One of the latest health products on the market, bone broth is considered by its proponents to be almost magical.
Bones, water and vegetables are simmered for 24 hours or more, extracting all the nutrients from the bones. Kitchen Witch Bone Broth began selling their bone broth products in Santa Cruz late last year. The three women behind the company, Magali Brecke, Missy Woolstenhulme and Rhiannon Henry explain what is so great about their products, which are currently available at New Leaf, Staff of Life, every other Wednesday at the downtown Farmers Market, and are in the process of being approved by Whole Foods.
Why should I drink bone broth?
MISSY WOOLSTENHULME: It is an incredible superfood that does everything from heal and soothe your gut lining to helping you build strong joints. For cancer patients, bone broth is sometimes the only food source they are able to keep down, and it nourishes them in their weakened state. Bone broth helps postpartum women recover from childbirth and increase milk supply, and CrossFit athletes use it to recover from intense workouts, to help restore and build muscles and joints. Probably the most amazing results we are seeing from bone broth today are for folks with inflammatory diseases caused by leaky gut syndrome.
How do people typically consume it?
The current trend is to drink bone broth by the cup. Many people are actually replacing their morning cup of joe with bone broth, as it gives an uplifting, energy boost much like coffee but without the up and downs of caffeine.
Why is your bone broth sold in jars?
We use pastured, grass-fed and/or organic animal bones, filtered water and organic vegetables. To pour a hot bone broth into a plastic pouch like many of our competitors do just does not feel right to us. Even BPA-free plastic has toxins in it, so we are trying to maintain that pure high-quality product from the pot to the cup you are sipping from.
Why are you called Kitchen Witch?
HENRY: A Kitchen Witch adds the blessings of her love into everything she cooks. This is one of our secret tenets that not everyone gets to hear. We believe in the healing power of thought and intention, and we keep our mind on the powerful effects that this broth is going to create in people’s bodies as we work away in the kitchen. We have a few special ways to add extra blessings to each pot—but we’ll keep those to ourselves.
What’s a veggie bone broth made of?
BRECKE: A shiitake and cremini-based broth, we call it ‘almost’ veggie because we add grass-fed beef gelatin at the end of cooking to ensure our customers get the benefits of bone broth, without the meaty taste. We created this for all the vegetarians who wanted to consume nutrient-dense broth, but couldn’t get over the smell and taste of chicken or beef.
kitchenwitchbroth.com, 307-1963. PHOTO: Magali Brecke and Missy Woolstenhulme of Kitchen Witch Bone Broth. CHIP SCHEUER
