Bone Broth provides nourishment and sublime healing and is an essential element of The GAPS Diet. It can be a little tricky to convince kids to drink cupfuls of the stuff. So, I have had to find a number of ways of incorporating as much bone broth into the kid’s diet as possible, while we have been following The GAPS Diet.
Bone Broth is deeply nutritious – the vitamins and minerals which are drawn out from the bones can heal and nourish with every single mouthful. It’s not a wonder Chicken Soup is often referred to as “Jewish Penicillin” – the healing qualities of a nourishing bone broth should not be underestimated.
For maximum nourishment, the Bone Broth should ideally be homemade. You could make it in your slow cooker, crock pot or simply cook the bone broth in a large pot.
To make the Bone Broth, slowly boil together chicken bones or meat/soup bones, along with filtered water to cover, carrots, onions, salt, pepper and apple cider vinegar (which helps draw minerals from the bones). I let mine cook all day on days while I’m home and then store it in the fridge for up to a week. It also freezes (and thaws) really well, so you can make an enormous batch once a month and then freeze most of it so you never run out.
Here are 10 Ways To Get Your Kids To Consume More Bone Broth:
1. A Cup Of Broth
It’s always best to try to offer the kids the broth straight from a cup. They may be happy to drink it on it’s own, they may take a couple of sips, or they may refuse point blank. It’s best to remain calm and work your way through a couple of other options to help them consume more bone broth.
2. Soup
Incorporating bone broth into soup is one of the more obvious solutions. Pumpkin Soup is a popular favorite. The sweetness and bright orange hue is often welcomed and devoured. Experiment with different soups to find which your kids prefer.
3. Fancy Mug
Sometimes it takes a “fancy mug” (as my oldest calls it) to entice the kids to drink that little bit extra. You could take them out shopping for a mug or cup which appeals to them, it could be brightly coloured, or have their favorite superhero on it or even be themed with something they are interested in – my oldest loves his space themed mug while my youngest favors his bunny mug!
4. Tomato Sauce
Bone broth is easily hidden in tomato sauce. You can simply make tomato sauce by mixing together a small tin of organic tomato puree with bone broth until smooth, then heat it together to make sure the tomato is well cooked. Finally mix through a little honey to sweeten it because, to be honest, tomato sauce this way can be a bit bitter. The final tomato sauce ends up being about 50/50 bone broth and tomato puree – so I’m quite happy to let my kids drown their food in it.
5. Avocado Puree
The kids love avocado as toppings for their pancakes, for dipping chicken into or just on it’s own. So, I often thin the avocado with broth – to increase their broth intake and this technique also to helps the (pricey) avocado go further.I usually serve the avocado puree in a little cup on the side of their meal, along with a small spoon – so they can decide how they want to enjoy their avocado puree.
6. Pancakes
When making pancakes simply mix 1/2 cup of bone broth into the pancake batter. This way, the broth is actually cooked into the pancakes. I find it doesn’t alter the taste at all and it’s just another way to get that little extra bit of broth into them.
7. Scrambled Eggs
Same as with the pancakes, mix a little broth through the scrambled egg batter and the kids are usually none the wiser. You could even incorporate bone broth into Veggie Scrambled Eggs.
8. Vegetables
Cooking vegetables in bone broth, rather than water, means that the vegetables can absorb some of the nutritious goodness of the bone broth. The “vegetable cooking water” can then be added back into a soup, so no nutrients aren’t wasted.
9. Burgers/Meatballs
As with the vegetables above, you could cook burgers/meatballs in bone broth in order for them to absorb vitamins and minerals from the broth.
10. Last Resort – Reward Chart!
I wouldn’t suggest making a habit offering rewards for eating foods. I have had great success with getting my eldest fuss-pot to try new foods when I have drawn up a simple reward chart. So, I’ve made it a last resort suggestion in this list.
With us, if he just tries a new food, or has 4 mouthfuls of broth in this instance, he gets a tick on his chart and once he has a collection of ticks he is rewarded with a new toy. (usually a cheap hot wheel car!) I use this tactic from time to time if I feel he is in need of the food/s in question – like at the beginning of our GAPS Journey and late last year when I was experimenting with broadening his eating horizons.
These tactics to get your kids to consume more bone broth can be easily incorporated into your everyday meals. For example, in the below meal there is bone broth hidden in the heart shaped pancakes and avocado puree and the burgers and vegetables have been cooked in broth too. So, all together there’s a nutritious portion of bone broth within this kid-friendly meal.
I’d love to hear from you – please share your tips for getting your kids to eat bone broth in the comments below.
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