Broth Power!

May 16th, 2016

Last Friday, I met my mother in downtown Ottawa and got her signed up with Vrtucar. This means she can leave her home and visit us whenever she wants for as long as she wants. She can now be more independent. I felt so relieved.

Usually, I try to pack as much into Friday mornings as I can, knowing that it's my last day of productivity for the week before the children are home and I switch gears for the weekend. I am aware that I need to leave at around 1pm to pick up my mother so she can come and spend some time with her grandchildren.

My mother was raised in the country and felt very isolated during her teen years. She enjoys visiting our home but I can tell she is getting antsy by Saturday afternoon. She doesn't like to stay over more than one night which means I have to get her back to her home by late Saturday afternoon.

When the children were younger, I could get away with the 90 minute round trip because they always fell asleep. Now that they are older, they hate the drive into town. They always want to stop somewhere, like a toy store, to make the trip worthwhile. This is not an option because I have no intention to buy them toys every Saturday afternoon. So, there is usually some tension in our home as I coax the girls into the car for the round trip into town.

By the time I rushed home to get the children off the bus last Friday, I was feeling exhausted. I knew my body was fighting something off. I haven't been sleeping well due to a nasty cough I picked up when I was sick in April.

Luckily, I just happened to hear about the benefits of drinking broth from Heather Dane. She is one of the Hay House authors participating in the Hay House Summit. Apparently, drinking broth is "in" right now. I had never heard of this. My husband looked it up and there are restaurants devoted solely to broth in New York City. The idea is, you create a batch of broth and reheat it every day. You can bring some to work in a thermos to drink throughout the day (instead of coffee).

In the notes that were attached to her presentation, she outlines how to create three broths- a bone broth, a veggie broth and a meat broth. Heather explains that drinking bone broth can increase your collagen levels (think tighter skin) and seal your gut. Broths also help strengthen your joints, build muscle and lose weight.

Does this sound too complicated? If creating broths sounds like a chore, reminiscent of your grandma standing by a stove all day, you can relax, Heather makes it easy. You get a paper bag, open it and stick it in your freezer. As you cook throughout the week, you place bones, meat pieces and vegetable trimmings into this bag. Once the bag is full, you can empty the contents in a stock pot (or slow cooker), cover it with water, bring it to a boil and then let it simmer for a few hours.

I made my first batch of stock this weekend to mend my compromised immune system. I used a head of garlic, two leeks, carrots, cauliflower, kale, peppercorns, sea salt, turmeric, cilantro, thyme and bones from local, grassfed beef. I covered it with water, brought it to a boil then covered it and let it simmer for three hours. I went out for errands and returned to a home that smelled like grandma's house. I filled six mason jars and let them cool. Then I put them in the fridge.

This morning, my husband and I both sipped some broth. We skimmed off the layer of fat from the surface and re-heated it just warm enough to drink. I like that it feels like a warm cup of coffee but is actually really healing. I have a hard time drinking herbal teas because they are thin and watery. Texture is important to me. Broth has a creamy texture to it, similar to coffee, without the dairy. Drinking broth doesn't feel like a sacrifice.

I have been working on taking care of myself. That means making others responsible for themselves. When my children ask me for some juice and they left their container upstairs, they need to get their container for me so I can refill it. Now that my mother has a Vrtucar account, she can be responsible for her schedule and her trips to and from my home. When students contact me to come and work with me, I no longer rush in to create an exciting learning experience for them. I tell them about my next workshop and ask them to suggest an activity they could help lead. Taking the pressure off of myself allows me to focus my energy on my priorities. Taking care of my health is a priority. Making the time to create healthy, delicious, healing broths is just one more step in the right direction. I hope you will take some time to create broths as well. To your health!

Anne Walsh
www.artnsoul.org