homemade vegetable broth
This recipe is a staple in our house.
The reason I love it so much - it’s easy, cheap, nutrient rich and it reduces food waste.
I use vegetable broth for lots of things - soups, slow cooker meals, curries, anything that calls for water, stock or broth.
It adds a little extra flavour and a whole lot of nutrients that otherwise would have gone to waste.
Broths and stocks have been uses throughout history for their healing properties. In particular colds, flus, digestive complaints and detoxification.
When vegetables are boiled in water, minerals leach out, making the liquid nutrient rich. Depending on what goes into your vegetable broth will depend on what nutrients are made available when you consume it. The most common nutrients found in vegetable broth are calcium, vitamin A and potassium.
Nutrient rich herbs and spices can also be added to broths increasing the healing potential. I like to add herbs growing in the garden, but you could add fresh or dried herbs specific to your needs and what you are using the broth for.
Broths are a great way to increase your nutrient intake if you are restricted with what foods you can eat. It can also be great for fussy eaters as you can sneak nutrients in to foods like rice, pasta or grains by coking them in broth instead of water.
I’ll share more recipes soon showing how you can use this broth, but in the mean time start saving your vegetable scraps and give this a go. I keep a bowl in the freezer and add to it every day. You can add carrot tops, broccoli stalks, zucchini tops, onion, garlic, ginger, cabbage leaves, beetroot, greens, anything. Just be mindful if you are adding chilli as it can get spicy! Once your container or bowl is full, fire up the slow cooker and make yourself some broth!
homemade vegetable broth
what you need:
Fresh or frozen vegetable scraps (anything just be mindful of spicy foods)
Herbs - fresh or dried
Bay leaf
Apple cider vinegar
Peppercorns
Water
what to do:
Turn your slow cooker on low.
Add your vegetables - as many as you have or as many as your slow cooker allows. Don’t go over the maximum line in your slow cooker bowl.
Add in fresh herbs or a few teaspoons of dried herbs (or both) and the bay leaf.
Add enough water to just cover your vegetables a splash of apple cider vinegar and 5 peppercorns.
Put the lid on and leave it for 6-12 hours or until the vegetable loose their colour and start to look limp.
Turn off the slow cooker and allow to cool a little.
Use tongs to remove vegetables from the slow cooker.
Drain off the liquid into a jar or container to store in. I use a funnel and strainer over the glass jars and ladle the broth in. Allow to cool further with the lids off.
Once cool add the lid and store in the fridge. If you have made more then you can use in a week, freeze for later. If you do freeze, make sure you leave a gap at the top of your jars to allow for expanding.
Once the cooked vegetables are cooled add to compost or worm farm. Clean out your freezer bowl and start collecting vegetables again for the next batch.
Gut issues? Health complaints? It’s time to do something about it
