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Bone Broth

We have successfully completed 10 days (well, it will be day 11 by the time this post goes up), in our month of health. Our mission for this month was to get our mind, body, and soul healed, due to LOTS of stress, little sleep, and a few dark chocolatey and red wine splurges (Plus cheese…on the chocolate. Every time I write that I cry a little on the inside, but oh was it good.) So far things have been going really well (I even made us a little calendar, all in fun colors so we can check off each day of the month. The only thing missing are those silver and gold star stickers we used to get in elementary school for getting a good grade or something…), and since everyone seemed fairly interested in how things would go, we thought we would give a little one week update.

As we said, the biggest thing has been the sleep. We have thumb-tacked heavy blankets over the windows, unplugged the alarm clock, and covered any other lights with towels around the room. We have also successfully gotten at least 8 hours, if not more, of sleep each night, with the exception of two nights. The first night of poor sleep was sort of Bill’s fault, but I agreed to it, so I will take partial blame. He had the brilliant idea to sleep on the floor. We put the memory foam mattress pad on the floor, and tried to sleep that way. We actually liked it the first night, there was more room, so I stayed out of Bill’s way while sleeping (I’m a bit of an active sleeper, and am known for clobbering Bill with an arm or leg in the middle of the night). The second night did not go as well as the first. Although we kind of liked our little sleepover set up on the floor, we both tossed and turned for two hours until Bill finally said…”F*#% this.” The second bad night was just for me. Bill had a show downtown, and we got home pretty late. The following morning I had to work, back downtown at 7 am. This meant 5 hours of sleep for me. Let’s just say I wasn’t the sweetest girlfriend that day. If I were Bill, I would have run away, I know I desperately wanted to get away from myself!

There have been some pretty great things that we have learned about sleep through this one week process. And I’m saying this because, it is pretty remarkable to us to be able to notice such a significant difference in a short period of time. Here is what we have learned:

1. Proper sleep, in a dark room, for 8 or more hours, balances hunger through out the day. We found ourselves extremely satisfied with our meals, and not searching for snacks through out the day.

2. Sleep in a dark room makes you have crazy vivid dreams. There has been some seriously crazy shit happening in our dreams recently. I don’t know what that’s about, but it has kind of been freaking me out at bit. (I’m kind of loving it! lol -Bill)

3. Sleeping in a dark room can be dangerous. We have definitely smacked each other in the face a couple times, stumbled into things, and beware the good night kiss…usually it’s a miss. (I was super enthused the first night when Hayley stepped on my Macbook – that was cool! haha – Bill)

4. Our days have been much more productive, and enjoyable. For me (Hayley) especially, I can think much clearer, and can focus on my work much better than before. (Ditto to that, not to mention athletic effort is notably more available during our respective WODs – Bill)

5. Sleep + paleo eating makes you look good. We all know this, but it’s totally true. We have definitely noticed differences in the way we look that is a direct result from the sleep. Eating the right stuff and exercise just doesn’t cut it. If you wanna look hot, sleep!

Beyond the sleep, our eating has really been in check. We have stuck to 2-3 meals a day, quality protein, lots of vegetables, and good fat. Bill is eating some fruit, I am not. We are also trying to finish dinner no later than 7 pm, so that we have a good couple hours of digestion before we get to sleep. I haven’t learned much about my body from the strict eating, just because I seem to be very aware of how my body reacts to foods, and I know what doesn’t work for me. Bill on the other hand, is still somewhat new to the awareness of food irritants in his body, and can have a bit of a fussy stomach. We are both learning what irritates him and what does not….(trust me this is not fun for either of us.). This is what brings us to the bone broth.

