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The Autonomic Nervous System and Diet…Where I’m Headed For Now

It seems I keep learning new stuff every day 🙂  I have read part of Change Your Brain Change Your Life (I still have a lot of reading and learning to do!). And there is a lot of great information. One thing that really stood out to me already was the discussion of the sympathetic vs. the parasympathetic nervous system.

“There are two branches of [the autonomic nervous] system. One of these branches, the sympathetic nervous system, is often referred to as the “fight or flight” branch. It helps you burn energy. The other branch is the parasympathetic nervous system. This branch helps you conserve energy. It also helps you digest food.” (1)

Both in GAPS and CYBCYL I have read about this. And I found that I have major sympathetic dominance. This correlates to OCD, worry, anxiety, etc. It also correlates to slow/poor digestion. When your sympathetic nervous systems is overactive you are often in a fight or flight state. This state shuts down unnecessary processes…as in digestion. I knew that my anxiety made my digestion worse. This just makes it really understandable now. And gives me direction. I need to calm my sympathetic nervous system and stimulate my parasympathetic nervous system (I mentioned this once in an update post after reading about it in the GAPS FAQ). This will let my digestive system function and get rid of the worry. It will help my brain and gut function normally.

So I was doing a little research on diet related to the PNS, and I came across metabolic typing. Bill Wolcott says that different people have different nutritional needs (makes sense). Some people need more protein and fats, while others need more carbohydrates, depending on whether you are sympathetic or parasympathetic dominant. And depending on how your body burns energy. Here is the basic idea behind this type of diet.  You can do an online test to see what type of diet you need. Turns out I’m a carbo type…which corresponds to your body functioning best with a high carb, low fat, lower protein diet.

“Generally speaking, if you’re a carbo type you need a higher percentage of carbohydrates in your diet in order to strengthen the parasympathetic branch of your nervous system, which is weaker than your sympathetic system, and thereby alkalinize your too-acid metabolism. Or you need more carbohydrates to speed up your naturally slow cellular oxidation rate, thereby bringing it into balance by acidifying your too-alkaline metabolism.
Carbo types typically do well on a low-fat, relatively low-protein diet — one that includes liberal amounts of carbohydrates in the form of vegetables, fruits and whole grains. However, carbo types need to remember that a “low-protein” diet does not mean a “no-protein” diet. In fact, most carbo types will find that they need to include protein at most meals, but they need to focus on leaner, lighter meats, seafood and poultry than protein types. They should restrict their consumption of red meat in favor of light meat chicken and turkey and lighter seafood such as haddock, cod, perch, sole, catfish and flounder.
If you’re a carbo type you should stick to low-fat dairy products, but you can eat a very wide selection of vegetables, fruits, and grains. However, many carbo types, like protein types, do best by focusing on vegetables that contain low or moderate levels of sugar and starch.”(2)

This is definitely not the way I’ve been eating. By following GAPS I tended to eat a high protein/fat, low carb diet. Not intentionally. That’s just what tends to happen since GAPS is so focused on nourishing animal foods and fats. I’m finding that GAPS tends to be better suited for people with parasympathetic dominance (protein types). And this might be why I struggle so much with too much meat (especially beef) or fat or nuts. I don’t balance it with the proper amount of carbs.

Does this mean I need to start eating tons of bread, pasta, etc.? Absolutely not! Does this mean you can’t do GAPS and follow metabolic typing? No. I have to be more deliberate about my food choices and ratios. Carbs come from vegetables. When I put food on my plate I need to add more vegetables and less meat (the opposite of how I’ve been eating). Grains still may not be the best option for me. I have to try and see. Here is some info from Dr. Mercola on this issue.

“While this is technically correct, if one doesn’t understand the practical distinction between grains and vegetables, one is likely headed for a health disaster. It is important to remember that over two-thirds of Americans are either obese or overweight, and nearly every one of these individuals needs to lower their insulin levels.

Additionally, most people with high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes also struggle with elevated insulin levels that respond quite well to grain restriction.

