Feeling "Off"

Somethings... off. I feel awful. Like, not 'in pain', just not feeling too hot, no energy, and I have SLEPT for the last 2 days. Like.. if I sit down I wakeup to find I've BEEN asleep for a WHILE. I sleep at night, and then fall asleep for HOURS during the day... and when I wake up I am still exhausted. I realize my weight and being anemic have a LOT to do with it, but you know, it's not like I just woke up like this.. it just seems worse than usual. I do NOT 

want to go to the doctor because I think it is stupid to pay someone to tell me to lose weight and take iron pills. (can we all say "duh").  

If you could just say a little prayer for me, I would appreciate it. We have not only Special Olympics bowling tomorrow, but a family wedding too. I wonder how the heck I'm going to get through.

Because my dearest hubby has far more sense than I do, he has reminded me I've not had a vitamin in days. And I've drank sweet iced tea non-stop for days as well. How dumb can I be? Down the old hatch goes a multi vitamin (with 156% iron) and two iron pills, and washed down with milk. I'm anemic.  

It's okay, really. I know it seems like over-kill on the iron.

My sweet friend just reminded me, and I got out my "elixir" I keep in a mason jar in the fridge.. a good 'shot' of elderberry syrup with local raw honey... I'll do that again tomorrow. I need that boost.

Taking some of my recently made, lovely bone broth, I'm making rice to add quickly to things (like hot broth for a quick soup) for the weekend. Yeah, it may be rice, but it will have that good nutrition of bone broth in it. AND I'm vowing to do a little walking tomorrow. Maybe not much, but some. I need to get some strength back. I feel like I'm always doing this... getting on a healthy eating regime, hitting the 'hippie food' harder, and after a while I cave and end up eating all the garbage that got me into this pickle to start with.  

I cannot give up.

Blessed Mother, pray for me as I strive to stay healthy for my family.

A Pot Full of Bones

I never thought I'd see the day I was going to blog about bone broth...

Okay.  There's a few good reasons I'm 'down' with the idea of doing this. 

I love soup.  My family loves soup.

I love cooking.

I have read that people who consume bone broth daily following surgery heal better and faster.

I am very anemic, and I want to 'fix' this with diet and also I do NOT want my kids to be anemic like their mother.

I love doing things the 'old fashioned' way, (as long as it includes modern conveniences and an air conditioned home in Florida heat!

I have a LOT of stomach problems, and my poor gut could use some healing, naturally. 

I've made broth plenty of times, but I can honestly say I've never roasted bones, (beef or otherwise), and simmered them for days.  Though I like the idea of it.  

So after much reading, I have decided I AM going to start making bone broth, on a regular basis.  I will store it in mason jars.  I will use in soups, sauces, gravies, cook my rice in it, and anything I'd normally use water in, to add flavor and nutrition.  

At the grocer I've been taking notice of the beef bones and chickens feet.  I've never bought, handled, touched, or had anything to do with a chicken foot in my entire life.  Well, we did have chickens when I was a kid, but I was more interested in petting them and gathering their eggs than I was their odd looking feet.  I've looked at them frozen in the reach-in freezer at the grocer, and I'll admit I think they look GROSS.  But, no one is actually going to EAT them, and from what I've read they make the broth taste better and add to the gelatin factor in the broth.  

(2 days later)

I started two days ago with ham and chicken bones, onion & garlic, a couple of carrots and a few tablespoons of vinegar.  Today I found out that keeping the pot on 'low' is not good enough.  You MUST keep it at least at a low simmer.  I have thusly drained out everything but the bones themselves, which are now clean, and added them back to the pot with the strained broth plus a little more water.  I've picked through and got out the meat, and fed the carrots to my doggies.  The meat will go into something (gravy?) over the weekend, (frozen until I decide), and I've now got those bones at a decent simmer.  The idea is to simmer them until they're crumbling and the marrow is out of the bones.  Yes... I'm close, but no cigar.  Back into the pot, strained, with now only the broth, the naked bones, and a little more water.  In the meantime, I've bought some beef bones for my next pot of bone broth.  I'm going to get this down to a science yet. :)

Following day:

After boiling the bones more last night, they DID finally get where they were crumbling and the marrow came out.  FINALLY!!  I strained out all the bone, and took that very dark broth and stored it in the fridge.  It did not make as much as I thought that it would.  It made about a quart and a half.  But it's highly concentrated.  After it was cold in the fridge, I was able to scrape the layer of fat off the top and discard.  The rest is the nice jellied stuff to flavor things with.  I will add it to rice or grains when I cook them, or to gravies, sauces, etc.  WAY better for us than bouillon.  It makes me happy to do something that I KNOW is going to benefit my family's health. :)