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Joint Health

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Top 4 Bone Broth Benefits + Bone Broth Breakfast Drink Recipe

July 7, 2016

 

BoneBrothBenefitsDrinking bone broth has major health benefits. Like, crazy, amazing how-have-I-never-tried-this-before health benefits. But I gotta tell you, in the beginning, I really didn't want to hop on the broth bandwagon.

I try very hard to make paleo approachable for myself, and for you, my readers. Because if something is too hard or out of reach, I'm not going to keep doing it, you're not going to keep doing it, and we all lose. My guess is that when you hear bone broth, you think laborious, extreme, and a little odd, right? 

Here were my initial thoughts: SIMMER BONES?! WHA? WHY? THAT WILL TAKE LIKE A MILLION YEARS.

But I'm also one of these people that will try anything. And sometimes, when I try it, I can't get enough of it. Can you guess what happened next?

Well, I'm sitting here writing a blog post about my fantastic experience with it, so you can imagine, it went well.

As always, let’s start with the why.

Why are we drinking bones?
There are a ton of nutrients in bones, marrow, skin, feet, tendons and ligaments that we can’t get by eating the meat. But you CAN simmer the bones and bits in a crock pot for a couple of days to get these babies to release their healing compounds.

What are their healing compounds?
Proline
Glycine
Glutamine
Minerals in forms that your body can easily absorb, i.e. Calcium, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Silicon, Sulphur

Okay, okay. WHAT CAN IT DO FOR ME?

Reduce Joint Pain and Inflammation
It almost makes TOO much sense. Drinking broth from healthy bones will help strengthen your own bones. Duh! All of that cartilage that you’ve lost over the years – either through general wear and tear or from hard-core soccer/basketball/volleyball/insert high-impact-sport-here injuries, can benefit greatly from readily absorbable collagen and gelatin. (Kari Ferguson, you soccer stud – if you are reading this, I am talking to you 🙂 )

Make Your Stomach Happy
Eating “healthy food” can only help you if your body can absorb it properly. Otherwise, you’re not getting near the amount of nutrients from that kale salad or salmon and asparagus dinner that you should be getting. Bone broth is very easy for your body to digest and absorb. Why? Because it has collagen in it. Which plays really nice with your GI tract and your colon. So the more you drink bone broth, the more it heals the digestive tract, and the better it can take in nutrients from other food.

Prettier Skin, Hair and Nails
You’ve heard of collagen before. You know. The stuff that helps reduce wrinkles, decrease puffiness, and helps grow nails and hair. You can buy it in little fancy jars for a lot of money or you can go to a plastic surgeon to get it injected in your face. OR you can drink it in bone broth.

Immune System Booster
Remember up there when I said it was good for your digestion? For that same reason, it’s an awesome supporter of the immune system. When your food isn’t digested properly (happens more often than you think), undigested particles from food leak into the bloodstream where the immune system detects them. It freaks out and starts attacking healthy tissue and inflames the body. Good gut health = good immune system = less colds, flu and overall sicknesses.

That's not it. There is more. Lots more. Because everything listed above affects other areas of the body. Your stomach is connected to your brain is connected to your emotions. You fix one thing, you fix another. But I thought I'd stop there for today so we can get on to the good stuff.

BoneBrothBenefits_Recipe

My Experience with Bone Broth
The first time I made it, it was really a result of just cooking a whole chicken and the bones were already in my Crock Pot. So I Googled the heck out of it, obsessed over whether I was doing it right, over-thought it, as usual, but eventually ended up with 4 jars of gelatin-like broth for my freezer. I didn't really know what to do with it yet, so I do what I always do when I'm overwhelmed, I put it in my freezer.

Well, a rainy day came. A dull, hungover, stomach-ache, swollen gland, kind of day. Ya. Ugh. I remembered the broth in the freezer and decided to go for it. Every symptom that it has been shown to help, I had. So down the hatch it went, and the results were pretty amazing.

  • My throat immediately felt soothed for the first time that day.
  • My sinuses finally gave it a rest from their inflamed state.
  • I slept like a baby that night.
  • After day two of broth-drinking, my digestion was finally back to normal and that cold that I thought was coming, never arrived.

*Note: I drank about 5 cups over the two days because I wasn't feeling well. This is more than you'd need on a regular basis.

From that moment on, I used it as my emergency medicine. Only if I was sick was it worth making it.

Low and behold, a few weeks later, I felt like I'd been hit by a truck. This time, not because I was sick, but because my muscles were uber sore from a particularly hard workout that included lots of hand stand push ups and pull ups. Broth is supposed to be good for joint pain and muscle aches, right? YUP.

