HEALTH IN FOCUS: Why Bone Broth is Healthy for Us

Bone broth offers incredible health benefits, especially during the cold winter months when our bodies can use a little extra TLC to fight off colds, seasonal affective disorder (SAD), and general fatigue after the busy holiday season. 

Not only is bone broth nutrient dense, it is also full of what our body craves: collagen, gelatin, bio-available minerals and amino acids. These and other ingredients—such as ginger, turmeric, curcumin, and chlorophyll—fuel our immune system in the winter months. Bone broth also contains the building blocks of muscle—calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, and glucosamine—and combats inflammation in our bodies because of the anti-inflammatory amino acids it contains, making bone broth a terrific beverage that not only fights off wintertime colds and flu viruses but also helps us achieve optimal health all year round.

Much like mom used to make chicken noodle soup when we were younger and under the weather, bone broth offers the same comfort in every sip regardless of if we’re under the weather or not.

At Fresh Thymes Eatery, our gluten-free bone broth comes in three signature styles: ginger garlic beef, roasted turmeric chicken, and a vegan sun-dried tomato mushroom broth. You can sample all three when you order our Bone Broth Flight!

We also offer add-ins to our bone broth, giving you the opportunity to customize it depending on your mood, health needs, or cravings.  Bone broth add-ins include cilantro, green onion, parsley, chickpea miso, and our very own house-made sriracha sauce. 

 

Fresh Fact: Owner and chef Christine Ruch spends five days making Fresh Thymes’ beef bone broth and two days making our chicken broth. A lot of heart and healing-love goes into the bone broth you’ll find at Fresh Thymes.

Want to make bone broth at home?

Check out our 10 steps to making bone bone at home. Once you’ve gotten the hang of it, you can create an even more nourishing bone broth with the following ingredients:

• kombu - contains more minerals, is soothing & emollient
• burdock root - detoxifying
• potatoes - contains potassium
• asian mushroom - immune building
• cruciferous vegetable - cancer fighting

Want to boost the nutrient value of your winter soup or everyday recipes?

Easy! Use bone broth as the base.

Here’s a video from cookbook author Sarah Fragoso of Everyday Paleo that illustrates how easy it is to make beef bone broth - in a crockpot! 

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Fresh Thymes Eatery in Boulder, Colorado, serves righteously delicious food for ingredient-conscious eaters. We specialize in gluten-free and allergen-sensitive food that's locally sourced, grass-fed, pasture-raised, organic & made with love. Because when you eat real food, you feel real good.

 

 

10 Steps for Making Bone Broth at Home

By Christine Ruch, Owner & Head Chef at Fresh Thymes Eatery

Since debuting our bone broth bar a year ago, we’ve learned how to make the most nutrient-dense bone broth, without cutting corners. 

Now you enjoy the incredible health benefits of bone broth in the comfort of your home, by following our ten steps for making bone broth.

Enjoy! 

1. Invest in a big soup or stock pot. If you take the time to make broth, you’ll want to make plenty to last you a week or two.
2. Use good, high-quality bones! Organic, pastured-raised and grass-finished are labels that indicate you have good bones. Seek them from your favorite farm store or stand. Also make sure to have a good ratio of gelatinous bones (wings, backs, trotter, necks, knuckles) to boney bones (marrow, femur, should blade).
3. Roast the bones first. Roasting the bones helps deepen and enrich the flavor of the broth. No need to be fussy with this step; simply dump the bones on a sheet pan, spread ‘em out, and pop ‘em in a hot oven until they are golden brown.
4. Use cold filtered water. Once you roast and place all the bones in your pot, fill the pot with cold, filtered water. Start coaxing minerals from the bone with the burner on low heat. Impurities and throwaway scum will rise to the surface during this step. Cold water is key!
5. Add acid. Fancy chefs often use wine in their broth, but what’s really needed is just plain ‘ol acid. Raw apple cider vinegar is best for nourishment. Acid helps pull the minerals from the bones, which is the entire reason you’re making bone broth to begin with. Plus, raw apple cider vinegar is alkalizing to your body. Add a big glug of high-quality raw apple cider vinegar to your pot. (And no, your broth won’t taste like vinegar!)
6. Skim. Once the broth has come to a boil, skim the surface scum out, and reduce the heat to a low simmer. If you don’t skim, all the brown and white foam will be in your broth! You don’t want that.
7. Let the broth be. Don’t boil your bone broth, and don’t stir it either. Doing both will cause the collagen in the bones to breakdown and impurities will get reabsorbed by the broth, leading to an off-putting taste.
8. Leave the stove on.  Find a back burner on your stove and park that broth there for up to 3 or 4 days depending on the broth you’re making. Just keep the burner set on its lowest setting, and you should be fine.
9. Don’t cover the pot.  The flavor intensifies when the top of your pot is left off and the water evaporates. You can add more cold water if the water level gets too low. Good rule of thumb: Keep the bones submerged during the entire process.
10. Keep the fat. A little fat cap on the broth will help extend its shelf life by creating a seal over the bone broth. To finish making bone broth, drain the broth to remove tiny bones and fragments, then pour your bone broth into mason jars. Store in the refrigerator. You can reheat the broth on the stovetop before enjoying.

