A Recipe for Deep Nourishment

Tired. Depleted. Exhausted. Overwhelmed. Fatigued.

There is a common thread among the clients I have been seeing lately.

It’s more than just a common complaint, it’s a state of being. A pulse of culture. An expectation of the way things have to be. The way we are supposed to show up.

I’m not so sure we are designed to live this way. It doesn’t feel good to my body. It feels like deep constriction and contraction. I feel my muscles tighten, my breath quicken and become shallow. My adrenals kick out cortisol at such a rate that my blood sugar spikes when I live in hurry.

This is the body screaming to stop, pause, take inventory. We might catch a cold or the flu. Periods may be intensified. We may have migraines or throw out our back. Something that takes us down just long enough for the body to reset.

And maybe when we don’t answer this cry and override our symptoms with medications, we get sicker. Maybe our body screams louder with autoimmune issues, chronic pain, or cancer.

“Stop. Rest. Restore.” She begs you. Pleads with you.

How long can we maintain this posturing?

Enter slow food. Bone broth. This is the simplest method of nourishing the body, mind, and spirit. It’s the return to gut health, to soil, to a long slow process. To make your own soul-nourishing bone broth requires a long, slow simmer of the bones and vegetables to infuse your spirit with the restful nature of this food.

We recently made broth at our little farm from the bones of our beloved rooster. Gratitude washed through me as I paused from hurry to savor the nourishment his life now offered me. Infusing my body with nutrition, my soul with rest and thanksgiving.

The following is the rough version of how I make bone broth. It has become a nourishing tradition in our home as a return to the slow food movement and a small act of rebellion against of world of hurry. When we slow down and cook in this manner, it can’t be helped but to rest and savor.

Slow Simmer Bone Broth

Throw organic, grass-fed animal bones in a large stock pot. I like to use the bones from our roasting chickens into the pot, skin and all. Add in any veggie scraps you like. Some of my favorites are mushroom stems from Labyrinth Mushrooms, carrot scrapings, celery bases, onion peels, kombu (seaweed chunks), herb stems, whatever suits you.  Add a few tablespoons of apple cider vinegar to pull nutrients from the bones. A little salt, a little pepper. Crushed garlic if you are into it (and I am!). Fill the stock pot with the cleanest water you have available to you. I like to use reverse osmosis water filtration. Heat to a boil, then turn down to simmer, cover, and let it go for 10-12 hours. Filter out the chunky stuff and use in soups, to make rice or quinoa, or drink it straight from a mug.

Slow food for deep nourishment.