bone broth is perfect for this! And it’s not just good for fertility clients, but excellent for your immunity and gut health too.
For the vegetarians, Sian has some nouring “blood building” recipes coming on the blog soon. And for the lamb lovers, we also have another delicious lamb recipe in the making.
Why is bone broth so good?
Bone broth is a source of minerals that are often missing from modern diets. A good quality bone broth is high in protein and collagen and contains calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and other trace minerals, all in a form that is easy to digest.
Bone broth has been a staple food all over the world for centuries and the nutritional qualities are undeniable. As Chinese medicine practitioners, we love that bone broth has become trendy in recent years, and is also now so much more available. However, like everything, it’s also important to realise that the quality will vary.
How do you get the best bone broth?
The short answer is ‘you make it’ and we have included a delicious chicken both broth recipe below. Although relatively time intensive, it’s not hard to make this kind of broth at home and the many health benefits make it worth the effort.
Generally speaking, the bigger the bones, the longer you have to cook them. If this cooking process turns you off (or you are just too busy), we have a delicious (and very convenient) option of beef bone broth available in clinic. It makes things super simple.
There are also many other recipes available over the internet. It really doesn’t have to be complicated. If you are keen to make your own, this is the best option! Play with the added herbs in the reception below or find another recipe that suits you. Use it in your day to day cooking or flavour it up so you can enjoy it on its own as a daily broth tonic. Either way, I’m sure you will soon come to love the warming benefits of bone broth.
Chicken Bone Broth Recipe
Ingredients
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Bones from 2 or 3 roasted chickens* – include skin and any leftover chicken meat can be picked off the bones and kept to use in soup
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2 medium onions – quartered
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2 celery stalks – cut into chunks
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2 carrots – cut into chunks
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1 garlic bulb – keep the skins on and slice crosswise across all cloves
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Fresh ginger (small knob approx 1-2cm) – optional
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Few sprigs of thyme, parsley and/or your preferred (or available) herbs.
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1 bay leaf
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1 teaspoon peppercorns
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2 tablespoons of cider vinegar
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2 to 3 litres of cold water or enough to just cover the bones and vegetables
*You can use rotisserie chickens if you like, however, the better quality chicken the better. Opt for organic if you can. Either way, the broth will be delicious!
Method
Add all of the ingredients in the order listed above to a slow cooker (or cast iron dish**).
Cook on low for 8 to 12 hours. 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. (**If cooking in a cast-iron dish, place in the oven covered at around 150 degrees, after four hours at 130 for another three hours).
To finish the broth, refrigerate the broth overnight. Please do not place the hot broth into plastic (see our fertility-focused blog about BPA and plastics for more info). Once the broth has cooled, you will likely need to remove the solidified fat layer by scraping it off. The best bone broths become jelly-like after they cool in the refrigerator due to their gelatin content. This is the good stuff!
You can store your broth in the fridge for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
This broth is salt-free and can be used in the cooking of healthy soups, nourishing stews etc. If you are choosing to simply warm and drink it as broth tonic, you may choose to add a small pinch of salt.
Enjoy!