Perfect for a Winter's Day

Perfect for a Winter's Day
By Elizabeth Mowers



Greetings from Northeastern Ohio! The snow finally found us last week after an usual run of mild temperatures. 

With the colder weather comes my desire to snack on carbs. Glorious carbs. 

But my resolution for the new year is to make a good decision for breakfast every morning. Perhaps if I can do that, then I will set myself up for good food choice the rest of the day. This is my hope, anyway.

Over the holidays I turned my attention to drinking a mug of warm bone broth first thing in the morning. My rationale was that it would 1) be good for me and 2) curb my hunger until I could make something healthy for late breakfast. I wake up at 5 am to teach every morning but can't fix breakfast until nearly 10 am. 

I won't go into too much detail about the health benefits of drinking bone broth but apparently, the gelatin, which comes from the collagen in the animal bones, provides nutrients to your body along with reducing any joint inflammation you may have. Plus, I have a friend who swears that it keeps her healthy all winter long. Sounds good enough for me.

I've always made homemade chicken broth and egg noodles (yum!) when I make soup, but I've never concentrated on making a really great broth. I learned that to make a great bone broth in your stock pot or Crock pot, it needs to cook for 24-48 hours. 

My first attempt tasted...meh. I had hoped for something more savory so I did some research online.

I learned that roasting the bones first can help bring out the flavor. 

Here's the beef broth I've had cooking since yesterday. I strained and drank a warm mug of it this morning. Tomorrow it should be perfect and my house will smell amazing until then too!


I bought a beef bone from my local meat market for less than a dollar. Score.

Here's my recipe, if you care to give it a try. You can really use any vegetables that aren't cruciferous ones, as they will make your broth bitter.

Step 1: Roast your bones for 15 minutes

Step 2: In a stock pot or crock pot add your bones and any vegetables you like or have handy. I prefer carrots, celery, leeks, orange or yellow peppers and onions.

Step 3: Add a little apple cider vinegar. I splash a little in the pot. It helps break down the collagen in the bones.

Step 4: Add seasoning. I like peppercorns, fresh parsley and a bay leaf or two. Some folks add a little salt.

Step 5: Add water until everything inside the pot is covered. I fill mine up.

Step 6: Cook high enough to bring the water to a nice bubble. Then drop the heat to a low temperature. You want to gently simmer it for 24-48 hours. You can add more water over time if you need to but I never do if I cook in the Crock pot

Step 7: Once it is finished, let it cool. Strain and refrigerate for up to 5 days. You can certainly freeze or can it too.

That's what I've been up to for the last couple of weeks, in addition to getting ready for the edits on my upcoming book, WHERE THE HEART MAY LEAD, which is available for pre-order now.

Here's to a happy and healthy New Year to you!


💚


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Comments

  1. Gazing out at fresh snowfall this morning, I’m so inspired by this post that I’ve added beef bones to my grocery list. Winter can’t get enough comfort food. Thanks Elizabeth!

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    1. I wish you luck! I just picked up some more bones yesterday and learned there is a difference between soup bones and a marrow bone. Go for the marrow bone if you can find it.

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  2. Have to try this. Thank you for sharing it!

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  3. I'm a bone broth fan myself--although I let others do the work! I'm glad it's commercially available. There is something special about a winter morning, isn't there?

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    1. I know what you mean. There is a restaurant on the other side of town that sells the most delicious bone broth and if I shop nearby I enjoy ordering a cup to go.

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  4. I need to try this! Especially if it helps with inflammation!

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    1. It apparently helps a lot. Some blogs I read said to drink at least two cups and up the amount until you feel better. Good luck!

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  5. We had our first snowfall in my area of NJ last night. It was the perfect kind of snow. It covered the grass only. The concrete and blacktop were clean, no black ice. Outside my window the world was beautiful. And by noon it was all gone.

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    1. Enjoy the magic of it while it lasts. I enjoy the beauty of the snow but I hate driving in it. I lived on Lake Superior for a few years where they measured snowfall in feet. Lake effect snow will do that to you. It was the strangest thing to go to bed with no snow and awaken to eight inches (covering your car in the parking lot!)

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    2. ...although the winters spent living there did make me a much better driver. Ha!

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  6. Mmmm, I'll bet your house does smell wonderful! I love the smell of simmering broth. I usually use the leftover bones from rotisserie chicken to make broth, but I've never done it with beef bones. Enjoy.

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    1. Rotisserie chicken makes great broth. Thanks, Beth!

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