  • It was like I had put muscle relaxer on all the sore parts, but better.
  • I was better the next day, when usually after a workout like that, my muscles are sore for at least two days.

Now, I've crossed over. I am officially a regular morning broth drinker. I figure, why not be preventive? This stuff is AWESOME. Attack the cold, stomach ache or joint ache before they've even really started. A totally in-tact digestive system. Stronger nails and longer hair. Plus, it's also shown to be one of the foods that are ideal for fertility. And you all know how I love my Fertility Food :). What's not to like? And the best part is, it's not nearly as difficult as everybody makes it out to be.

I've spelled it out for you in 9 steps below and given you my tips and notes along the way. But please do one thing for me? If you decide to make it, do it the simplest way possible just to try it. If you want to get more complicated after that, go for it. But all you really need is bones + water + 24-48 hours. Set it on low on your Crock Pot and walk away. Seriously. It's NOT THAT COMPLICATED.

BoneBrothBenefits

Things I’ve Learned After My 17th Try of Making Broth

  1. Most people will tell you to skim the stuff off as you go. You can do this if you want to, but why skim as I go if I’m just going to strain it all out at the end anyway? Seems like unnecessary work to me.
  2. I made making the broth part of my bi-weekly routine. Every other week, I make a big batch (using the recipe below), so I never have to scramble to make it when I really need it. I keep most of it in the freezer so I don't feel forced to use it immediately, and keep one jar in the refrigerator so it's defrosted and ready to drink.
  3. You DON’T have to cook an animal to get the bones. Just go to the freezer section near produce or your local butcher and ask for leftover bones. They always have bones. And they will always sell them to you for cheap. I do recommend sticking to places like Whole Foods or a butcher you can trust to have healthy, grass-fed, GMO-free animals. Remember, the animal you eat matters. If it was healthy, it’s bones will be healthy.
  4. That said, as you cook, make sure to save your bones as you go! I keep them in a freezer bag and just add to it every time we cook chicken drumsticks or steak.
  5. In order to keep the jars from exploding in the freezer (this happened to me multiple times until my husband kindly explained to me the concept of physics), you don’t want to fill the jars all the way to the top. You also don’t want to close the jar top all the way when you first put it in there (you can go back later and screw it tighter). Because liquid expands as it freezes, it WILL expand the glass until it can’t hold it anymore. Eesh.

Alrighty boys and girls. Now it's time to actually show you how to make this golden tonic. But I'm not just going to leave you with a broth how-to. I'm going to leave you with a recipe for how you can actually enjoy it as your morning drink (AFTER coffee, of course).

You ready for the recipe? Let’s do it.

Like what you read today? See those cute little social shapes underneath this post? They're for sharing! Click one to post to Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, or comment right here on the blog. I would love to hear from you.

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Much Love,

HealthyStaceySignature

SOURCES:

Why Broth is Beautiful: Essential Roles for Proline, Glycine and Gelatin

 

BoneBrothBenefits_Recipe
Bone Broth + Breakfast Broth Recipe
Print Recipe
I invented this Breakfast Broth recipe after realizing that I wanted to incorporate Bone Broth into my morning routine. However, I needed to make the gelatin-like substance a little more appetizing first thing in the morning. So I added some pizazz and came up with this beauty. A little spicy, a little sweet, super satiating, and of course, ridiculously good for you.
BoneBrothBenefits_Recipe
Bone Broth + Breakfast Broth Recipe
Print Recipe
I invented this Breakfast Broth recipe after realizing that I wanted to incorporate Bone Broth into my morning routine. However, I needed to make the gelatin-like substance a little more appetizing first thing in the morning. So I added some pizazz and came up with this beauty. A little spicy, a little sweet, super satiating, and of course, ridiculously good for you.
Ingredients
  • 2 Pounds Bones Beef, Chicken, Whatever you can get your hands on
  • 2 Tablespoons Apple Cider Vinegar
  • Crock Pot-Full Of Water Enough to cover the bones
Sweet & Spicy Breakfast Broth
Servings:
Instructions
  1. Put bones in your Crock Pot
  2. Pour Apple Cider Vinegar over the bones
  3. Fill up pot with enough water to just cover the bones
  4. Put Crock Pot on low for 48 hours
  5. Strain the broth through a strainer or a funnel
  6. Pour into jars, leaving 1-2 inches of space at the top
  7. Put jars in the refrigerator for a few hours or overnight
  8. Scoop the fat off the top of the jars
  9. Put in freezer until you are ready to use (I keep one jar in my fridge at a time that's defrosted and ready to go)
Breakfast Bone Broth Recipe
  1. Scoop 1 cup of bone broth into a mug
    BoneBrothBenefits_Recipe
  2. Add a spoonful of coconut oil
  3. Sprinkle in turmeric, cayenne, pepper and sea salt
  4. Heat in microwave for 1 minute and 20 seconds
  5. Add in a tablespoon of Vital Proteins collagen and raw honey
  6. Stir it up and sip it up!
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Gelatin Is My Favorite + Berry Cherry Lemon Fruit Snack Recipe

March 29, 2015

The beautiful pictures in this post are the work of my talented friends Christie Russert and Marta Wlodkowska. For more work from Christie, visit coffeeandcamera.tumblr.com. 

