You might have heard from your mother or grandmother that bone broth is all you need when you’re sick, when you want to fight inflammation, when you need collagen for your joints etc. What probably no one told you, though, is that in our system, bone broth is broken into amino-acids and minerals and is no longer used as collagen in this form. Besides that, due to that fact that bones may have quantities of heavy metals like lead, maybe it’s not a safe choice.
No need to worry! There are healthier (and easier) alternatives using vegetables. Vegetables may not contain collagen, but they contain nutrients that enhance collagen production in our body, like vitamin C, and are full of fibre, minerals and vitamins! Good choices are wakame (a seaweed known to boost collagen), soy beans, kale, celery, beet, spinach which you can all use in a delicious vegetable broth, with extra virgin olive oil.
Vegetable broths are generally more nutritious than bone broths, support the immune system with all their vitamins and minerals, while their fibre benefit gut microbiome and general health –and weight! Miso paste, which is fermented soy beans, is also beneficial for gut microbiome adding extra taste. Plus, vegetable broth is an alkalic choice you can make, contrary to the acidic bone broth.
Make sure you use organic vegetables and let’s get going!
Ingredients
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (high in polyphenols)
2 cups chopped celery
1 cup beet -cut julienne
4 cups freshly cut spinach and kale
2 tbsp molasses
¼ cup miso paste
¼ cup freshly cut parsley
1 bay leaf
300gr pumpkin cut in small pieces
a pinck of turmeric
12-16 glasses of water or vegetable broth
Method
In a large pot, sauté your chopped celery in a bit of extra virgin olive oil in medium to low heat. Once the celery softens, in about 5 minutes, add your bay leaf, the beet, the molasses and water or vegetable stock. Raise your temperature to medium and cover your pot.
When the mixture begins to boil, lower your temperature and let it boil for about 45 minutes. Add your spinach, kale, pumpkin and miso paste, stirring until the miso dissolves. Sprinkle turmeric and stir.
Your stock is ready and you can either strain your vegetables and use it as a stock or serve it with vegetables as a light soup.
Tip
You can add 1 cup of chopped onion and a bit of garlic for extra taste and antibacterial properties. If you decide to use them, add them in the beginning along with celery and don’t forget to let your crushed garlic sit for 10 minutes before heating it, so as to get its maximum allicin, which will stay intact during cooking.
Loved that recipe? Wait till you try more immune-supporting, gut-microbiome beneficial, plant-based ones, in the immune-friendly recipes blog section of www.feedyourimmunity.com.