So what nearly all of these people–likely over 85 percent of the U.S. population–will benefit from is not a low-carb diet (the Atkins Diet), but the grain-free diet outlined in detail in my new book.

So if you are a Carb Nutritional Type™ you will require about 60 percent of your food as carbs, 25 percent protein and 15 percent fat, but this type may need as little as 10 percent fat and as high as 80 percent carbs in exceptional times. If you followed an Atkins Diet you might improve initially but eventually your system would break down because it required far more carbohydrate.

Once a person attains a normal weight and does not struggle with other insulin related disorders, it is actually possible to consume some grains and remain perfectly healthy. Carb types actually can do quite well with grains, but remember this is likely to only be about 15 percent of the population at best.

Don’t stress out about the percentages; they are only rough guidelines. Even if they needed to be precise, you wouldn’t take the time or make the effort to eat exact percentages of foods every single time you ate, especially for the rest of your life.
Additionally, your activity and stress levels will affect and alter the quantity of food, as well as the ratio of proteins, fats and carbohydrates, you need to feel your best.
Last, there is also a circadian rhythm to account for. Your biochemistry moves through various phases throughout the day. These rhythms involve your hormonal output, your acid/alkaline shifts, your waking/sleeping times and many other time-based variables. While some people will have a need for the same ratios of protein, fat and carbs at each meal, others will discover that they need very different ratios at the different meals in order to derive optimum energy, well being and performance” (3)

Here is a guideline of foods that are good for carbo types.

I’ve been so focused on eating protein and fat and grain free that I think I got too low carb (again, not intentionally). While this may have helped seal my gut, it made my PNS even slower…resulting in slower digestion…and not improving my OCD.

What does this all mean? It means I have some experimenting to do. It means I need to be conscious of the ratios of food on my plate. It means I need to increase veggies. It means I’m gradually returning to where I started this journey…a whole/real food balanced diet that does not include processed foods and sugar. At the moment I am still eating a full GAPS diet. But I need to shift it a bit so that I eat plenty of carbohydrates and not quite as much protein and fat. And see if my body handles that better. I would like to add a small amount of properly prepared grains (soaked, fermented, sourdough) as well in the near future and see how I do. I don’t intend to eat “low fat.” I still think I need plenty of healthy fat. But maybe not quite as much as I have been eating and in better balance with my carb intake. I will still eat full fat dairy. I’m not a fan of low fat dairy, especially when nursing and trying to get my hormones in balance. And I don’t intend to eat tons of grains. I don’t think that’s good for anyone. I’m going to try to find the right balance of nourishing food for my body. For now that will focus on shifting from high protein/fat to high carbohydrate. In some ways this sounds like a big change, but in other ways it’s not. Really I just need to eat more vegetables 😛  And I need to be sure I’m not eating sweets. I need to combine all of information I’ve learned over the last couple years with this new information and with what I know about my own body. I still believe in eating lots of nourishing foods like eggs, butter, broth, coconut oil, fish, etc. But the quantities may have to be adjusted for each person’s body/metabolism type. Let the experimentation begin!

I know some people don’t believe in metabolic typing. I can’t say at this point if it does or does not work. But I’m going to try it. I figure I have nothing to lose. If it doesn’t give me improvement, then I find something else. But then again it might help! So this is where I’m at right now. I would also like to try to figure out Rebecca’s metabolic profile to see if I need to adjust her diet. I can’t assume hers is the same as mine. Everyone’s is different. And it can change throughout your life. Again, this is where I’m at for now. I’ll see how it goes and continue to listen to my body while focusing on healthy, real, nourishing food.

I will have to experiment with my ratios. I am a carbo type. But I think I lean a little towards a mixed type too…which would require an equal balance of protein, fat and carbs.

I am curious to see if this has any impact on Abram as well. He has had digestive issues lately, slow digestion. Is it possible that my carb/protein ratios can impact the makeup of my milk in the same way? I guess we’ll see.

