âHey, have you ever had bone broth?â I ask my friend Amy. As her eyes start darting away from mine and her cheeks become flush, I realize immediately that she is trying to figure out how to answer, as she clearly thinks I am asking about her bedroom habits with her husband and not about soup. In her defense, it really could have gone either way, as I can be unfiltered and direct, and there was no context to my question. I tend to start conversations with people assuming they heard the last 15 seconds of dialogue I had in my head before I spoke to them. For Amy, my question probably seemed like it came out of nowhere, but in my mind, it was logical and made complete sense. âBone broth? Ummm, ewwwâŚâ as she scrunches her nose at me.
OK, let me clean this up and explain where I was coming from for everyoneâs benefit.  Around this time of the year, when the temperatures start to drop and my hot beverage consumption goes up, I reach for broth. I have found that I can only drink so many cups of coffee in a day and then they become unsatisfying, lattes pack on too many unnecessary calories, and tea is, well, not my cup of tea. A few years ago, I discovered bone broth, or as Dr. Kellyann, author of the Bone Broth Diet refers to it, âliquid gold.â  Whenever I sip this rich, flavorful, comforting, soul-satisfying, nutritious broth, I feel like I am drinking a warm hug, that wraps its goodness around me from my insides out.
Bone broth certainly isnât a new culinary discovery; in fact, boiling bones in water has been around since humans have been cooking with fire. Simply put, bone broth is the result you get from cooking chicken, beef, or other animal bones in water, along with herbs and vegetables, for many hours over low heat. When cooked for a long period of time (8 to 24+ hours) the bones breakdown and release gelatin, collagen, proteins, amino acids, along with other nourishing minerals.  Iâm sure youâre asking yourself, âOK, so why do I care?â According to Dr. Kellyann, hereâs why you should care:
- It fills you upâwithout adding pounds. It has virtually zero carbs and few calories, and packs upwards of 10+ grams of protein per cup. Unlike the 250 calorie grande vanilla latte that packs up to 35g of sugar.
- Itâs filled with skin-smoothing collagen, which also helps your body burn fat and form lean muscle mass.
- It strengthens your hair and nails. Ba-bye gel manicures!
- It detoxifies your body, as the amino acids (glycine and proline) help your liver cleanse itself. Think of it as decluttering your closets, every now and then we all need to get rid of some crap.
- It boosts your immune system.
- It improves digestion and heals your gut, as the high gelatin content naturally lines and strengthens your gastrointestinal (GI) system. Think of it as a slip ân slide for your digestive tract.
- It supplies you with easy to absorb essential minerals, including calcium, magnesium and phosphorus.
- It soothes your joints, and aids in muscle and ligament recovery. Perfect for after a good âsesh at the gymâŚor just trying to get out of bed after the age of 40.
So where can you get this liquid gold? Well, if you have the time you could make it yourself, as itâs pretty simple.  Throw a store bought organic rotisserie chicken in with some root vegetables, fresh herbs, into a crockpot full of water, flick the switch to low and let it do its thing. Eight hours later, strain and Voile! youâve got bone broth. Keep it in the fridge and use within 3-4 days or freeze up to a year.
If you donât have the time, or want to spend your whole day watching broth boil, you can actually buy it. I have found it in a couple of different places, some good, some not-so-good. Here are my favorites:
Online:
- Brodo Broth Co. – https://brodobroth.myshopify.com. Brodo also has a bone-broth-only takeout window in the East Village if you are in the NYC area. I highly recommend their Hearth Broth.
- Bare Bones – https://www.barebonesbroth.com. I have tried a few of their flavors, but only like their Classic Chicken Broth. For variety, I bought their Beef and Tomato Broth, but one sip and I got the spits. It smelled like wet leather and tasted like an expired pureed steak.
Whole Foods:
- Kettle & Fire â I found this commercial brand at the grocery store (also available online at https://www.kettleandfire.com and Amazon). It doesnât taste quite as homemade, but still good and a little less expensive than the others. Since the beef episode at Bare Bones, I have only tried their Organic Chicken Bone Broth, which I would recommend.
Bottoms up!