Elevate Fall Meals and your Health, with Rich, Tasty Bone Broth

There are many things to savor about fall. Especially when back-to-school routines or childcare transitions start to feel manageable. In the Northeast we have local apples and technicolor leaves, but the 30-degree temperature drop and dark mornings are not my favorite. Every year, as someone whose parents hail from the islands, my body resists this shift from summer to fall.

Fall food, however, is an entirely different matter. Regardless of where you land on the fall-weather-change debate, casseroles, soups, stews and braises warm you in the most delightful ways. If you also love fall cooking, inevitably you’ll see “broth” or “stock” at the base of everything from risotto and chicken soup to chili and pozole.

How are Broth and Stock Different?

Unfortunately, you’ll see the terms used interchangeably. More confusing still, “bone broth” is describing what most of us think of as “stock” (bones simmered in water) because broth, traditionally describes when you boil meat or poultry. It makes a thinner, yet still tasty, faster to cook base. I personally use “bone broth” (aka stock cooked for a really long time) in recipes that call for stock too. It works out.

If you like to cook even a little bit just skip the watery, over-priced boxes of broth or stock sitting on grocery store shelves. Long before “bone broth” was a thing, I made it to elevate my soups, braises and stews. I’ve progressed to using it for short-form dishes too, like poached eggs or warm pea salad and occasionally in the kids pasta. It doesn’t have to be reserved for your most elaborate weekend menus. It also boosts flavor in simple dishes.

Tastier Meal Staples

Early in my culinary journey, I bought boxes of broth or stock, mostly chicken and kept a few in the cupboard. But every year I hosted Thanksgiving, I would delight in making my own turkey stock. That led me to later do the same thing with each roasted chicken. Albeit in smaller volumes but the transformation came when I learned I could use the slow cooker.

Instead of patiently waiting 4 or 5 hours for the stove top version of broth to cook and cool enough to store in the freezer. Typically at night when I was exhausted, I started to simmer much larger batches in the slow cooker for 24 to 30 hours. As in, overnight and into the next day. Many of you may know I’m pretty anti-dishes so, sometimes because I just didn’t want to clean that slow cooker insert right away, I’d skim out the bones with a slotted spoon and throw in split peas and other mix-ins for that night’s meal.

Save Time, Mental Load and Money

Okay, you may be thinking, ‘Leslie, aren’t you all about saving time from manual tasks for self-care?’ Well, yes… which is why I don’t write about elaborate cooking often. But I am also a foodie. And nutrition is one the top Mom’s Hierarchy of Needs categories, along with things like exercise, sleep and stress management.

You don’t have to cook everything from scratch if you don’t enjoy it. There’s a whole system for meals I use and have written about a lot but you can use it with store bought or homemade staples. If you’re doubtful about bone broth, when you experiment with it and find it’s mostly hands-off work and results are 10 times better than store-bought, you might reconsider the return-on-your-time. But again, it’s not a requirement if you don’t like to cook.

Evaluate the Return on Your Time

You’re getting a second use from your investment in chicken (or pork, or beef) you’re already planning to cook. And making it easier for busy-future-you, to pull bone broth from the freezer and defrost it for the next great thing you want to make. It’s easy, so easy that if you like to cook even a little bit, you’ll find it cheaper and more efficient to make your own chicken broth.

Going to the grocery store, is time consuming and there are many staples you don’t have to buy. For example, I haven’t bought broth or stock, salad dressing, granola, chickpeas, cooked beans or bread, in over 10 years. But cooking is my hobby. I also went to culinary school, and this amount of cooking and baking is not for everyone. If you don’t love it, that’s okay. Find quality options within your budget and you can still benefit from nutritious and tasty meals.

Evidence Suggests Bone Broth is Good for You

Of course, your grandmother probably told you this many times. Mine did and so did my mother, although they never called it “bone broth” or explained why it was healthy. There was just consensus among the Bajan mamas in my family that stock and broth were healing. And it mysteriously showed up whenever I was ill so, let’s also revisit this through the lens of nutrition, not only convenience.

As usual, I spent some time reading the research about it and perhaps not surprisingly, your grandmother isn’t the only bone-broth-advocate. Although there are a couple of mixed reviews on how healthy bone broth really is, it’s generally considered helpful and rarely harmful.

It Contains Key Nutrients

There are no ‘one size fits all’ health moves so, consult with your healthcare provider when you consider big changes to your diet. Aside from the deliciousness factor, many experts share information about bone broth’s health benefits. Bone broth is another way to boost your protein intake. According to Harvard Medical School publishing, “ …about 8 to 10 grams per cup, versus just 2 to 6 grams in a cup of most broths or stocks.” It also contains collagen. Which has known benefits for skin and nail health.