There is still more that I’m learning and would like to share at some point. I will be looking into supplements. And I hope to do a series of posts on brain function and tools to overcome problems.

Do you have any experience with metabolic typing? Any thoughts or opinions? I will update as I experiment. But I’d love to hear stories from others as well.

(1) – Alternative Medicine
(2) – The Metabolic Typing Diet
(3) – Mercola

Nuts – How To Eat Them

Nuts, what can I say about nuts? I love them! And they can be part of a very healthy diet. Or they can cause your body major stress. There are a couple different issues with nuts. I’ll start with how they should be prepared.

Nuts of all kinds (walnuts, pecans, almonds, peanuts, cashews, etc.) should be soaked and dehydrated before you eat them. Why? It’s the same idea as I discussed about grains…why they need to be soaked. Like grains, nuts contain phytates, which makes them very hard on your digestive system and your whole body. By soaking and dehydrating nuts you neutralize the phytates. Then your body can absorb the nutrients. According to Nourishing Traditions, “nuts contain numerous enzyme inhibitors that can put a real strain on the digestive mechanism if consumed in excess. Nuts are easier to digest, and their nutrients more readily available, if they are first soaked…then dried.” Nuts do contain a lot of vitamins and minerals (the list includes calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, B complex, carotenoids, vitamin C, copper, and zinc) and are a great source of protein. Nuts also have a very high fat content, anywhere from 60% to 80% of calories from fat. Plus they make a great on-the-go snack. Or even a great addition to salads or mixed in yogurt. They give you the crunch you’re looking for…especially if you’re cutting out other foods like grains. They can be used to make milk substitutes, make flour, used in baking, to make nut butters, etc. Nuts are recommended as part of healthy, Real Food diet. They are recommended as part of a healthy diet for pregnancy. And many Real Food activists are in favor of eating properly prepared nuts.

So, how do you make crispy nuts? It’s quite simple. You soak the nuts in a combo of water and unrefined sea salt (time and quantities vary for each kind of nut). Then drain and dehydrate. I always do a large batch and freeze them. They are great right out of the freezer. No need to thaw. And they will stay good much longer that way. Here are a few versions of crispy nuts/seeds:

Crispy peanuts
Crispy pecans
Crispy almonds
Crispy walnuts
Crispy cashews
Crispy pumpkin seeds

Are nuts, even properly prepared, a good option for everyone? Not necessarily. Nuts do contain a fair amount of omega-6 fatty acids. As long as you’re eating a whole food diet and no processed foods, this shouldn’t be a problem. But if you already get a lot of omega-6 in your diet you don’t want to add more. We need more omega-3 and way less omega-6. And for all of the omega-6 you intake you need to counteract it with more omega-3…which is harder to get. According to Nourishing Traditions, “a diet high in unsaturated fatty acids, especially polyunsaturated (omega-6…i.e. vegetable oils), can destroy the body’s supply of vitamin E and cause muscular lesions, brain lesions and degeneration of blood vessels. Care must be taken not to include a large amount of polyunsaturated oil in the diet without a corresponding increase in the intake of vitamin E.” Also, some people may not tolerate nuts well. Nuts are not recommended on diets like SCD. Check out Kat’s experience. And of course there is the obvious nut allergy. If you’re allergic to nuts, avoid them.

So, where do I stand? At this point I say all things in moderation. Don’t go overboard with nuts. But unless you notice a problem when you eat them, I say go for it. I can say without a doubt that nuts that are not properly prepared kill my gut. I now know why in high school and college I had some of the stomach problems I did…I ate peanuts every single day! Big handfuls. Yikes. I knew they  had an impact. But I ate them anyway. If I even eat a small amount now I notice. I do eat crispy nuts almost every day. And my daughter loves them too. Maybe some day I’ll experiment and go without for a while to see if I notice a difference. But for now I regularly enjoy crispy nuts as part of a healthy diet.

