Made bone broth, now what???

[sunshinestarr]

Ok, I basically I got into TF because of ds' caries.. I made some crazy organic bone broth, but how do I get my picky toddler to eat it?? He's VERY picky. Anyone have any bone broth fool proof recipes I can try? He's not so into grains, I've made rice in it and he's just kind of eh about it. He likes tuna, not very many vegetables (potatoes, he'll do).. Fruit. It's very frustrating; I offer him lots of healthy food all the time!!
:

[velcromom]

Use it as a base for a tuna potato chowder?

Hm. If it's a good hard gel, you can warm it, then mix stuff into it, chill it to harden back up and offer it as "jigglers" - dd likes it with avocado, sweet potato...

[sunshinestarr]

Thanks! Tuna potato chowder sounds like something ds would eat!! I made some oatmeal with it this morning - I was iffy about making it but my friend convinced me - and he's eating it all up!!! I'm so happy!!!! (doing a little dance)

Why do people get the gel!? I'm sad, I didn't get gel! And I simmered for 24 hours!!!

[mbravebird]

Originally Posted by sunshinestarr

Why do people get the gel!? I'm sad, I didn't get gel! And I simmered for 24 hours!!!

Conventional chickens sometimes don't gel, but if you used a pastured chicken, then I bet the non-gelling is either from using too much water for your amount of chicken, replacing/adding the lost water during the simmer, or from not cutting the chicken's bony parts up into small enough pieces.

If you use the right proportion of water to chicken, cut the chicken bones up into smaller pieces, and simmer *really* gently so you can get a long simmer without losing water, then you're guaranteed to get a good gel. IME.

For now, you can always add some good gelatin to it if you want to. It's still great broth, don't worry...

[sunshinestarr]

Ah, thanks, I didn't do any of that. I did use an organic, pastured chicken, but I totally kept adding water (wanted more bang for my buck, lol) and I didn't cut the bones up at all (how on earth?!?!).

Thanks, I'm so new to all of this! Why is the gel more beneficial - is that where the gelatin is? I did add some vinegar to it, if that means anything at all...

[Attached Mama]

My dd's fave is garlic soup - saute about 5 cloves garlic in olive oil or butter, add chicken stock, we also add a rapunzel bullion cube for more flavor, add a handful of couscous (not TF ) and a few diced carrots or whatever food your ds does like. We also like it with lots of black pepper and parsley in it. If you are sick or something is going around and you want to boost your immune system, you can add a raw clove of garlic blended into the warm broth and returned to the pot before serving it.

[velcromom]

Using less water and breaking the bones can definitely help! I normally freeze the carcasses, then when I have enough for a full pot I take them out and break them a bit with a meat tenderizer hammer. (keep it covered with a towel though or you'll have bits of chicken everywhere, lol)

There's a great document all about the nutrients in bone broth at http://findarticles.com/p/articles/m...10299306/print

[Ruthla]

Have you tried offering warm broth in a cup as a beverage?

Remember that when you keep adding water to the cooking stock, you're diluting it. When you add less water, you'll get less total volume, but the same amount of total nutrition.

[junipermuse]

What about using it as the liquid for mashed potatoes? I would simmer it down to make it really concentrated and then use it instead of milk as the liquid for mashing potatoes

[sunshinestarr]

I love the mashed potatoes idea!! Thanks for all of these great ideas!!

[mbravebird]

Originally Posted by sunshinestarr

and I didn't cut the bones up at all (how on earth?!?!).

I use kitchen meat scissors or a cleaver. I like the idea pp posted, too, about the tenderizer and the towel.

The vinegar was great, yes -- it helps extract more minerals from the bones. And here's a quote about gelatin from Nourished Magazine: "Gelatin acts first and foremost as an aid to digestion and has been used successfully in the treatment of many intestinal disorders, including hyperacidity, colitis and Crohn’s disease. Although gelatin is by no means a complete protein, containing only the amino acids arginine and glycine in large amounts, it acts as a protein sparer, allowing the body to more fully utilize the complete proteins that are taken in. Thus, gelatin-rich broths are a must for those who cannot afford large amounts of meat in their diets. Gelatin also seems to be of use in the treatment of many chronic disorders, including anaemia and other diseases of the blood, diabetes, muscular dystrophy and even cancer."

