Make your broth better with added gelatin

FACT: I am a kitchen disaster.
PROOF:

  • I chop vegetables, open plastic bags, and cut boxes open with steak knives.
  • I have never once NOT set off my smoke alarm while making dinner.
  • I’m pretty sure my husband likes deployment food more than home cooking. (But you’d never know it, sweetie-pie-mush-face that he is.)
  • Yesterday, I dropped a whole beautiful meat loaf on the floor. I don’t know how it happened. One second it was in the oven, the next it was on the floor. Here’s an illustrated recreation of my view of the aftermath:


In case you’re wondering: yes, I have monkey toes; and yes, I actually did cry. Also, no, I don’t follow the five-second rule.
I did manage to eat a beet today without making my kitchen look like a murder scene, but that’s the exception to the rule.
(And just to remind you that there are many things worse than my kitchen skills, here’s an illustrated map of how soybeans are turned into isolated soy protein!)

Being the Henrietta Lowell-esque disaster that I am (name that movie), I have had to not only become comfortable with unabashedly flaunting the rules of safety and kitchen etiquette, but I’ve also had to figure out how to compensate for my powers-of-ruining so as not to jeopardize my health and safety. (Lulz.)
So here’s the pre-story-story: I love bone broth for several reasons:

  • It’s a skincare food: it’s rich in GELATIN, which provides amino acids like lysine, proline and glycine that improve the look and texture of the skin.
  • Gelatin also provides amino acids that help heal the gut and digestive system from prior abuse.
  • It’s rich in minerals, including calcium, magnesium and trace minerals, derived from the most natural source: bone.
  • It makes food better, soups more flavorful, and stews more tasty.

Bone broth is the easiest thing on the planet to make. It will always be rich in minerals, but sometimes, when it doesn’t get all “gel-like” when cooled, I worry that the gelatin wasn’t properly extracted from the bones. (On the other hand, it could have simply broken down into its constituent amino acids, but I don’t always want to chance it.)
So, sometimes, I cheat.
Here’s how I cheat: I use concentrated supplemental gelatin to bolster the gelatin content of my broth, soups and stews.

 
That was the long way of saying gelatin is well worth getting. Broth is well worth drinking. Combine them if you like. Why not?
Thanks for reading!
 

liz wolfe signature logo

Share this post!

More Posts

24 Responses

  1. The meatloaf illustration made me laugh out loud at my daughter’s soccer practice. I have been using the great lakes gelatin at times just to increase the amount of gelatin in my diet. I roast a pastured chicken and make bone broth almost every week, but it’s still not enough broth. I also enjoy driving my family crazy talking about my “gelatinous” broth…completely grosses them out!

  2. [Marked as spam by Antispam Bee | Spam reason: Server IP]
    I still have yet to make bone broth but will try it in a couple weeks when my meat order comes in. I have no idea what I’m doing there but hopefully it wll turn out like your meat jello. 🙂 Also goign to order some Gelatin as back up. Sincerely, a fellow monkey toe girl Seriously…I probably could have picked the meat up off the floor with my toes. Not that I would have…

  3. Ha! Your hands look like feet… I’ve never been able to get my broth particularly jelly-y–but I never thought to add gelatin../
    I sometimes cut corners (and simultaneously go broke) by buy GT’s kombucha when my brew isn’t up to snuff (aka tastes like straight vinegar).
    Going to order some gelatin for my next batch of broth! Thanks for the tip 😉

  4. OMG! Henrietta Lowell?! “You have your head through the arm hole”?! I thought my husband and I (and the three children we have raised) were the only 5 people on earth who knew this film! You made my night 🙂

    1. Dana, I was PRAYING that somebody would know what I was talking about! YOU just made MY night! Quotes from A New Leaf flow through my head all day…When my car gives me trouble, I think to myself – “there’s carbon on the valves” in my best Matthau voice. Good on you for raising your kids with GREAT cinema!

  5. I’ve definitely dropped things on the floor and cried. no shame. it truly is heartbreaking. Especially when you are realllly hungry! I also felt the need to photograph my disaster in order to have a witness to my pain.

  6. I add Great Lakes gelatin to a ton of stuff! I’m a fan. Also, I’ve seen Hail Merrys at Whole Foods and have resisted buying them, but they look yummy! And I’m sorry about your meatloaf, but I bet an illustration of the aftermath from your dog’s perspective would look significantly more optimistic (:

  7. [Marked as spam by Antispam Bee | Spam reason: Server IP]
    Since I spend a huge chunk of my time developing recipes for Primal Primos, I’m always making a mess out of myself in the kitchen!
    Here’s an example…The other day I was pulling spaghetti squash out of the oven and I usually use a towel to hold the hot baking sheet as I pull it out. Well the towel was thinner than I thought and somewhere between the oven and the top of the stove the pan got too hot and I literally dropped it on the floor! Squash everywhere! Ughhhh….
    I usually cut corners by incorporating leftovers into 100 different dishes during the week. That’s kind of a corner cut I think.

  8. Another use for Great Lakes Gelatin…mix a tablespoon of it into hot tea. I can’t take credit for this idea. I first heard about it from Wellness Mama, who is really big on gelatin. Thought it sounded strange (like butter and coconut oil in coffee!) but finally decided to try it. Now I love it! I like it best in a fruity herbal tea, lightly sweetened with some stevia. If the tea is flavorful enough you do not taste the gelatin. It makes it a little thicker, but not in an annoying way. Just another way to get that gut-healing, joint protecting gelatin in you when you are out of bone broth!
    p.s. If the tea sits for too long and gets cold, it truly turns into jello!

  9. I have definitely noticed a difference in my hair and nails since adding the gelatin and more bone broth to my diet! Hair was a disaster ( multiple rounds of accutane over the years ) and is showing improvement. Nails were always good. Now they are amazing:)

  10. I currently take the Kosher Gelatin you show here. It’s awesome. However, what’s the difference between that and the Great Lakes collagen hydrosylate you meantioned in terms of benefits?
    Do they do the same thing??

  11. Bone broth question!!! I have tried making it tons of times, used bones from different sources and types and it’s gross. Smells gross and tastes offer. Not like “beef stew” or “chicken soup”. What would describe the taste/smell is, what it’s supposed to taste/smell like? Help!

    1. Hmm, sometimes it just doesn’t work out…you could order some broth (from US Wellness Meats or RealBoneBroth.com) just once to see how it compares! I’ve had some yucky broth before, usually when I use too many meaty bones. When I use mostly marrow bones and/or oxtail/neck bones, it smells amazing.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Get My Email Exclusives!

The number one supplement you need (but have never heard of) is HERE!

And sign up for my NEWSLETTER!