A good broth is one of the best foods to support you through winter!!  It’s one of the most healing foods – to both your digestive & immune systems!

During the winter months, I forever have stocks (beef, chicken, vegetable) in my fridge and freezer ready for use!  It’s an easy and comforting task to boil stock during a rainy weekend afternoon, which also fills my home with scents of goodness!

Stock is one of the winter superfoods!! The nutrients taken into the stock are readily available to our bodies for absorption!  Bone stocks are rich in amino acids and proteins that support our cellular health!  Vegetable stocks also contain a wide variety of nutrition, which will differ based on the ingredients used in the broth.   Some nutrients commonly found are manganese, B6, Vitamin E, and Vitamin A.  Since a stock doesn’t require our bodies to exert much effort to break down, this energy is preserved and nutrients are also more accessible (which we call ‘bio-available.’)

But bone stocks are especially nutritious due to the rich variety and density of nutrients.  As  Sally Fallon, from Westin Price, explains:

“Stock contains minerals in a form the body can absorb easily—not just calcium but also magnesium, phosphorus, silicon, sulfur and trace minerals. It contains the broken down material from cartilage and tendons–stuff like chondroitin sulphates and glucosamine, now sold as expensive supplements for arthritis and joint pain.”

Here are some health benefits of making your own stock:

• Helps you to recover from sickness or surgery – since it’s less taxing on the digestive system and nutritionally rich to support cellular repair.
• Benefits gut health – by supporting the lining of your digestive system and helps to heal any ‘gut inflammation’
• Promotes Beauty – as it’s rich in complex proteins and collagen that are needed as building blocks for hair, skin and nails
• Anti-ageing Properties – working in the same capacity, and with rich sources of gelatin, it’s considered a ‘natural facelift!’
• Combats inflammation across body & joints – from sulphates and glocasamine which are pulled from the stock bones
• Promotes bone health – with rich sources of Vitamin C and magnesium

One important note – using organic or hormone-free meat is vital.  Many animals raised in confined spaces are also given large amounts of antibiotics.  A stock from meat containing hormones and antibiotics could result in potentially harmful additives.

Here’s a link to a simple chicken broth recipe – then simply place in canning jars in your freezer (such as 1 quart which allows you to easily make soup at any time.)