Benefits of Bone Broth During Pregnancy

Take advantage of all the benefits of bone broth during pregnancy by preparing my easy homemade bone broth recipe.

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The benefits of bone broth are innumerable, but it could use some re-branding. The name is too scientific and doesn’t paint a palatable picture. It’s underestimated and underutilized. If it were called “Magic Elixir” or “Liquid Gold”, would it pique more interest?

I’ve been sipping Bone Broth: The Magic Liquid ™ for years, but when I’m pregnant (like now) I hit it particularly hard. I’m a working mom of 3 girls, so I need to keep my health routine simple: I eat nutritious foods, take ethically sourced vitamins, and sip my daily cup of bone broth.

What is Bone Broth?

Bone broth is made from simmering animal bones and connective tissue in water for many hours. The best bones to use are beef, chicken, and turkey because these bones are rich in marrow. Whenever I cook a turkey or buy a rotisserie chicken, I put the bones in a Ziploc bag and throw it in the freezer until I’m ready to cook.

Bone Broth VS Regular Broth

In a wrestling match, Bone Broth would win. Regular broth is made from simmering meat in water. It yields e a clearer broth that tastes like meat but lacks the nutrients that marrow bones provide.

The Benefits of Bone Broth During Pregnancy

Bone broth is particularly helpful for preventing stretch marks during pregnancy because it’s full of collagen. Your belly skin tears and scars as it stretches outward. Collagen helps keep our skin elastic, which is why I’m on my 4^th pregnancy and have yet to see a stretch mark. And since we’re on the discussion of skin elasticity, our bellies aren’t the only thing that stretches; I’ve avoided tearing during all my deliveries.

The Benefits of Bone Broth

This powerhouse magic liquid is nutrient dense and has numerous benefits:

• It improves gut health and heals gut lining
• Improves vision, brain health, cardiovascular heath, and kidney and liver function
• Boosts immunity
• Contains collagen, keratin, amino acids, calcium, glucosamine, and glycine
• Helps skin retain moisture
• Aids in detoxing your body of heavy metals
• Contains gelatin which helps protect against UV rays
• Helps with joint and muscle movement
• Anti-inflammatory properties

Is Bone Broth Easy to Make?

Bone Broth is very easy to make. It’s also much more affordable (and healthier) than buying a carton off the shelf at a grocery store. If you’re not in the habit of cooking turkeys every few months or eating bone in chicken, you can ask a butcher for their throw-away bones. The benefits of bone broth during pregnancy are worth the trip to the butcher.

Easy-to-Follow Bone Broth Recipe:

Step 1 – Fill up your stock pot with the bones. I’ve used a crock pot before, and I’ve heard an Instant Pot can work, but I prefer using a stock pot like this one.

Step 2 – Cover the bones with water. Use just enough water so the bones are covered by an inch or two, but not much more than that.

Step 3 – Add about ¼ cup of white vinegar and let it sit for an hour. Vinegar helps to leach nutrients out of the bones.

Step 4 – After an hour, bring the water to a boil. Soon after it’s started to boil, you’ll want to skim off all the foam. I use a strainer like this one.

Step 5 – After the foam has been skimmed, add a red onion and some garlic. This of course is optional since they’re added to improve the taste. You can add any vegetable you’d like.

Step 6 – After you’ve added veggies, cover the pot, and lower the heat till it’s barely simmering. Let it sit like this for 12-24 hours. It’ll reduce quite a bit.

Step 7 – Take off the heat and let it cool a bit. Use a colander and a large bowl to strain the bones. You can also run the liquid through a fine mesh sieve to strain even more bits of meat and whatever else is left.

Step 8 – Let the Bone Broth sit in the bowl until a thick layer of fat forms on top. Use a spoon to remove the layer of fat. The broth will probably have firmed-up and look like brown jelly. This is a good thing.

Step 9 – Divide the Bone Broth into Ziploc bags. I like to measure out 2 cups and will store it flat in the freezer. I can usually get 16 cups from my leftover turkey carcass.

Step 10 – When you’re ready to use it, defrost it and use it in soups, or as sipping broth. Enjoy!

Storing Bone Broth

Bone broth stores well in the refrigerator for approximately 5 days. When it’s cold, it will be gelatinous, but heating the broth will make it liquid again.

These Souper Cube molds are exactly 1 cup portions and make it easy to pop a cube into a mug.

Benefits of Bone Broth for Pets

If you’re a dog lover and like to include healthy additions in your dog’s kibble, add bone broth. It’s also just a great for them as it is for us. Your dog will love it. If you plan to make bone broth solely for the dog, just leave out the onions and seasonings.

Not Just a Fad

Bone broth has been gaining popularity due to the Keto craze, but it’s been around since humans first cooked with fire. Its benefits have been known for thousands of years and has a place in every modern kitchen. If you include bone broth in your diet, I’d love if you left a comment letting me know what health benefits you’ve noticed.

Check out my YouTube video on how I make Thanksgiving Turkey Bone Broth.