For additional tips for making bone broth at home, check out Stupid Easy Paleo’s blog post: Bone Broth 101 - How to Make the Best Bone Broth.

Show us what you create in the kitchen. Share your bone broth photos on Instagram and tag @FreshThymesEatery! 

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Fresh Thymes Eatery in Boulder, Colorado, is a fast-casual, 100% gluten-free restaurant specializing in allergen-sensitive food that's organic, locally sourced, grass-fed, pasture-raised & made with love. Vegetarian, vegan, paleo or peanut-free—we make righteously delicious food for awesome with tastebuds.  

Christine Ruch is the brains and bowls (forks and spoons, too!) behind Fresh Thymes Eatery. With over a quarter century in the food industry, Christine wholeheartedly believes in whole food nutrition and food allergy awareness. Her own experiences living with celiac disease and multiple sclerosis has shown her how real, nourishing food makes all the difference. Christine opened Fresh Thymes Eatery, Colorado’s first Community-Supported Restaurant, in 2013.

Fresh Thymes Eatery Customer Appreciation Day!

Since we’re already BFFs, let’s make a day of it! 

You'll enjoy live music at lunch (11-2) from Dechen Hawk and bluegrass music during dinner (6-8), thanks to our friend Dave Pullins and his pickin' 'n' grinnin' friends. Both musicians are not to be missed!
Be sure to try our limited-time dinner special that night, too! And pick up our gluten-free holiday dessert boxes for family, friends, co-workers, and yourself!

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Rocked to sleep as a child to Stevie Wonder, Dechen Hawk's music ranges from beautiful ballads to serious backbeat funk. Hawk's sound is a refreshing new addition to the Neo-Soul movement. Though musical his whole life, it wasn't until the death of his father at age 14, and the search for a way to express that loss, that Hawk found his calling as a songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. It was also at this time the Hawk was introduces to the music of Jeff Buckley, which influenced him heavily during this time of grief and musical exploration. Hawk's desire to create and express the joy and fragility of life has kept him busy for the past 20 years performing locally and internationally, sharing billings with such legends as Bruce Hornsby, Leon Russell, R.E.M., Ty Burhoe, Ron Miles, and the Fun Lovin' Criminals. During this time Hawk has written hundreds of songs, released 6 albums, been in numerous bands, played the role of talent buyer for various venues. A 2009 graduate of Naropa University, Hawk studied with Bill Douglas, Art Lande, and Janet Feder.
Dave Pullins 'n' friends have played Fresh Thymes Eatery before, bringing fun, high-energy, and classic bluegrass tunes that'll make your toes tap.

Gluten-Free / Grain-Free Weekly Winter Dinner Specials

Eat well this winter!

Enjoy new mouth-watering dinner entrees every week for four weeks! 

Our weekly winter dinner specials debut Friday, November 13th! 

Bonus: You pick the price you want to pay for the entree. (Really!)

WEEK 1: 11/13 - 11/21

Dinner Special: Pork Ragu 

We’re bringing a Northern Italian classic to Boulder. And it’ll quite possibly become your new winter obsession, because it’s so darn good. Our pork ragu is made with rosemary and red wine sauce, and is topped with gluten-free breadcrumbs. Grain-free pasta is available upon request.

WEEK 2:  11/30 - 12/5

Dinner Special: Tiffany’s Shrimp Tacos 

Finally try Chef Christine’s signature and crowd-wowing dish she made infamous for parties and home entertaining. (Pass the guac!) Includes sustainable, wild-caught shrimp, Abbo’s blue corn tortillas, refried yellow Indian woman beans and cilantro red quinoa.

WEEK 3: 12/7 - 12/10

Dinner Special: Diablo Pasta 

Ain’t nothing better than twirling a mouthful of pasta onto a fork. Unless that pasta is our  one-a-kind savory pasta made with free-range grilled chicken and flavored with Southwest cream sauce (dairy-free, of course!) and oh-so-tasty peppers, onions, spinach, and green chilies. Grain-free pasta is available upon request.

 

WEEK 4: 12/11 - 12/18 

Dinner Special: Korean Short Rib Stew 

This is hot and hearty stew—upgraded. Made with caramelized house-made kimchi and watermelon radish, our Korean Short Rib stew is one big bowl of deliciousness. So, go on—slurp to your heart’s content! 

Note: There won’t be any special dinner entrees the week of Thanksgiving, but you can order gluten-free Thanksgiving turkey, sides, and pies from us!

Fresh Thymes Eatery Gluten-Free Thanksgiving Turkeys, Sides & Pies for Your Holiday Celebration!

Thyme to Gather & Give Thanks!

Make everyone around your holiday table happy this year.