Nitrites, Nitrates and Processed Meat…You Won’t Find Them Here

I have tried to avoid nitrites and nitrates for a while now. Especially while pregnant. And since we’re serving ham for Christmas…something that often contains both…I figured now would be a good time to talk about them. They are found in most processed meats, like hot dogs, lunch  meat, bacon, etc.

So, what are they and what can they do to you?

I’ll start with sodium nitrate.

Sodium nitrate is in a lot of processed meats. But did you know it’s also used in the “manufacture of glass antifoamer, fertilizer, dyes and potassium nitrate, also in pharmaceuticals, oxidant and metal hot-treating”? Should that same thing really be in our food?

So what does it actually do to you? “Sodium nitrate may damage your blood vessels, making your arteries more likely to harden and narrow, leading to heart disease. Nitrates may also affect the way your body uses sugar, making you more likely to develop diabetes.”

Also, “nitrates in food are a danger in that they can be converted to nitrites, which can react in your stomach to form nitrosamines. Nitrosamines are potent cancer-causing chemicals.”

I find that these days sodium nitrate isn’t used quite as commonly as sodium nitrite. So, on to chemical number two.

Sodium nitrite is actually a poison. It is used to give processed meat a pinky color instead of looking gray (like regular cooked meat does). It has been shown to cause cancer, especially pancreatic and colorectal. “The USDA actually tried to ban sodium nitrite from the food supply back in the 1970’s, but it was overruled by the meat industry which knew that the chemical made meat look visually more appealing and therefore increased sales of processed meat products.”

Sodium nitrite is also “suspected of playing a role in the development of migraines and chronic obstructive lung disease.”

Pregnant women need to be especially careful about sodium nitrite “due to the greatly heightened risk of brain tumors in infants.” Sodium nitrite is especially dangerous to fetuses, infants and children.

These two nasty ingredients are in most processed meats today. But what else in that commonly served meat? Most list some kind of mechanically separated meat in the ingredients. Which means “a paste-like meat product produced by forcing beef, pork, turkey or chicken bones, with attached edible meat, under high pressure through a sieve or similar device to separate the bone from the edible meat tissue.” This can even include spinal cords. Gross!

Do you feed your child hot dogs regularly? “Leukemia skyrockets by 700% following the consumption of hot dogs. (Preston-Martin, S. et al. “N-nitroso compounds and childhood brain tumors: A case-control study.” Cancer Res. 1982; 42:5240-5.)”  No thanks.

If you do some research you will find a lot of meat companies say it’s totally safe. Of course they do. They want to sell their product! But if you look at the real evidence, you’ll see sodium nitrate and nitrite is not good for you at all. Especially children. So the next time you want to feed your child a hot dog, make sure it’s nitrate/nitrite free.

I served a fresh ham roast for Christmas dinner last night. And it was not pink. And it did not taste like it had been preserved in chemicals for months. It was nice 🙂  I spent way too many years consuming large amounts of lunch meat. Thankfully I have not had any in several  years. And I hope to prevent my children from eating it as much as possible as well. The more chemicals we can avoid the better.

Sloppy Lentils

A couple weeks ago my SIL posted a recipe for sloppy lentils. It sounded so good. And it was a perfect meal for us since I’m trying to add more lentils into our diet (so healthy and great for fertility). I tried it last night. Yum!!! All 3 of us loved it. My original plan was to serve it over corn bread…but it’s just too hot to bake right now. I do want to try that sometime, but not this week. I debated about a few ways to serve this and ultimately decided to serve it over grilled yellow zucchini (since I had some fresh from the farmer’s market). Much healthier and much easier on my tummy. It was really good! I served it with shredded cheese and avocado. Justin and Rebecca also used some tortilla chips for scooping. This is a great recipe. Very easy. Very quick prep (as long as you plan ahead). It makes quite a bit, so there are lots of leftovers for lunches or another dinner. And it’s so versatile. You can serve it on buns, over cornbread, in tortillas, with chips, over veggies. So many options. I’m glad I tried this. Loved it.

