Keto Slowcooker Bone Broth

Normally I like to post only the recipe and skip the long story about how the recipe entered and changed my life but theres a few things that I feel need to be said about this bone broth, beforehand.

I found a few recipes online and they were all pretty basic: bones, garlic, bay leaf, parsley, carrot and celery. Although that sounds really good, I’m Mexican-American. I need more! More flavor, more spice! So I decided to throw in some unusual ingredients. Cilantro, jalapeño and cumin, because I wanted to add flavors that would remind me of my mom’s “caldos” growing up. I was going for “comfort”. Fresh rosemary and thyme because they needed to be used before they went bad and some veggies in my fridge that were due to expire.

Some say not to not add to much “stuff” and keep it simple with aromatics but I am so happy with the way this one turned out. It was savory and rich, everything I was dreaming of for the 24 hours that I patiently waited for it to cook.

I write this recipe only as a guide for you. Please feel free to omit any vegetables, spices, or herbs that you don’t find appealing and add anything that you have in your fridge that you love and needs to be used. I’ve learned that there are no precise measurements with bone broth. Let your tastebuds be your guide.

Here are a few important points I learned when researching how to make and store bone broth.

Roasting. Roasting the veggies and bones beforehand. This step is not optional in my opinion. I feel that it gives a deep flavor to the broth by caramelizing the bones. You can even scrape the brown bits from the bottom of the pan and add them to the slow cooker.

Blanching. Many recommend blanching the bones before roasting and boiling. I choose not to do this. However, if you’re interested its supposed to remove any impurities from the bones.

Salt. The only time that I used salt in this recipe was when I sprinkled on the veggies before I roasted them. I was unsure on how much to add and I found that adding it to each cup as I drink it works just fine.

Apple Cider Vinegar. If you’re not a fan of the pungent smell and taste of ACV, don’t worry you definitely won’t be able to taste it in the broth. It helps dissolve the cartilage and bring out the nutrition from the marrow.

Organic. Normally, I don’t like to make a big deal about making sure all ingredients are organic because I know that’s not realistic for everyone, but I feel it’s really important in this case. The thought of having veggies sprayed with pesticides just brewing in the crockpot for 24 hours, really creeps me out. Like your making pesticide broth or something… it just doesn’t feel like the right thing to do. I strongly encourage you to use as many (if not all) organic ingredients as possible.

Grass fed. The bones I prefer to use are pasture raised beef neck bones. They were also non-GMO, antibiotic free, and hormone free. I want this bone broth to not only taste amazing but also be gut healing and nutritious. However, next time, I do plan to use bones higher in collagen.

Collagen. Collagen-heavy bones make for a gelatinous broth. This is what you want! Don’t be alarmed by the #meatjello that forms at the top when it reaches room temperature. That just means you did it right.

Benefits. The benefits from drinking bone broth are fascinating:

• The collagen and amino acids in bone broth help strengthen and repair our gut lining.
• Bone broth is rich in minerals that support the immune system. If you’ve ever had the keto flu than you know how vital electrolytes are when in ketosis.
• According to Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride, author of “Gut and Psychology Syndrome (GAPS)”, the bone broth diet is excellent for healing the gut.
• It naturally contains collagen which may help give you glowing skin, strong nails and hair, and healthy joints.

 

Cooling and Storage. Be sure to follow the cooling and storage notes at the end of the recipe to make sure you don’t encourage (bad) bacterial growth. Bone broth can be stored in the fridge for a week and also in the freezer. I hope you enjoy this recipe or even just this method. As I mentioned before, feel free to make it yours and leave out anything that doesn’t sound tempting to you and add whatever flavors you’d like, or keep it really simple with a few aromatics… the choice is yours.