Research also cites improved gut microbiome health, which is a big part of our immune systems. Many years ago, when I was researching a supplement I took for a while, I also learned the cysteine in bone broth is a perquisite for your body to make glutathione, a powerful antioxidant. It supports that process and I even found an interesting study, that links it to having anti-inflammatory benefits, but it was for a very specific population. The important takeaway here, is that research (in addition to most grandmothers) suggest it’s generally good for your health. And if you have to use stock or broth when you cook, why not use something with added nutritional impact?

Build a Supportive Routine for Your Meals

Do you regularly roast a whole chicken, chicken legs or bone-in thighs? What about pork shoulder on the bone or short ribs? If you already cook these types of things regularly then it’s not a big deal to simmer bones in water, perhaps with a bay leaf or two overnight. You can set your slow cooker for 24 – 30 hours then cool, measure, and re-home into freezer safe containers or bags.

It liberates you from last-minute-get-to-the-store panic when you lack staples for your perfect meal. I typically roast a chicken, twice a month, so I always make bone broth and it’s stocked in my freezer. When I realized I could put all of the leftover bones for my roasted chicken into the slow cooker overnight safely, it transformed having access to rich, satisfying bases.

How to Make your Bone Broth

It is super simple. I take whatever amount of bones I have, add bay leaves if I have some, perhaps a sliced onion or carrot (again only if I’m inclined to do so) and cover them with water in the (six quarter) slow cooker typically almost to the top. I set the timer for between 24 – 30 hours, depending on what time of day it finishes cooking so it’s easier for me to put it all away later. Keeping this mixture simmering all night and day is so great. It’s truly set and forget.

Treat Yourself to a Healing Chicken Soup

This chicken soup with butternut squash (see entire recipe) is an update to my mum’s recipe. It’s joyful and restoring, the soup I crave when I need a boost in energy, warmth or emotional reserves. My husband also really likes it and in time, our kids will come to appreciate the whole experience of soup. Now, they don’t really get it, although my youngest will enjoy it in small amounts. You probably already have many options however, I’ll also pass along a couple of my favorite soup recipes you might enjoy, sweet potato and corn soup and butternut squash soup with sage.

Get Your Make-Ahead-Fall-Stew On

With all of the fall gatherings, potlucks and celebrations, you might want to bring a chili. There are so many to choose from, if you are pressed for time, you can make one in less than 45 minutes stove top, with ground beef or turkey.

If you happen to have the luxury of plan-ahead-time, then consider thicker cuts, like stew beef or lamb and use the slow cooker if you have one. I’ve also experimented with a nice chicken-thigh based chili, that uses tomatillos and lots of cilantro. It’s super yummy but perhaps harder for the kids with particular palates to embrace.

Boost Protein During Work-From-Home Lunch

When I started to lift weights a couple of years ago, I became more focused on protein intake. My primary care doctor told me, it’s key for strength and improving outcomes, including muscle recovery, especially in perimenopause. There are many good reasons to make sure you have enough protein each day. But it’s hard to hit the recommended amount for a lot of women.

After consuming a ton of whey protein powder through both of my pregnancies, let’s just say I never want to see it again. Although some people really like it, in my opinion, bone broth is much nicer. On its own, it does not contain nearly as much protein but you can simmer your chicken, turkey, eggs, or tofu in it, to boost the overall protein in another dish.

Make Eggs (or Tofu) Poached in Bone Broth

I sometimes poach eggs in the microwave for a quick, warm lunch when I’m working from home or even a light dinner. You will love this, it takes less than 5 minutes and feels like a ‘real meal’ instead of the ahem…quickie meals we often subject ourselves to during the day. Like the handful-of-almonds ‘lunch’ option. Don’t go there, unless it’s necessary.

How to make the eggs (or tofu) poached in broth. Use ¼ to 1/3 cup of bone broth, crack two eggs into it, add 1 tsp of fresh grated (or ground) turmeric (if fresh, keep it in the freezer it’s magical), a generous amount of black pepper and salt to taste (about 1/8 tsp) and cover with a microwave safe cover. Heat for between 1.5 – 2 minutes in the microwave. Check the eggs, sometimes they need extra time depending on your ingredients. Then decorate it with avocado slices, baby spinach leaves or kimchi if you want a little spicy kick with it.

New seasons, create space for reinvention especially as your kids needs change and your personal and professional routines shift. Look for ways to bring additional nutrition into your meals and do so, with as much ease and joy as possible.

——-

📚 Buy the new book, Repair with Self-Care: Your Guide to the Mom’s Hierarchy of Needs.

Enjoy the gift of more time for wellbeing and growth. Plus delightful self-care packages for Moms, delivered to your door.