Bone Broth

Great color!

This weekend's grey and rainy tone made my bone broth seem even more important. A warming, nourishing antidote to the blustery weather.

There are many description of making bone broth on the internet, and no one way to do it. The only thing that's really consistent is that you need to add an acidic element to help pull the minerals out of the bones, and that you need to cook the bones a long time to get the most nutrients out of them.

Sauerkraut?? You betcha!

I'm on a sauerkraut kick. I just made my second batch and it's delicious, one of my new favorite condiments. 

Latest batch results.

I never liked it growing up, but I'd only had the store-bought stuff.  The most important difference is that the sauerkraut you buy at the store that's sold unrefrigerated has none of the key nutritional values that home-made has. 

It's not only rich in vitamin C and other nutrients, it's rich in enzymes and probiotics. I love the fact that we can eat food instead of taking a powder or capsule. Well guess what? So can our dogs. Yes, dogs can eat sauerkraut. It's just fermented cabbage. It's actually closer to prey animal stomach contents than straight raw vegetables, and is an excellent addition to a fresh food diet. You can add other veggies to the cabbage too, like seaweed, to make it even more nutritious.

How much? Well of course there's no dose for this sort of thing. It's food, just be sensible.

So how do you do it yourself? 

• Read the simple instructions on the Wild Fermentation website (this is the method I use).
• Buy a crock. You might be able to find one at a thrift store, but I found them at a great price here. You need to have the straight sides (vs. most jars that are small at the top) so you can press it.

Have fun! Encourage your dogs to taste it and enjoy it yourself. When I found out how easy it was to make I was shocked, and happy to find an easy way to improve my own and my dog's diet.