Make your own bone broth

I've had quite a few people ask me how to make their own bone broth. There are plenty of recipes online but I will share how I made it myself (my mom had to help me because my first batch didn't turn out so well :) ).

You can buy bone broth in cartons at the grocery store but in most of them there is added sugar and 'natural flavorings' that you definitely don't want to be consuming when trying to fast, kill off bad bacteria, and repair your gut! Plus you'll get all the necessary benefits when using bones from healthy (organic, grass-fed, humanely treated) animals!

I got my bones from the meat counter at our local Whole Foods - they usually get their shipment of bones in on Fridays and some weeks they don't have any - so stock up if you can.
You could also ask a local farmer (you know that it will be from a good source and you'll be supporting local farmers :) )

I mostly use beef bones - it's best to get larger bones like the femur where all the good marrow resides.

Turn oven on to 450 degrees
Place about 3.5 to 4 lbs of bones on a greased baking sheet
Cook in oven for 30 minutes
Cut up  1 whole red onion (keep in larger pieces because you will want to later strain the onions from the bone broth mixture. You will NOT be eating them) 
Remove the bones from the oven after the 30 minutes, flip bones over and then add the onion to the baking sheet.
Return to oven for another 30 minutes
Mince 3-5 cloves of fresh garlic 
Remove the bones and onions from the oven, add bones/onions to a crock pot/slow cooker
Add in minced garlic and then fill the crock pot/slow cooker with filtered water (not tap water!) until all of the bones are completely covered (I fill right up to the top of my slow cooker)

I then let this sit overnight on low (~8-10 hours) and it's ready for me to go the next day!
Pour the bone broth through a strainer into a glass bowl so that the bones/onions/garlic get separated from the broth
Store in the refrigerator and reheat smaller portions on the stove

If you don't have a slow cooker you can use a big pot on the stove...bring everything to a boil and then let simmer covered for approximately 4 hours. I HAVE NOT tried this because I like just letting it cook overnight but it should work on the stove as well.

WARNING: Your house/apartment will smell very strongly! Hopefully your roommates/loved ones will understand :).

Avocado Chocolate Truffles

So my roommate is ABSOLUTELY AWESOME and found this nut free dessert that I've totally fallen in love with! Avocado is my favorite - and what better to pair it with than some dark chocolate?!

Very simple recipe and doesn't take much time! The hard part is being patient and waiting for them to harden in the refrigerator :)

Recipe:
1 avocado
1 cup chocolate chips (solid)
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla 

Optional: something to roll the truffles in - we used shredded coconut flakes but you could use something like mini chocolate chips or some finely chopped nuts

For the chocolate chips we used Ghiradelli 60% cacao dark chocolate baking chips but you could definitely use a darker or milk chocolate depending on how you prefer your chocolate (the darker the chocolate the better for you!) Organic is ALWAYS the best option when shopping for ingredients as well.

1. Mix the avocado in a bowl with a hand mixer (using a blender did not work out so well) - try to get out all of the chunks that you can

2. Melt the cup of chocolate chips preferably on the stove on a low heat (try to avoid using the microwave)

3. Pour the completely melted chocolate chips into the bowl of mixed avocado

4. Add 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla . Blend all ingredients together with a wooden spoon or spatula

5. Let sit in the refrigerator until hardened (I'd say at least 45 minutes to an hour... original recipe said 2-3 hours but it seemed to work out just fine for us)

6. Remove from refrigerator and roll into bite size balls. Roll ball around in choice of  finely shredded coconut/mini choc chips/chopped nuts and place in some sort container or on a plate

7. Return to refrigerator for at least 20-30 minutes and ENJOY!

I made this recipe x4 by the way (4 avocados, 4 cups chocolate, and 2 teaspoons of vanilla). I can't get enough of them.

Dark chocolate has some great benefits for our health (when consumed in moderation of course). Check out this article to learn a little more.