Sloppy Lentils

3 cups water
1 cup lentils, rinsed (I used green)
salt to taste (optional)
1 cup chopped onion (I used about 1/3 cup)
3 tablespoons olive oil
15 oz can diced tomatoes
1/2-1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste (I used the full can)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup ketchup
1 teaspoon mustard powder (I just used regular mustard)
1 tablespoon chili powder (I didn’t add quite this much…Rebecca doesn’t like spicy food)
3-5 tablespoons rapadura, molasses, or honey (I used about 4 Tbsp. brown cane sugar)
1 Tbsp white vinegar
salt and ground black pepper to taste
4 hamburger buns, split (or corn bread, tortillas, chips, veggies)

Soaking Step, optional (I did this): Allow lentils to soak overnight in warm filtered water with 2 Tablespoons acid medium (I used the liquid part of my kefir). Rinse and cook as described below.

Combine water and lentils in a saucepan. Season with salt and pepper, if desired. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until tender, about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. The cook time may depend on the type of lentil you use, too… so keep that in mind so that you don’t overcook them. (I soaked my lentils the night before and then cooked them in the morning. I proceeded with the recipe at dinner time with a bowl full of already cooked lentils 🙂

Meanwhile, cook the onions in olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat until the onions have softened and are translucent. Add tomatoes, garlic, tomato paste, ketchup, mustard powder, chili powder, sweetener, vinegar, salt and pepper. Simmer 5 to 10 minutes until thickened.

Drain lentils and reserve cooking liquid. Stir lentils into sauce mixture, adding cooking liquid or water as needed to obtain the desired “sloppy joe” consistency. Serve on buns (or other bread or veggie).

Whole Wheat Sourdough English Muffins

My husband is a big fan of english muffins, but I stopped buying them a while ago since they aren’t healthy. Since then I’ve been looking for good recipes for healthy english muffins. I’ve made a couple kinds in the past. One turned out very well…but it was made with white flour.

A couple weeks ago when I was searching for new sourdough recipes I found a lot of sourdough english muffin recipes. I’d never thought of that. So I did a search for whole wheat sourdough english muffins. And the first good one I came across was from GNOWFGLINS. I tried it yesterday. The verdict…awesome!!!

My daughter and I shared one with dinner last night, and we had them for breakfast this morning. Yum!! If you don’t like sourdough, you won’t like these. But if you do (like I do…can’t believe how much I love it now), you will definitely like these. And they are quite simple to make.

When I first read the directions it seemed like a long process. But really each step goes very quickly. The first day you just mix a few ingredients together. The second day you add a few more ingredients, shape the muffins, let them rest a bit and cook them. Not much hands on time at all. 

This is a keeper recipe for sure! They are light and moist. Perfect. I used bulgur flour for this batch. Any flour will do…and will produce a slightly different texture. I also added a little ground flax seed. And I used kefir for my liquid…made them even healthier! If you’re looking for a way to use your sourdough starter (or use up some kefir :), give these a try!

Whole Wheat Sourdough English Muffins

1/2 cup sourdough starter (thick or thin)
1 cup liquid (water*, milk, fermented dairy, coconut milk…)
2 cups flour (your choice – bulgur flour, splet, kamut, einkorn, whole wheat)
Add-ins like seeds, dried fruit, or chopped nuts
1 Tbsp. raw honey (or any other sweetener)
3/4 to 1 tsp. sea salt of choice
1 tsp. baking soda

*Note: The English muffins will turn out if you use water instead of full fat or fermented dairy and if you add more flour initially for easier kneading. However, the results will not be as soft on the outside or as tender on the inside once you’ve finished the cooking.

Day 1:

Place 1/2 cup sourdough starter (thick or thin) into a medium size bowl. Pour onto that the 1 cup of liquid. This is the first place where the recipe is very flexible. Your liquid could be water, milk, any fermented dairy, coconut milk… Stir to combine starter and liquid. If your sourdough starter is very stiff, you might need an extra 1/4 cup of liquid.

