winter mineral broth
Hi!
I haven’t written a blog post in quite a while, and I really appreciate you being here to read a little bit and grab your broth recipe.
The recipe is halfway down this page if you’d like to jump right to it!
But if you’re still here, I really want to talk about this mineral broth backstory.
If you know or follow me in any capacity online or in real life, you’ll know that I do not mess around about my broths.
Broth is life. Broth is vitality. It’s love, longevity, and community.
Look at any culture that celebrates its elders. Broth is a staple in their diet.
As a perinatal health educator and birth worker, the intricacies of the hormonal female body have always been magical to me, particularly as they pertain to nourishment.
A few years ago, when my business was really taking off, I started feeling deep depletion in my body, especially around my period. It became clear that my professional success was coming at the expense of my body, and once I connected those dots, my business never looked the same.
Albeit quieter. Where I could have scaled quickly, I instead chose a pace and shape that felt more rooted and truthful to my body and my work.
I decided to get really educated about my own hormonal health, and did 1:1 coaching with Emily over at Golden Wellness, which actually changed my life and my whole relationship to my cycle.
My mom was really cool about teaching me about the menstrual cycle from a young age. But like many girls raised in the 90s, there was a fair amount of myth and mysticism around sex, pregnancy, and my own body.
The first time I came to my mom about my period cramps, she emphatically told me, “You get that from the women on your dad’s side.”
In other words, that's your ancestral burden to bear.
Painful periods were just a thing I dealt with throughout my teens. In college, I got on birth control as a way to clear up acne on my jawline, and thought it was kind of magical how it made my boobs bigger and my skin glow.
But a few months in, I had a period from hell that lasted two-weeks straight. It was during spring break while I was at school in Seattle. The campus nurse shrugged her shoulders and told me to just keep taking it until the bleeding stopped.
I threw my black dial pack in the trash that same day, and never looked back.
(Even writing this, I can feel the phantom sensation of the oily little pill getting stuck in my throat, damn!)
I think my fierce autonomy over my body really began then. I dedicated myself to learning how to manage my skin without medication, and started to make art and water my plants with my period blood (girl, I know).
My monthly cycle became really precious to me, and I regarded it early on as a quiet time of reset, detox, and spiritual “emptying out.”
I didn’t even start mapping my monthly cycle out until I met my now-husband at 25 years old.
For years, it was just me and the tender rhythms of my body.
Between then and now, I’ve learned so much more about female biology, the female nervous system, and how our bodies need nourishment in very different ways than our counterparts.
If I were going to give someone advice on how to start nourishing their bodies and cycles better, I would only give them these starting points:
Keep your feet warm.
Eat cooked, warm food. Especially in the morning.
Focus on minerals, fat, and protein.
Of course, there is a lot that needs to be addressed individually. But if we tended to our bodies with routine tenderness and warmth, we’d solve a lot of conditions of both cold and inflammation.
That’s where this mineral broth comes in.
I have this on rotation every week in my home.
I use it as a base for soups, sauces, and to cook my grains with. I’ll take it in a mug with me when I run errands, always with a squeeze of lime or a dollop of ghee. And yes, I do like brothy hot chocolate, and this is an incredible base for that too!
This is more of a meat stock than a bone broth (less cook time, less histamines, better for your gut lining). Generally, you don’t want to be drinking bone broth if you have any kind of GI sensitivity.
I hope you prepare this broth not just as a way to nourish yourself, but as an offering to your deep radiance and inner wild woman this winter.
She’s hungry, trust me ;)
RECIPE
Key ingredients:
Shiitake mushrooms
Kombu seaweed
Yellow onion, chopped in quarters
3-5 celery sticks, chopped
Nettle leaf (1/2 cup or more.)
Goji berries
Bay leaves (4-5)
Fresh ginger, mashed (use a mortal & pestle, it helps draw out flavor.)
Whole peppercorns, 1 tbsp
Sea salt, to taste
Fresh thyme
Splash of apple cider vinegar
(Optional) Snow fungus — for plant-based collagen, soak the night before
(Optional) Chinese Red Dates or Jujubes — extra supportive for pregnancy or postpartum health.
Animal Protein Option
6–8 chicken feet (for bioavailable collagen & chondroitin)
1 beef knuckle bone
I always measure from the heart; you can reference the photo at the top of the page to get a feel for proportions. As a general guide, I use one full sheet of kombu per gallon of water, and I like to roast my beef knuckle bones at 350°F for 45 minutes to deepen the flavor and support mineral extraction.
If using snow fungus, remember it’s a traditional Chinese medicinal fungus high in natural collagen. Soak it overnight before adding it to your broth.
Add all ingredients to a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a rolling boil for a few minutes, then reduce to a gentle, low simmer for 2–3 hours. Let it cook down until the broth is rich in color and taste.
Lightly salt, strain, and enjoy. One gallon will keep in the fridge for about a week.
Happy broth making! I’d love to hear from you if you make this one.
xo,
Morgan
