Bone broth seems to be on everyone’s radar these days, and for good reason! This delicious and highly nutritious liquid is rich in vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and amino acids to help nourish your body from the inside out. Today we’re diving right in and learning all we can about some amazing bone broth benefits, and why you should be drinking it everyday!
We’ve talked about bone broth before, where I’ve also shared my recipe for making homemade bone broth in the crock pot (seriously, it’s the easiest thing ever!).
But we never really dug deeper into the reasons for why this stuff is just. so. awesome. So I’m super excited to team up with Kettle & Fire today to bring you today’s post!
Amazing Bone Broth Benefits
- Strong, healthy bones – Bone broth is loaded with calcium, magnesium, and phosphorous, which help grow and repair our bones.
- Reduce joint pain – The glucosamine in bone broth repairs joints, reduces inflammation, and stimulates growth of new collagen. Collagen has been linked to reduced joint pain, stiffness, as well as rheumatoid arthritis symptoms. Bone broth also contains chondroitin sulfate which has been shown to help prevent osteoarthritis.
- Beautiful hair, skin, and nails – The high levels of collagen and gelatin found in bone broth help support hair growth and strengthen skin and nails.
- Reduce inflammation – The amino acid glycine is abundant in bone broth, and it’s one of the most important anti-inflammatory agents in our bodies. One of the main components in the collagen protein, it’s especially beneficial for chronic inflammation and gut health. Read more on the sheer awesomeness of glycine – this stuff rocks!
- Healthy gut – The gelatin (specifically the amino acid glutamine) heals and seals the intestinal lining of the digestive tract, preventing leaky gut. Gelatin also helps break down foods and aids in digestion.
- Better sleep – Several studies have shown the positive effect that glycine can have on sleep quality, as well as reduced daytime fatigue and improved cognition.
- Boost immunity – The bone marrow in a quality bone broth is rich in white blood cells, which which are vital for a strong immune system.
- It’s delicious! – Need I say more? 🙂 Whether you’re cooking with your broth, or sipping it straight from a mug (my favorite!), bone broth is definitely rich, delicious, and satisfying – especially on a cold winter morning.
Bone broth vs. broth vs. stock?
What’s the difference between bone broth, broth, and stock? While they may sound like the same thing, and some may even use them interchangeably, there are a few differences between them. Jennifer, from Nourished Kitchen, breaks it all down much better than I could:
- Broth is typically made with meat and can contain a small amount of bones (think of the bones in a fresh whole chicken). Broth is typically simmered for a short period of time (45 minutes to 2 hours). It is very light in flavor, thin in texture and rich in protein.
- Stock is typically made with bones and can contain a small amount of meat (think of the meat that adheres to a beef neck bone). Often the bones are roasted before simmering them as this simple technique greatly improves the flavor. Beef stocks, for example, can present a faint acrid flavor if the bones aren’t first roasted. Stock is typically simmered for a moderate amount of time (3 to 4 hours). Stock is a good source of gelatin.
- Bone Broth is typically made with bones and can contain a small amount of meat adhering to the bones. As with stock, bones are typically roasted first to improve the flavor of the bone broth. Bone broths are typically simmered for a very long period of time (often in excess of 24 hours), with the purpose being not only to produce gelatin from collagen-rich joints but also to release minerals from bones. At the end of cooking, the bones should crumble when pressed lightly between your thumb and forefinger.
Where can you find bone broth?
Well, that’s easy! The most economical option is to just make it right at home, either in a big stock pot or the crock pot (here’s my crock pot bone broth recipe). This is especially easy if you’re working with chicken bones.
After I roast a whole chicken in the crockpot (love this recipe from The Little Kitchen), I throw all the bones and other leftover parts back into the crock pot, add water, vinegar, veggies, and seasonings, and set that baby on low until the next day.
I wake up the next morning to an unbelievably delicious smell wafting through the whole house – yum! See how I store and use our homemade broth here.
But what about beef bones?
Well, here’s where it can get a bit tricky. Beef bones need to be pre-roasted in the oven for them to produce that deep, rich flavor we’re looking for in a bone broth. I personally have never made bone broth from beef bones for two simple reasons:
- I never have enough beef bones left over from the cuts of beef that we usually eat, so it would take me forever to collect enough to make up a batch.
- Call me lazy, but the extra step of pre-roasting the bones is just too much for me. It is what it is.
So what about store bought broths?
