I’ve been asked a couple of times now how I make the bone broth that I ate every day when I was on the GAPs diet trying to my heal leaky gut. It’s really simple (and I still include bone broth in my diet regularly).

You can make broth from any type of bones, but if you have leaky gut and you’re following the GAPS diet, it’s best initially to have bones with meat on them as eating the meat is a recommended part of the diet. The meat can be eaten as is, or made into soup or stew which is what I often do.

Which Bones Are Best For Bone Broth?

I tend to buy lamb bones with meat on them most of the time, sometimes I use beef and occasionally I use pork bones.

Something else I often do is buy a whole free range or organic chicken and I use that.

I cook my broth in my Ecopot (it’s an Aussie brand thermal cooker for camping and traveling similar to this one) which is perfect for the job because I only have to bring the bones to the boil, then simmer for between 15 and 30 minutes depending on what type of bones they are (for example I simmer a whole chicken for about 30 minutes because of its size).

So once the simmering time is finished, I then put the pot with the bones into the thermal cooker for a few hours to do its thing and let them finish cooking.

If you don’t have a thermal cooker, the next best (and cheaper) option is to use a slow cooker or crock pot (like this one) or even an instant pot.

A crock pot is what I used prior to buying my thermal cooker. I used to have a Breville slow cooker which was brilliant, and even with the hammering I gave it (I used it lots!) it lasted me quite a few years before the dial on on the front finally fell off.

This happened the day I got my Ecopot which was perfect timing!…. 😉 

If you don’t already own a slow cooker or a crock pot, I’d suggest you look at investing in one because they’re really worth their weight in gold.

A word of advice though – no matter what you choose to buy to make your bone broth in, buy a big one. Bones are bulky!

✅ Take a look at the thousands of reviews on the Instant Pot Duo! 

Otherwise just use a large saucepan or pot on top of the stove. You’ll have to keep an eye on it though – for hours and hours…

So here’s my bone broth recipe:

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Bone Broth

Home made bone broth. Use as is or use to create delicious soups and other dishes.

Prep Time30 mins

Cooking time5 hrs

Keyword: bone broth, broth, gaps diet, recipe

Equipment

• Crock pot

Instructions

• Add your chosen bones to your pot/crock pot/thermal cooker (ideally 1/2 to 3/4 fill your chosen vessel)
• Fill to about an inch or two from the top with water
• Add one whole onion (peeled)
• Add salt to taste (in the large pot for my Ecopot I use 2 heaped teaspoons). 

Cooking Instructions (depending on your chosen cooking vessel)

• If cooking in an Ecopot (or other thermal cooker) – bring to the boil then simmer for 15 or twenty minutes, unless it’s a whole chicken in which case I simmer for 30 minutes, then put into the Ecopot and close the lid. Let it do its thing for between 5 and 8 hours.
• If cooking in a crock pot or slow cooker – add all the ingredients and turn it on and leave it for about 5 hours or more (I used to often leave it going overnight).
• If cooking on the stove top – bring to the boil then simmer covered for 2 to 4 hours (or longer), topping up the water if needed.

Then...

• Once cooking time is complete let it cool a little.
• Use a large straining spoon to get all the bones and meat out of the pot, placing them in a steel colander positioned over a bowl to catch any liquid and leave the bones to cool.
• Once cooled, pull the meat off the bones. Discard the bones and put the meat into a container in the fridge or freezer to use later, or use for a meal straight away.
• Pour the broth into containers and freeze or store in the fridge and reheat as needed.

Notes:

• I often do a whole chicken and use the meat with a salad for a couple of meals, then use any that’s left over in an omelette or similar.
• Always make sure you use either grey Celtic sea salt or Himalayan salt – not the processed, white stuff from the supermarket. Without it's minerals, it is not salt - it is sodium chloride.
• Add Bay leaves or other herbs as you wish for flavouring and health benefits.
• Use free range/grass fed/organic bones if possible.

Ways To Add Bone Broth To Your Diet

• Drink bone broth regularly. As long as it has enough salt it actually tastes great.
• Make delicious soups with bone broth!
• Add it to other dishes such as casseroles, stews, risottos and anywhere where you need a stock and additional liquid.
• Use it as a base for anything savory that requires liquid.
• Some people even make smoothies with it (I never went that far… 😯 )

I ate or drank broth every single day for about 2 1/2 years. It has amazing healing qualities and I can tell you from personal experience that it works brilliantly to reduce inflammation in the digestive system. I went from having diarrhea almost every day and not digesting my food, to having more normal bowel motions most of the time which was truly a miracle and a blessing for me.

However I still find that it doesn’t take too much to upset my belly and even now, when it’s feeling like it needs some TLC, I make broth!

P.S. If you’re looking at trying the GAPs diet to heal your gut, I recommend going straight to the source as I did, and reading Dr Natasha Campbell’s original GAPs protocol book as there’s useful information in there that others miss and that will help you to understand exactly what you need to do and why.