I got dehydrated over the past few days, really badly. After a throwing up spell in the middle of the night, (which always happens when I get badly dehydrated), I went to sleep and dreamed that someone led me to chicken broth and told me to drink it. Lo and behold, it turns out that chicken broth puts minerals into electrolyte form, and thus is very good for rehydration. Wisdom from dreams and from ancestors....

[columbusmomma]

Originally Posted by velcromom

Using less water and breaking the bones can definitely help! I normally freeze the carcasses, then when I have enough for a full pot I take them out and break them a bit with a meat tenderizer hammer. (keep it covered with a towel though or you'll have bits of chicken everywhere, lol)

There's a great document all about the nutrients in bone broth at http://findarticles.com/p/articles/m...10299306/print

This is somewhat new to me! I just printed off this article and am going to try to make my own bone broth as I'm cooking a whole chicken from a local farmer this weekend. Wish me luck! I've been reading a lot and can't wait to try!

[Dillpicklechip]

Originally Posted by Attached Mama

My dd's fave is garlic soup - saute about 5 cloves garlic in olive oil or butter, add chicken stock, we also add a rapunzel bullion cube for more flavor, add a handful of couscous (not TF ) and a few diced carrots or whatever food your ds does like. We also like it with lots of black pepper and parsley in it. If you are sick or something is going around and you want to boost your immune system, you can add a raw clove of garlic blended into the warm broth and returned to the pot before serving it.

I will chime in here and say that this soup is yummy! Attached Mama posted this recipe a while back when I was asking for help for my dd's immune system...WOW it is garlicky but so good!

Originally Posted by junipermuse

What about using it as the liquid for mashed potatoes? I would simmer it down to make it really concentrated and then use it instead of milk as the liquid for mashing potatoes

This is a great idea! My family all likes mashed potatoes so I am definitely going to try this.

I hope it's okay for me to hijack the thread a bit and ask, do you guys all use bones from meat you've cooked to make broth--or could I go straight to the butcher at the grocery store and ask for just bones? I do save all the bones from whole chickens or chicken legs, but we don't eat enough meat for that to add up really quickly.

[Laniemama]

I also steam veggies in mine, but if he doesn't like veggies that much, that may not help. Also adding it to a smoothie would work. I love making chicken noodle soup too with it, so good! I know noodles are not the greatest thing, but its the only way my kids will eat chicken soup. I did buy organic whole wheat abc noodles that they loved!

[cristeen]

Originally Posted by Dillpicklechip

I hope it's okay for me to hijack the thread a bit and ask, do you guys all use bones from meat you've cooked to make broth--or could I go straight to the butcher at the grocery store and ask for just bones? I do save all the bones from whole chickens or chicken legs, but we don't eat enough meat for that to add up really quickly.

I've done both.

But if you're starting with raw bones, pop them in the oven for a little bit to get some color on them, or your broth will be very pale.

[dogmom327]

I've started replacing water with bone broth anywhere it's appropriate and it's been much easier to get lots of bone broth in our diet. For example, when I make taco meat, I simmer the beef in bone broth and spices. I also cook all our grains, brown rice pasta, etc. in bone broth.

[Rawa]

i use it in evry-thing i can. If I make spaghetti sauce/ macoroni cheese I add it. My daughter will only eat it as a soup if I use tomato paste or tinned tomatos to make tomato soup.

[junipermuse]

Originally Posted by Dillpicklechip

I will chime in here and say that this soup is yummy! Attached Mama posted this recipe a while back when I was asking for help for my dd's immune system...WOW it is garlicky but so good!



This is a great idea! My family all likes mashed potatoes so I am definitely going to try this.

I hope it's okay for me to hijack the thread a bit and ask, do you guys all use bones from meat you've cooked to make broth--or could I go straight to the butcher at the grocery store and ask for just bones? I do save all the bones from whole chickens or chicken legs, but we don't eat enough meat for that to add up really quickly.

I usually save a chicken carcass in the freezer and then the next time I cook a whole chicken I have two whole carcasses. Sometimes I buy extra backs and necks at whole foods for cheap and I throw those in. I also made some great broth one time that gelled great just from cooking a chicken in the slow cooker (I don't usually do it this way because of the whole lead thing, but it worked great) The chicken was totally raw going in, but the broth was still awesome. I think it helps to buy a couple whole chickens and use them to make the broth and then take off all the meat and use it casseroles or other dishes that you can freeze. That way you can have a bunch of bones at once, but still take your time eating the meat.