In my juice! post I mentioned about making a stock from leftover pulp from veggies.This is a great way to both get get a flavorful and nutritious stock, extracting any leftover nutrients from the pulp for use in cooking beans, soups or my personal favorite: risotto!

Now, for an extra nutritious punch, add bones to the crockpot. Bones are rich in nutrients such as Calcium, Phosphorus, Magnesium. But most importantly, bones are rich in gelatin which is wonderfully nutritious as a provider of essential amino acids. Added to this, gelatin is incredibly healing to the Gastro Intestinal (GI) tract. And below are some brilliant links talking about this

Most importantly, GI health has massive links to brain function and mental health, especially with regard to autism in children. In the links below, Dr Campbell-McBride speaks of how GI health has links with ADD, Depression, Schizophrenia as well as auto-immune disorders. Dr Campbell-McBride developed term Gut And Psychology Syndrome (GAPS) to describe this link, a uses a nutrition program centered around fermented foods, natural foods and broths. So get making some bone broth and promote both your GI health as well as mental health!

Veggie broth recipe:

1. Add any pulp to a crockpot, cover with water and leave for at least 12hrs on the lowest setting
2. When you want some stock, strain out what you need, then replace the pulp with more water to the crockpot
3. If you juice every day, keep adding your pulp to the stock pot. And strain out any old pulp that has been in the crockpot for a day or more

Bone broth recipe:

1. Buy some bones from a butcher (eg chicken backs, feet, beef bone) or use any leftover bones
2. Optional: brown the bones in the oven for 40 mins at 400F. This adds flavor and is a great way to cook off the excess fat (which will melt and can be poured away) or skin (which can be peeled off)
3. Add the bones to the stockpot with a couple of tablespoons of vinegar (this helps break down the bones, releasing the nutrients and gelatin)
4. The best bone broth will be ready after 24hrs of cooking on a low setting. Pour out this batch and strain through cheesecloth (or a thin cloth). Refrigerate or freeze
5. Pop the bones back in the crockpot with any pulp … and keep making broth!

Resources:

Stocks and broth making

• An incredible and comprehensive article from Weston A Price Foundation
• A great article from Dr Mercola.com, including recipes
• A chatty, practical and quick article that summarizes the benefits and a recipe, from Diane Sanfilippo of Balanced Bites.com
• A lovely, warm article that speaks of the benefits of stock and about continuous stock making, from Amanda Rose at Traditional Foods.com
• An excellent, comprehensive yet short post from Dr Axe that includes nutritional benefits of broth for decreasing cellulite and good references for further reading

Gut And Psychology Syndrome (GAPS)

• A great interview with Dr Mercola.com that speaks about GAPS and mental health
• Another great article from Dr Mercola.com that speaks about GAPS and goes more into the scientific immune aspects, such as the triggering of auto-immune disorders