Vegan “Bone” Broth

Much like fashion, food has its trends.  One that keeps popping up all over my Pinterest and IG feed is Bone Broth.  While I am not a full blown vegan I try to eat vegan or vegetarian as much as possible.  I would say 90% of my diet is meat free.  I find my stomach has problems digesting meat.  

When I read into WHY bone broth was such a big deal I realized there had to be vegan version.  So before I get into this easy recipe let me give you the rundown on why you should make this immediately.  Even if you don’t eat it right away, make it and freeze it. 

The craze started because of collagen.  There are various collagen supplements out there but we actually can’t digest collagen as a whole.  Eating foods or supplements with collagen is not going to supply your body with MORE it’s simply going to give your body what it NEEDS.

Below is quoted from Wall Flower Kitchen:

“Eating collagen does not equal having more collagen. As put in this article from TIME magazine, “Just as the dietary fat you swallow doesn’t directly translate to body fat, swallowing collagen doesn’t become collagen in or between your bones.”

In this article by NPR, they quote Kantha Shelke, a food scientist who says “Eating a diet rich in leafy green vegetables is ideal. Plants offer richer sources in collagen building blocks and, in addition, provide nutrients not found in sufficient quantities in meats or broth.”

Healing the stomach lining

And as for it being healing for the stomach lining, particularly from the gelatin, there are some great plant-based sources for that too. Particularly fermented foods.

There are many other foods that have been shown to contribute towards healing the stomach lining and digestive tract, such as seaweed, aloe vera, healthy fats and turmeric. 

Vitamins and minerals

Obviously, all the calcium, potassium and other minerals found in bone broth are more than easy to find in plant-based foods plus they contain much, much more goodness.

So the animal product-reliant parts are kind of useless… Or at the very least, unnecessary and over-hyped. It’s all in aid of making what our bodies already naturally produce and plant-sourced vitamins and minerals are the best option to actually help it do that.” ***

***Sourced from adaptation of recipe on Wall Flower Kitchen

So I was now convinced that yes, a vegan based “bone” broth aka gut healing broth is just as good if not better than a meat based one.  The recipe is super easy and I actually made it while fighting food poisoning from some bad poke the night before.  I drank this all day long yesterday and woke up feeling like a new person.  So the gut health situation is real folks and I can’t think of a better broth to have on hand when your tummy is basically ruined by holiday sweets and fatty foods.

All ingredients were purchased at Trader Joe’s aside from two products which are linked below.

Ingredients:

• 12 cups filtered water
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 red onion (skin on, cut into four large pieces) 
• 2 tbsp of crushed garlic
• 3-4 shakes of chili flakes
• 2 tbsp turmeric
• bunch of fresh herbs (I used thyme)
• 1 root of ginger (I used almost a whole bulb but I am a ginger addict so….cut the ginger into chunks)
• 1 cup leafy greens (spinach or kale)
• 3-4 of mixed vegetable peelings (I used leftover shredded carrots, large diced leeks and mushrooms)
• 1.2 cup of shiitake mushrooms
• 1/4 cup of nutritional yeast
• 4 “leaves” of wakame seaweed

Instructions:

1. Add ingrediants to a large pot. Bring to a boil then simmer, with the lid on, for about an hour.

2. Once everything has been cooked down, strain the liquid into a large container. 

3. Serve with parsley garnish or freeze.