Wednesday, November 10, 2010

What to do with soup bones?

We purchase a half of a cow about once every year and a half from my Brother in Law. We are super grateful for Jeff and all the hard work he puts into providing for the WHOLE family. Anyways...these cows are DELICIOUS! After eating our first piece of steak, (never frozen and freshly prepared THAT morning) we vowed to never buy store bought beef again (unless we ran out that is).

Anyways, we always get soup bones with our cow. I have always just kept them in the freezer thinking that someday I will figure out what to do with them. Well..I figured it out!

As you know, I strive to be healthy! I think it's just the way I am wired. I want to do what is best for my family nutritionally and am always looking for ways to keep us healthy. So...did you know what soup bones can do? They can treat lots and lots and LOTS of things like
inflammation, hypertension, fatigue, depression, hyper activity, and food sensitivities. You know how? Well soup bones (when they are cooked down to broth) have cartilage and collagen in them, both of which are powerful healing tools for our bodies. Cartilage supplementation stimulates immune cells while collagen is healing in coating to the stomach and digestive track in general, making it easier to digest foods! They also contain things such as, Glycine, Hyaluronic acid, Chondroitin sulfate, and minerals!

WOW! A herbal pharmacy has been waiting to be cooked in MY freezer for a few years now! Who knew?

So here is the deal! Our family needs to eat more broth...period! Here is a little recipe I found to make a delicious broth. Add in ANYTHING you want...make it a minestrone soup, bean soup, or whatever you like. JUST USE THE BROTH!

So, put your bones in your stockpot and cover with fresh cold water. Add a splash of apple cider vinegar (to help extract the minerals from the bone). Now simmer forEVER...anywhere from 2 to 24 hours. After it has simmered enough, strain out the bones ( and vegetables you have added) and divide the broth into usable potions. It will stay
good in the fridge for about 5 days (about 10 days if you boil it again after 5 days) and in the freezer for months.

Happy broth days my friends!!

6 comments:

Corrie said...

We get lots of chicken bones with our flock. I use broth in rice as half the water and in most soups (any soup that calls for water).

Kathryn said...

Great minds think alike! I just posted about making soup on my blog last night (www.somanybunnies.blogspot.com)! It must be the weather! I'm enjoying your blog very much ... I found you after googling something about "frugal" which led to Frugal Mama which led to you. Thank you!

Kara said...

Nice to meet you Kathryn! And I did check out your blog and we totally think a lot alike! Looking forward to following your adventures on your blog!

Fueled by Love said...

I think homemade broth just feels medicinal. It is so satisfying. Now I know why!

Unknown said...

Thanks so much for this post... it was the first search result I clicked on and not only exactly what I was looking for, but more! :) Time to go pull that white paper-wrapped package out of my freezer and grab the stock pot... now!! lol

Lily Casha said...

Hi there, we just purchased half a cow and I have tried making bone broth with the soup bones and was super excited about it. After trying a recipe I found on Pinterest my broth had a smell and taste to it that I can't really put into words. I don't know if anyone knows what I'm talking about but was hoping to get some tips of how to get rid of it. I have lots of bones and excited to make bone broth, but after that first try I'm not feeling very optimistic. Would love any feedback or suggestions. FYI, I did soak it in vinegar water before simmering.