Bill and I are playing a fun game of trial and error with his eating. He seems to have issues with FODMAP’s, and has started to eliminate the ones that cause him the most irritation. For starters, onions. I am personally thankful for this and I will explain why in a second. Bill LOVES onions. I do too, but I don’t eat them raw on their own. He does, and then likes to give me a smooch after (this I’m not really okay with, but I love him even with onion breath, so it’s not a big deal.) However, Bill found out that his love for onions, was giving him an extremely upset stomach. He starting drinking some whole goats milk kefir from Whole Foods, sipping bone broth, and cutting the onions out, which has help him immensely! So we are still on mission “What can and can’t Bill eat”, but we are on the right track. This is a perfect example of something that we have stated before. Be aware of your body. Be mindful, and intuitive of what you are eating, and how you react to it. Just because something is “paleo approved” doesn’t mean your body will approve. We are all different, and we all react to certain foods differently. Listen, and be aware, and you will have success.

Bone broth is a wonderful, powerful, healing food. Chock full of minerals, bone broth is a great way to get calcium (however if you are lifting weights and eating leafy greens, you really shouldn’t worry. Cave Girl Eat’s says this best.). Bone broth is also wonderful when you are not feeling so hot. You may have heard us call Grandy Kyp’s Chicken Soup “Jewish Penicillin”. This term comes from healing wonders of mineral rich bone broth. Being that we are not experts on the matter, we encourage you to pick up a copy of Eat Fat Lose Fat, or read Balance Bites detailed post on bone broth to really understand the benefits. But this broth, “comfort in a cup” as we like to call it, is definitely worth having around the house, if for no other reason then the flavor. It is absolutely wonderful.

Ingredients:

  • 2-3 lbs soup bones (marrow, knuckle, meaty bones, or a whole chicken or turkey carcass)
  • Purified water
  • 1 tbsp raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar (“ACV”)

Process:

  1. Add soup bones to crock pot.
  2. Fill crock pot with just enough water to slightly cover the bones, if some bones are sticking out that’s ok!
  3. Add 1 tbsp of ACV to the crock pot, cover, turn onto low, and slow cook for 24-48 hours.
  4. Turn the crock pot off and allow to cool.
  5. Strain the broth through a fine mesh strainer (We use a paint strainer bag, the same that we use for straining almond or coconut milk. These can be found at Home Depot for $2. Just wash it before the first use.)
  6. Keep in the fridge in a glass container, for up to a week. You can boil the broth after a week to kill any bacteria, in which case it will last longer. You can also keep the broth frozen in ice cube trays, and pop out a few cubes each time you desire it.
  7. Heat the broth on the stove top before each use.

This is a great homemade option for a soup stock, but is great to just sip from a mug on it’s own. You can add garlic, carrots, celery, or onion to add flavor to the broth, but we have found that the simple broth is amazing all on it’s own.

For any of you participating in this “month of health” with us, we hope you all are seeing success so far, and we would love to hear how it’s going.

As always, enjoy!

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    COMMENTS

    1. July 14, 2011

      You guys rock!! I love everything I've made from your website, and have made my transition into Paleo so much more delicious. In combination with 2 months of crossfit, I have lost 10 lbs of fat, and gained 5 lbs of muscle. Keep the recipes coming!

    2. July 15, 2011

      Say, what's the purpose of the straining? I've seen that in all the bone broth recipes, but don't understand it. I like your recipe because it is simple and straightforward.

    3. July 15, 2011

      Why the vinegar? Taste? Preservative?

    4. July 15, 2011

      Johntn- the vinegar helps release the minerals from the bones

    5. July 16, 2011

      Thanks Kara!

      John

    6. July 17, 2011

      This came at the perfect time! I've been meaning to make bone broth but couldn't settle on which recipe to try. You guys have never steered me wrong in your recipes (it sucks when you try out a cook recipe only to have it fall flat!).

      As for the getting back on track, yes, I definitely feel you. Sleep's a huge one for me, especially with long hours and a sucky commute. Keep up the awesome job! I really hate how our culture seems to prize going without sleep.

    7. January 12, 2012

      This comment has been removed by the author.

    8. January 13, 2012

      Sleep is a very important factor for our health. Lack of it might affect your overall health.

      sleep

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