I started making bone broth on a regular basis about 6 years ago when I was researching ways to support our youngest son’s pervasive food allergies.
There are a slew of potential reasons you can find on the internet about why food allergies could occur, and one of them is that the gut is imbalanced. Bone broth helps to repair the microbiome by improving the gut lining due to the gelatin content. It can also help to build up the tissues in the gut by increasing collagen in the body.
P.s. not only is gut health important for the immune system and allergies, but it is also part of a healthy emotional system as well. There are more neurotransmitters in our guts than in our brain, so that “gut-feeling,” really means what it says.
I have no idea why he ended up with food allergies. At 3 years old he was diagnosed as being anaphylactic to 9 foods:
- peanut
- cashew
- walnut
- brazil nut
- pistachio
- pecan
- hazelnut
- sesame
- wheat
When he was 1 year old, he was also intolerant to dairy, corn, citric acid (basically all fruit and most toddler foods because it is a common preservative), and a variety of herbs.
He was exclusively breast-fed until 6 months, then continued breast-feeding until 19 months when he weaned himself. I was so sad! I thought I would nurse him until he was 3, as he was my last one!
He was never vaccinated.
I fed him peanut at 9 months because now we are supposed to introduce them early so they don’t become allergic. His response was terrifying.
We had been using doTERRA essential oils for 5 years at the time, had no toxins in the home (that we were aware of), and have always bought organic, non-gmo foods.
He was home-birthed and not exposed to any weird hospital bacteria.
Honestly, I don’t think I could have done anything to prevent his food and environmental allergies. I don’t know if there is a root.
So, we started to do what we have always done in our home - look for ways to support the body. One of those ways was to feed him bone broth on a daily basis.
I have continued to make bone broth on a monthly basis ever since. I try to keep chicken bones in my freezer always for the times when Whole Foods runs out and I need to make another batch. Everything is on rotation. When I make a batch, I keep 1-2 jars in the fridge, then put the rest in the freezer and take them out as I use the defrosted ones.
I use my bone broth for so many meals! It’s great in carnitas, shredded chicken, beef roast - use it in any recipe that calls for stock.
I also add a little bit to marinara sauce, pesto sauce, or even smoothies! No one can taste it!
Damian and I love to drink it straight out of a mug with a little added salt to break our fast, or whenever we are feeling under the weather.
Bone broth is so nutritious! It is packed with collagen and gelatin, potassium and essential minerals and amino acids! It is even keto-friendly!
It can help with detox, joint support, gut health, immune support, skin health and more.
The wholesome, restorative things in life do not have to be complicated. Neither is this bone broth.
And, if you’re curious, Aston has been in Southern California’s Food Allergy Institute for the last 2.5 years, brining him closer and closer to food freedom! As I write this post, he is no longer anaphylactic to 6 of the 9 foods!
Firefly Bone Broth (Instant Pot)
Ingredients:
- 2 pounds chicken feet
- 2 pounds chicken backs
- 1-2 bay leaves
- 4 garlic cloves (or more to your liking)
- 3-4 carrots, roughly chopped
- 3-4 stalks of celery, roughly chopped
- 1/2 white or yellow onion
- 1-2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp salt, plus more for roasting
- 1/2 tsp pepper, plus more for roasting
- olive oil
- 8 quart instant pot
Directions:
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
- Place bones on cookie sheet and drizzle olive oil all over. Sprinkle salt and pepper and toss, making sure bones are evenly coated.
- Roast for about one hour, or until the bones are a golden brown. *Roasting the bones is a vital step to achieving a good bone broth!
- While bones are roasting, add bay leaves, garlic, carrots, celery, and onion to the instant pot. Set aside.
- Once bones are finished, place them all into the instant pot. Fill to just below the Max Line with water. Add apple cider vinegar (I usually just eyeball it), salt and pepper. The apple cider vinegar will help to extract the bone marrow from the bones.
- Put the lid on and set it to “seal.” Press Manual and set it for 240 minutes. It is usually faster to press the minus button. ;)
- I like to leave the Instant Pot on through the entire night. This ensures extra gelatinous bone broth. I will start the 240 mins around dinner-time and then let it sit through the night.
- When it is convenient in the morning, turn off the pot and remove the inner pot to strain. I find it easier to use tongs to remove the big pieces into the trash before I pour it through a strainer.
- Once the largest pieces have been removed, place a large pasta pot in the sink with a colander inside. Carefully pour the bone broth through the strainer into the pot.
- Set out 6-10 3 cup mason jars. Use a glass measuring cup to collect the broth from the pot and pour it into the jars. Leave at 1-2 inches from the top or else you can crack the jars when they freeze.
- Once all the jars are filled, cover with paper towels and let sit until they cool. Then place the lids on top and move to the freezer. The bone broth will not be gelatinous at room temperature. The fat will rise to the top, making a natural seal to keep out bacteria. When you defrost a jar, I like to scoop the layer of fat off with a spoon into the trash before I pour the broth into anything.
Enjoy!