Once combined, add 2 cups of flour to the mixture. This is the second place where the recipe is very flexible. Use any combination of flours. Stir well to combine. Along with the flour, I often add in a couple Tbsp. of ground flax seed or poppy and caraway seeds (when I make delicious rye sourdough english muffins). The soaking affects the seeds as well as the flour. So, great! Cover and let your dough sit overnight, even up to 24 hours.
 
Day 2:
 
On top of your soaked dough, sprinkle 1 tsp. unrefined sea salt, 1 tsp. baking soda, and 1 Tbsp. honey. Use a wooden spoon to push/cut/stir in your newly added ingredients. Don’t worry about incorporating it perfectly; you will be kneading it in just a moment.

This next part of the directions might feel a little strange, because you are kneading something that could be quite wet. Pour about 1 tablespoon of olive oil onto the counter and spread it around with your hand and then rub hands together. Dump out the dough onto the oiled spot and knead the dough for 2 to 3 minutes. The purpose of this kneading is to incorporate the honey, baking soda, and salt. After this, take a pizza cutter and separate the dough into 8 equal portions. (Be sure you use plenty of oil…the dough is wet and sticky.)

The dough is quite wet. At this time, it is helpful to dust hands with flour before shaping each muffin. You might prefer to use all-purpose flour for this dusting, or sprouted flour where the sprouting has done the work of soaking.

With dusted hands, pick up a portion and gently shape it into your muffin – about 1 finger thick and maybe 2-1/2 inches wide. Size and shape are not important here. Place your muffins on a lightly floured or cornmealed (greased might work if you want to stay away from newly added flour) sheet of wax paper or parchment paper. Cover with a dish towel and let rest for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

About 5 minutes before you want to griddle/skillet your muffins, set the heat to medium. You don’t want the muffins to brown too quickly because the insides need a chance to cook. You do not need to grease the skillet/griddle.

Carefully transfer the muffins onto your heat source. Cook the muffins for about five minutes on each side. You can take a little peek every now and again to make sure the bottoms are not getting too brown. When it is time to flip, do this carefully. Your muffins will plump up beautifully, and you do not want to deflate them by being too rough. Cook for the second five minutes. Now, if you find that the outside edge of your muffin is not as done as you like, feel free to pop these into a 350 degree oven for 5-10 minutes.

They last for at least a week in a sealed container on the counter. They also freeze beautifully. Might want to slice them first. And it most definitely works to double or triple the recipe.

Dairy Kefir – Take 2

Last week I got some kefir grains and made my first attempt at making some. I wasn’t really sure what I was doing or what it was supposed to look like/taste like. And it didn’t seem to work that well. So I did a little more research, watched a few videos and tried again this week. Well, I think it worked this time 🙂  And it really wasn’t hard at all. I think I just hadn’t given my grains enough time to adjust/grow before. My first batch of kefir is still probably on the thin side. But it’s way thicker than the stuff I made last week. I mixed kefir and yogurt together yesterday for lunch. That worked well. The kefir does have a pretty strong sour taste. I love the tangy taste of plain yogurt. But kefir is different. I haven’t accquired the taste for eating it plain yet. But maybe I will over time. I’m excited to have kefir and to try in various recipes. And mostly excited about its impact on my gut 🙂

In addition to dairy kefir there is also water kefir. Which also is great for your digestive system. I’ve read about it many places. Maybe I’ll try that next (thanks for the suggestions Sara and Donielle!).

Here’s the basic idea of how to make dairy kefir:

Kefir

1. Put kefir grains in a clean container (a mason jar works well)
2. Poor milk into the jar (how much milk you use depends on how many grains you have and how much kefir you want to make. To start out I’m only using about a cup of milk.) and stir with non-metallic spoon.