The beautiful pictures in this post are the work of my talented friends Christie Russert and Marta Wlodkowska. For more work from Christie, visit coffeeandcamera.tumblr.com. 

 

The way I see it, food has amazing powers. For your taste buds, for your body and for your mind.  And every once in a while, one of those foods comes along, and I wonder to myself –

How did I ever live without this stuff?

This is how I feel about gelatin.

I’m not talking about Bill Cosby’s J-E-L-L-O gelatin (it’s weird how everything attached to him suddenly sounds creepy, right?). I’m talking about grass-fed, pasture-grazing gelatin.

I first mentioned this gem in a smoothie recipe a couple months back and later on my Instagram post. I was looking for a protein powder that was void of additives and sweeteners and was having a really hard time finding one. Even the organic, non-GMO ones had a lot of added crap I couldn’t pronounce. 

That’s when I discovered Great Lakes Gelatin. What is it exactly? 

IN A NUTSHELL: It’s made of crushed up bones, fibrous tissues and organs of animals.

I know. It sounds a little scary. But it’s no different than having beef or chicken broth. Except for this stuff is much more versatile than that. You can introduce the crazy benefits of bone broth into your morning smoothie, your nighttime tea, or your afternoon Gummy Snacks  (yeah, GUMMY snacks with benefits). You ready for this list?

HEALTH BENEFITS:

  • Skin Health
  • Hair Health
  • Nail Health
  • Balanced Hormones
  • Bone and Joint Health
  • Digestion and Satiety
  • Allergy Suppression

BAM.

Now, I won’t do my usual and go into scientific detail of each of these benefits. But I can say – with absolute confidence – that I have seen and felt these benefits first-hand.

After about 3 months of adding gelatin to my morning smoothies, I’ve experienced the following…

MY GELATIN EXPERIENCE: 

Skin. It’s clearer and plumper (that sounds weird, but you get what I mean). More importantly, my skin tends to hang on to scars for quite a while. Something to do with the melatonin in my skin, I’m told. Ever since I started eating gelatin, I’ve noticed those scars fading for a much brighter, more even complexion.

Hair. I have A LOT of course, dry and sometimes brittle hair. It’s a chore to take care of it. And I’ve spent a lot of time trying to find the most moisturizing conditioners, oils and creams to maintain this mane. It honestly never occurred to me to work from the inside-out to improve it (DUH, Healthy Stacey). Since I’ve started eating gelatin, it’s growing faster and shining more. When I blow dry my hair, the amount of tiny broken hairs is almost non-existent. A BIG plus for me (and my poor boyfriend who has to share a bathroom with me). 

Nails. I’ve never had too much trouble growing my nails. But with all of the cooking and dish-washing I do, I am always breaking them. Now? They’re tough as nails. Haha. That’s funny. But seriously, they are.

Hormones. This one’s tough for me to rate. I am by no means immune from mood swings, ugly days and crazy chocolate cravings before my period (when hormones are their most volatile). As a psych major, I am very cognizant, however, of the placebo effect. I kind of feel like my mood swings have decreased and I feel better about myself at that time of the month. But I’m honestly not sure if this is because I was expecting these results or because they actually happened. Hormones = complicated. I’m not messing with this one.

Bone and Joint Health. YES, YES, YES. This is probably my favorite feature of my new miracle food. You may remember from past posts, my workout involves a lot of lifting heavy things. I love it. It’s done mirarcles for my body. But man, the soreness I experience in the days after is ROUGH. I can say with 100% confidence that ever since I’ve started taking gelatin, the soreness is 90% gone. Just enough for me to know that I’m still getting a good workout, but not enough to disrupt my work day. My workouts, in turn, have improved because I’m not going into the gym with robot-stiff arms and legs. Cannot say enough about this stuff for fitness enthusiasts. 

Digestion and Satiety. Ahhh digestion. One of my favorite topics. Anything that helps our digestion gets a BIG GOLD STAR in my book. And this does it. Not about to go into detail on this one because you get my point. But yeah. It works.