Order your Thanksgiving turkey, sides & pies from us.

 

We’ve got over 10 mouth-watering sides & pies to pick from, though why choose when you can take home one of each?

Orders must be placed by Thursday, November 19th. 

Pick up the Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday before Thanksgiving. 

To order, stop in and chat with someone at the counter!

Thanks for having awesome tastebuds! 

*Turkeys and turkey confit available while supplies last. Turkeys are local and free-range.

All sides & pies are grain-free, with the exception of our stuffing and sorghum pie crust. Almond flour crusts available for pies. All our desserts are dairy free. All sides are vegan, with the exception of our turkey gravy and the sausage stuffing.

 

Perfect for Holiday Parties & Winter Weddings: Fresh Thyme Eatery’s Harvest & Ambrosia Boards

With flair and flavor, that’s how we like to do things at Fresh Thymes Eatery, Boulder's 100% gluten-free restaurant that specializes in locally sourced and organic allergen-sensitive food.

And this includes our brand new catering choices debuting just in time for holiday parties and winter weddings—or, really, any event any time of year for anyone with tastebuds. Every single bite is 100% gluten-free, always. 

 

Now ready for your enjoyment: Harvest & Ambrosia Boards!

Every morsel on our new catering boards shows off nature's best and can be customized for dietary preferences, including vegan and paleo.

Our Harvest Board features scrumptious small bites of seasonal veggies, flat breads, house-roasted nuts, hummus, and cured meats. This catering board is ideal for wedding cocktail hours, fundraisers, office parties, and client lunches when you want to impress. 

Our Ambrosia Board features our signature honey-sweetened and dairy-free tasty treats, like chocolate chip cookie balls, magic bars, chocolate muffins, and seasonal fruit. This catering board is a perfect complement to our Harvest Board, offering wedding guests, party attendees, or your entire company a chance to indulge their sweet tooth and try a little bit of everything.

From parties of 6 to 30 or more, our Harvest & Ambrosia Boards are great for special events when you want to please eyeballs, palettes, and appetites. Pricing starts at $80.  

Call Fresh Thymes Eatery today at 303-955-7988 or email catering@freshthymeseatery.com to learn more.

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Fresh Thymes Eatery serves righteously delicious food for ingredient-conscious eaters. We specialize in gluten-free and allergen-sensitive food that's locally sourced, grass-fed, pasture-raised, organic & made with love. Because when you eat real food, you feel real good.

freshthymeseatery.com

Name this Immune Elixir!

It kills nasty bacteria, and helps fight viruses. Inflammation in the human body, which research increasingly cites for a host of diseases and conditions, gets hobbled by it. A miracle drug? Well, it certainly is not a pharmaceutical — the health-boosting elixir is not hatched by white-jacketed chemists in suburban laboratories, sold in pharmacies and saddled with a litany of worrisome side - effects.

No, this is Fire Cider, and starting this week, we are selling our Fire Cider crafted in house, here at Fresh Thymes.

This gorgeous tonic, which has served as a potent folk medicine for generations, is a fermented beverage involving raw apple cider vinegar, turmeric, horseradish, garlic, onion, ginger, hot chilies, fresh citrus, and a dash of raw honey to lightly sweeten the pot. We embraced it some months ago, and decided upon tasting to experiment with our own creation. Our inaugural batch has been fermenting for a few weeks, and now it is ready to pour!

We are all about seasonal improvisation, and so will toy with our recipe throughout the year, adding different health promoting (of course!) vegetables and roots to each batch as they are harvested. If you swing by Fresh Thymes for the next week or so, in addition to the base (the list of ingredients that normally are used to make fire cider) the tonic will also include green onion and cilantro, in honor of the lightness and green-ness of spring. Sometimes we may remove the hot chilies, to make a nightshade-free batch. Other times, we will add adaptogenic herbs, like astragalus and ashwaganda to modulate our immune system, or supplement the fermentation with beets or kohlrabi. It all depends on what is in season, and our inspirations for new recipes.

We celebrate Fire Cider for its anti-microbial, anti-bacterial, anti-viral and anti-inflammatory properties. This is strong stuff! We also trumpet its ability to aid with digestion. Flavor? We dig it, but fire cider is not something to sip and savor, like a glass of Oregon Pinot Noir or a pint of Omission IPA. The horseradish can give it a nose-scorching, wasabi-like kick, and the base of raw ingredients are weighted heavily towards the fiery — thus, the elixir’s name. We serve Fire Cider by the shot glass, and find it is both a wonderful apertif (something sipped before a meal, to help nurture appetite) and a digestif (a post-prandial treat that promotes digestion).

Never tried fire cider? Crazy for the stuff? It can be bought in bottles, here and there, but try our home-crafted version. We fuss over our big mason jars packed with fermenting goodness, tweaking recipes and toiling to hike the batches with as much health-amplification as possible. We down at least a shot of fire cider a day, and we have a feeling it might become part of your routine, too.