Ingredients
- Whole uncooked chicken
- Herbs and seasoning (I use rosemary, garlic, thyme)
- 1/2 onion chopped
Instructions
- Add onions to the bottom of a crockpot, next add whole chicken with the breast side up. Add seasoning to the top of chicken and cover. Cook on low for about 4-5 hours or until cooked through.
- Remove chicken meat from the bones and use for meals.
- To prepare the broth, leave the skin, bones and any connective tissue of the chicken in the crockpot with all the cooking fluid. Turn your crockpot to high and bring to a boil.
- Next lower the heat and simmer for about 12 hours. Now you will need to strain the broth from the bones. I like to use a fine metal mesh strainer to strain the bones and tissue from the broth. Discard the bones and skin. You are left with golden broth.
- Add this broth to multiple storage jars. You can even freeze after it has cooled for later use.
What is bone broth?
Bone broth, or liquid gold as some would call it is more than just the latest health food trend. Bone broth is made by simmering the bones and connective tissue of animals for an extended period of time. Dating back to centuries ago, our ancestors made a form of bone broth while practicing nose to tail eating. Animal parts were not wasted, our ancestors honored the animal that they killed to nourish themselves by using all the parts of an animal. Things that wouldn’t typically be eaten such as marrow bones, oxtail, knuckles, and feet would be added to the stewing pot to allow a diversity of nutrients to be extracted from tissues.
The results of the boiling process is a gelatinous broth that is stock full of nutrients and healing properties for our bodies. The gelatin is a result of collagen being extracted from the bones. The collagen or gelatin contains essential and non-essential amino acids. Many of the micronutrients and minerals that are extracted from the tissues are left in a broth form. Then turning to gelatin after being cooked and cooled. Since the nutrients are in broth form into gelatin after the simmering process, they are much more bio-available to your body (ie: easy to digest and absorb).
What can bone broth do for the body???
There are a handful of benefits that come with drinking or consuming bone broth. As we age, the cartilage in our body naturally deteriorates and breaks down. The nutrients that come from the animal tissue create gelatin in the broth, these same nutrients help to lubricate the joints. When our joints are well lubricated, we can lessen the effects of things like arthritis. Glucosamine can also be a helpful supplement when it comes to joint health. However a person may want to try bone broth first because of the bioavailability.
Leaky Gut
Not only does gelatin help lubricate joints in your body
Inflammation
Amino acids from bone broth can help with inflammation in joints or even in your gut. Amino acids such as proline, glycine, and arginine are so highly concentrated in the bone broth that they are a huge co-factors in the anti-inflammatory process. It has
Detoxification
Our world is full of harmful chemicals. Toxins are found in the form of chemicals in products we use, toxins in the air or even sugars that damage our cells. Two important micronutrients in the bone broth that aid or body in detoxifying from these chemicals include glycine and potassium. Potassium is a well-known electrolyte and micronutrient that can aid in liver detoxification. Glycine is one of the most used amino acids, aiding in liver detoxification as well. Not only do they both aid in liver detoxification but also cellular detoxification.
Skin and nails
As mentioned earlier, your collagen production declines as you age. A lack of collage leads to things such as tired looking skin, wrinkly and dry skin and brittle nails. When consumed instead of being applied topically, collagen is easily absorbed into the body and aids in maintaining elasticity in tissue in skins, bones, and muscle. When drinking bone broth you are providing your body with the amino acids needed to create its own collagen. Assuming that your intestines are healing from the broth as well, your body can readily absorb the amino acids to form collagen.