Allergy Suppression. Since Bone and Joint Health was my favorite benefit, this is my second favorite. I like to refer to my sinus allergies as Chinese Water Torture. They’re not big outbursts of irritation. More like small, annoying, irritating drips throughout my day.  In the past, almost every morning, I would wake up with a sore throat and dry mouth. Then, it would fade out as the morning went on. And then come back around 2:00 at work and just linger there for the rest of the day. No amount of liquid would make it feel better. Allergies are the result of inflammation in the nose and throat. And gelatin helps deflate that inflammation. Ever since I started taking gelatin, my allergies are gone. Absolutely gone. No joke. Now, I have to do my due diligence here and admit that I have also started incorporating turmeric into my morning smoothies around the same time as I started taking gelatin. And since turmeric is also known for its anti-inflammatory powers, it’s quite likely that this has been a big help too. But together – they could be an allergy powerhouse. Either way, life is SO much better without my Chinese Water Torture sinus issues and I’m positive this is a result of improving my nutrition. 

Phew. That was a lot. You see what I mean now by life-changing? I can’t believe I’ve gone this long without it. And how come nobody ever told me about this stuff? It’s such an under-the-radar health food. Am I right?

Okay, so you’re probably thinking, okay Crazy Stacey. I’ll try this crushed up animal bones thing if you really really think I should (I do). Now where do I get this miracle powder and when I do, how do I eat it? Great question guys.

WHERE TO GET IT:

I hesitated to try gelatin at first because it is not easily available. As in, you cannot go to the neighborhood grocery store (even Whole Foods!) and just pick up the kind of gelatin I am talking about. Sure. You could go to the baking aisle and easily find gelatin that is used to make Jello. But I beg you – do NOT incorporate this stuff into your daily diet. It’s not the same.

Where the gelatin comes from is just as important as getting it into your diet. Unfortunately, the only way I have found to get trustworthy gelatin from grass-fed, well-treated animals is by ordering it online.

This is the brand I use: Great Lakes Gelatin 

Warning: their website is hideous, but it’s good stuff, promise.

But I’ve also heard great things about this one too: Vital Proteins 

Much prettier, more user-friendly website; this is the new cool kid on the gelatin block, but I can’t speak to using it personally.

HOW TO USE IT:

There are two different forms of gelatin.

  1. Collagen Hydrolysate (Vital Proteins calls it Collagen Peptides)
  2. Gelatin (Vital Proteins calls it Collagen Protein)

Collagen Hydrolysate. This one is cold water soluble so you can put it in pretty much anything. A glass of water, a cup of juice, even a nice vodka pasta sauce if you wanted. But the way I like to use it is in smoothies. It’s absolutely perfect for a post workout smoothie so you can combat sore muscles and joints and have a great source of protein.

Color Code: 

Great Lakes = Green Container 

Vital Proteins = Blue Lid

For a delicious post-workout smoothie recipe, refer to this post for the orange monster smoothie or this post for the carrot ginger smoothie. 

Gelatin. This one will gel (get clumpy) in cold liquids so it is best to use in hot beverages such as tea, coffee, soups or – my favorite – gummy bears! (if you have a bear mold, that is). See below for my recipe. 

Color Code: 

Great Lakes = Orange Container 

Vital Proteins = Green Lid

BERRY CHERRY LEMON FRUIT SNACKS

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 cup of frozen blueberries (you can of course use fresh too)
  • 1/3 cup of lemon juice
  • 1/3 cup of cherry juice (I used this brand)
  • 1-2 Tablespoons of honey (depending on your sweet tooth)
  • 4 Tablespoons gelatin

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Put frozen berries in a blender with lemon juice, cherry juice and honey and blend.
  2. Pour vibrant concoction into a saucepan.
  3. Mix in gelatin powder.
  4. Turn the heat on medium and whisk away until the powder dissolves (it gets lumpy so just keep at it until you’ve gotten it as smooth as possible).
  5. Pour liquid into a glass dish and set in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
  6. Cut out into fun shapes (I used the small round cap on a bottle of olive oil).

DISCLAIMER: This goes without saying (I hope). But please consult your doctor before you go crazy and start eating gelatin by the spoonful. I am no doctor and I don’t know what health implications it could have for certain people.

SPECIAL SHOUT-OUT:

I’d like to thank Christie Russert and Marta Wlodkowska for the breathtaking pictures in this post. I am so lucky to have such talented friends who love good food and pretty things just as much as I do. For more from Christie, please visit coffeeandcamera.tumblr.com.

COMMENT TIME! What do you guys think? Would you be willing to try it? I know a few of you have already contacted me about it. Have you tried it yet? What do you think? Any other crazy creative ways we could make stuff with this miracle powder? You know the drill, comment below…