The majority of the packaged soups and broths you’ll find at the grocery store aren’t really what we’re looking for here. They’re highly processed, filled with preservatives and flavorings, and ultimately are stripped of most of their nutritional benefits. And that’s not even considering the super fast cook times and very high temperatures that are used to make the broth.
I’ve searched for a store bought broth that I’d feel comfortable using instead of our homemade version, and came across the Pacific brand. They make organic chicken and turkey bone broth with a very short ingredients list, and it’s available locally at nearly every major grocery store in the US and Canada. I still prefer my homemade version of course, but but this is available if and when you need it.
Can’t we just order broth online?
Absolutely! I was hard pressed to find a good beef bone broth made the traditional way, with organic ingredients, from grass-fed beef, but I eventually came across one company, called The Brothery, which will ship good quality bone broth right to your doorstep. However, there’s one caveat: the broth is frozen.
That might not seem like a big deal, but when you consider the cost of shipping and the freezer space required to store all that broth, it can get a bit cumbersome and complicated for my taste.
And that’s when the guys at Kettle & Fire bone broth got in touch with me. Perfect timing.
Kettle & Fire makes some killer beef bone broth
A few things about Kettle & Fire caught my attention – their ingredients, their quality, and their packaging.
Their bone broth is made with all natural, 100% organic ingredients. They use grass-fed, pasture-raised beef bones, and they only use marrow bones (knuckle, patella, femur, and feet bones), which have high levels of collagen.
And as great as all of that is, it’s not really what makes them unique. Where Kettle & Fire really stands out is all in their packaging. Using a modern packaging technology and $6 million worth of packaging equipment, they’ve been able to create the very first (and only) shelf-stable, organic beef bone broth of this quality, and with all the same benefits of a homemade bone broth.
How awesome is that?
Awesome like a 12 month shelf life, that’s how awesome. Because an unopened package of Kettle & Fire bone broth will last a whole 12 months without any freezing or refrigeration!
And that’s not even the whole story about their impressive packaging.
Kettle & Fire managed to do all of the above while still ensuring that their packaging is environmentally friendly and sustainable. Their packaging is:
- recyclable and made mainly of wood fibre – a natural and renewable raw material.
- stamped with the FSC™ label – a guarantee that it’s sourced from responsible forest management.
- safe and doesn’t release harmful chemical by-products (unlike the styrofoam that’s required to ship frozen products).
- biodegradable.
I’m a sucker for eco-friendly and sustainable packaging, and Kettle & Fire definitely gets it.
Where to find Kettle & Fire bone broth
Visit Kettle & Fire at the links below to learn more about their broth and place your first order. Sign up to their newsletter, and they’ll send you a discount code for 10% off your first order.
Special FREE Shipping offer for Nature’s Nurture readers – Use the code “naturesnurtureship” at checkout and get free shipping in the US!
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So how’s that for some bone broth benefits? What’s your favorite way to enjoy nutritious bone broth?
This post was proudly sponsored by Kettle & Fire. A sponsored post means I was compensated via a cash payment, gift, or something else of value for writing this post. Regardless, I only recommend products and services that I use personally and believe will benefit my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Photo: stu_spivack on Flickr
Good soup from born. Thanks for your share.
Good soup from born. Thanks for your share.
They dont ship to Canada 🙁
I know…sorry! I’ve got to find a similar source here in Canada i’A. 🙂
They dont ship to Canada 🙁
I know…sorry! I’ve got to find a similar source here in Canada i’A. 🙂
Have you seen the many different steroids and other injections cattle, pigs and other get ?
Scientists have discovered traces of these in meats you buy, so I suspect the same would be for bones.
On top of that have you seen what feed cattle, pigs and other get and what it contains… not healthy at all, far from it.
That’s why it’s important to use good quality bones for bone broth, especially since all of the things you mentioned can become concentrated in the bones and tissue of the animals. Good quality bones come from healthy animals who are not fed steroids or antibiotics, and are fed proper diets.
Have you seen the many different steroids and other injections cattle, pigs and other get ?
Scientists have discovered traces of these in meats you buy, so I suspect the same would be for bones.
On top of that have you seen what feed cattle, pigs and other get and what it contains… not healthy at all, far from it.
That’s why it’s important to use good quality bones for bone broth, especially since all of the things you mentioned can become concentrated in the bones and tissue of the animals. Good quality bones come from healthy animals who are not fed steroids or antibiotics, and are fed proper diets.