Ever want to just sit down with a mug full of warmth and nutrition and let the aroma of
meat and spices wash over you? Girl, me too. Which is why I recommend bone broth all day every day. As a doula, I am constantly running from one family to another providing sustenance and support and sometimes I need to stop and smell the broth - know what I mean? I prefer my mug of broth in the morning as a warming wake me up. Nutritionists recommend that you put something in your stomach to break your fast within an hour of waking. Bone broth is easy to warm up in a mug, is full of nutrition, flavor, and collagen. Lord knows I can use a little collagen boost for my mid-30's skin that starting to change. It's also great for your joints, gut health, inflammation, and is a gentle way of waking your body up after going 8-12 hours with no food. I'll still have a cup of coffee and a piece of toast slathered with peanut butter later - usually while I'm in my car driving to my first postpartum client visit of they day.
Making bone broth is super easy. I know, I know...BONE BROTH. It sounds intimidating right? It's not. Throw some bones in a crockpot, instant pot, or in a big stew pot on your stove and let it go.
Pro-tip: an instant pot is a wonderful investment for a family with a baby. It can cook meat from frozen and requires little prep work. Throw meat (or not), veggies, and a little bit of liquid (bone broth anyone?) and set it to cook and you could have rice cooked in 15 minutes, hard boiled eggs in 3 minutes, pasta in 3 minutes, chicken cooked from frozen in 18 minutes, the possibilities are endless. Highly recommend as a baby shower list item.
One of my favorite bone broth recipes is from The First Forty Days by Heng Ou, Ameely Greeven, and Marisa Belger. One of my favorite books for postpartum care, the recipes in it are amazing and nourishing. Take a look at the recipe and as you get comfortable, feel free to experiment with different spices, animal bones, and vegetables. I like to add tumeric and apples to my pork or chicken broths.
Recipe as follows for pressure cooker method:
4 lbs beef bones
1 white or yellow onion halved
2 inch knob of ginger halved, unpeeled
2 leeks, white parts only, rough chop
3 large carrots, unpeeled, thick round slices
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
optional:
1/2 tsp whole cloves
1/2 tsp star anise
sea salt and pepper
Roast bones, onion, ginger, and carrots in 400 degree F oven for 40 minutes or until bones are fragrant and browned.
Let vegetables and bones cool slightly then toss the whole lot with the rest of the ingredients into the pressure cooker insert.
Add 3 qts of water or as needed until the bones and veggies are covered by 1 inch of liquid.
Lock the pressure cooker and cook on high pressure for 60-90 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally.
Skim off the foam then strain the liquid into your storage container of choice. Make sure to use cheesecloth or a strainer to ensure a clear, beautiful broth. I like to store mine in glass beverage containers with a spigot so I can easily draw some out for my morning mug.
You can use this broth as a drinking liquid or as needed in recipes that call for water, stock, or broth. It freezes nicely up to 3 months or keeps in the fridge up to a week. I usually make a gallon at a time and it will last me a week.
Don't forget to save the bones from steaks, pork chops, chicken, etc and toss them in your freezer until you have enough to make your broth with! You can always buy bones from your local farmer or grocery store, but saving money is my favorite thing and you're likely already accumulating bones that you can reuse into broth!