Go Away Germs: Benefits of Bone Broth and Easy Peasy Soup

Benefits of Bone Broth

It’s that time of year (or continues to be) when illnesses rear their ugly head. Runny noses, sore throats, and stomach upset are common. Lucky for us, the cool winter weather tempts us to make soup. An easy, go-to at our house is bone broth. Bone broth has many amazing healing properties including anti-inflammation, loosens mucus and phlegm, helps heal your gut, and more. It’s the perfect mix of amino acids, essential fatty acids, and vitamins...kinda like Mother Nature’s multivitamin chew.  And studies have shown that when adding vegetables to your broth, it works synergistically, improving digestion and absorption. I use it as the base of many recipes, soups, and alternatives to water for sautés. 
You can make bone broth with any bones, however, I made my most recent batch with turkey left over from Thanksgiving. After using all the meat you would like, place the bird in a pot or I like my slow cooker, and cover it with water. Throw in some celery, carrots, onions, and garlic cloves. You can leave the skins on too for added nutrients and immunity-boosting power! I let mine cook in the slow cooker for a minimum of 8 hours. The longer you cook it, the more goodies like collagen leach out of the bones. Strain well and it’s ready to use! Easy-peasy! I like to put mine in jars that can be used during the week, however you can freeze it to have it last longer. 
So when my family starts to sniffle or have a scratchy throat, I like to make chicken noodle soup (or tonight it was turkey). I start with a hot pan, add a bit of butter or oil, more garlic, chopped onion, carrot, and celery and cook them till a bit translucent. Then I add my bone broth and seasoning of choice. I let this boil and add chopped-up chicken (or turkey). Then add cooked noodles of choice or you can even do rice for a gluten-free option. Turn the heat off and serve. It’s great on a cold night and to help ward off those runny noses!


Rennard, B O et al. “Chicken soup inhibits neutrophil chemotaxis in vitro.” Chest vol. 118,4 (2000): 1150-7. doi:10.1378/chest.118.4.1150
Mar-Solís, Laura M et al. “Analysis of the Anti-Inflammatory Capacity of Bone Broth in a Murine Model of Ulcerative Colitis.” Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) vol. 57,11 1138. 20 Oct. 2021, doi:10.3390/medicina57111138
Schuette, Kim. "Stock vs. Broth: Are You Confused?." Biodynamic Wellness (2012).