3. Cover jar loosely (I use cheesecloth secured with a ring)
4. Set in a warm spot, away from sunlight (I put mine in a kitchen cupboard…above my oven)
5. In 12 – 48 hours you should have kefir (The time depends on your grains and how strong you like the kefir)

6. Strain the kefir into another jar. (I pour it through a strainer)

7. Put the grains back into the old jar and pour milk on top. Repeat steps 3 – 6 for more kefir. Or store in the refrigerator if you want a break from making kefir.

8. Cover the kefir you just  made. You can put it right in the refrigerator. Or you can let it set out a while to continue to thicken and separate. If it separates the top portion will be thicker, like yogurt. The bottom will be whey. You can use them together or separate, just like you do with yogurt.

Chicken Broth (Bone Broth)

I’ve been reading so much about bone broth since I started reading Nourishing Traditions. It is packed with nutrients and is so good for digestion. I finally got around to making some on Sunday. I didn’t follow any one recipe/method exactly (based mine on both Nourishing Traditions and Naturally Knoced Up). But I did end up with awesome tasting, healthy broth! I got about 4 pints. It is quite concentrated. I could have easily added more water while cooking it. But I’ll just add the water as I use it…takes up less storage space that way 🙂  I froze 3 pints and kept one out for meals this week.

I started the process by roasting a whole chicken in the crockpot on Sunday morning. We had it for lunch. I kept all of the liquid in the crockpot after removing the chicken. After lunch I deboned the chicken and put all of the skin/bones/fat back into the crockpot (with the liquid and some other bones I had saved from last week). I added some onion and water and let it cook. Part way through cooking I added unrefined sea salt, pepper, garlic powder and some carrot chunks. Including the time the chicken was roasting I had my broth going for about 24 hours. After cooking I drained everything through a collander lined with cheesecloth. Then I ran the liquid through my gravy separator to remove some of the really fatty stuff. It was really quite simple. Messy, but simple. I will try to do it more often now so I always have some on hand. I would like to get to a point where I eat/drink at least a little broth every day to help in the process of healing my gut and just becoming healthier over all. And I’m anxious to try making bone broth from beef bones (when we get our Voogt beef). I’ll try to write out the process in a recipe fashion below. You can make this in a stock pot, but I though the crockpot was way easier than having something simmering on my stove all day. Plus I don’t feel comfortable leaving the stove on over night. You can do this in the opposite order…make the stock (simmering the whole chicken for the full time) and then eat the chicken. Some recipes say to add vinegar to help with the gelatinizing process. But I didn’t…I didn’t remember that part when I was making it 🙂  Mine is still plenty gelatinous. So, this is what I did. I’m no expert…this was my first attempt. But it seemd to work. And I had some for dinner last night. YUM!! Tastes like the best chicken soup you’ve ever had. I warmed it up with some of the leftover chicken (together) and had a pile of veggies on the side. Mmm.

Chicken Bone Broth

1 whole chicken (or whatever chicken parts you have)
Water
Seasoning (unrefined sea salt, pepper, garlic powder, herbs, bay leaf)
Veggies, very roughly choppped (whatever you like…onions, celery, carrots)
1-2 Tbsp. vinegar (optional)

Cook chicken or chicken parts. Place all of the bones, skin, fat in the crockpot (and any meat you want to add). At this point you can add 1-2 Tbsp. of vinegar and let it sit for an hour. This helps draw out the nutrietns from the bones. After the hour is up (or right away if you’re not adding the vinegar) you can add your veggies and seasoning. Or you can wait until half way through cooking. Add enough water to cover everything. Turn on the crockpot and bring to a boil. Skim off any nasty stuff that comes to the top (I didn’t do this…just waited until the end and strained everything well). Let simmer in crockpot 6-24 hours. The longer you cook it the more nutrients you draw out of the bones. When the cooking is finished drain everything through a colander lined with cheesecloth. As the broth cools the fat will rise to the top and you can skim off as much or as little as you want. Or if you have a gravy separator you can run the broth through it right away (before it cools). You can store it in the refrigerator or freezer. It works well to freeze it in ice cube trays so you can take out as much or as little as you want at a time.