My Bone Broth Journey

I often say, if anyone had told me I’d be doing what I am doing today, I would have laughed right out loud. God certainly had other plans for me. In fact He had majorly different plans than what I ever dreamed I’d be doing with my life. That was my first mistake; thinking or planning the big picture as I thought it should be.

My work comes from His guidance and all that I do is attributed to the fact that He knows the what’s, where’s, when’s and how’s for me. If only I will listen better. I am not going to go all “God and be healed” on you, but I do need to give credit where credit is due, and I cannot fathom what or where I would be without Him. I simply am not capable of ever doing on my own, what I do today.

My journey from childhood to now has been amazing, ever changing, evolving, and full of learning. I have been spoiled with incredible life travels and experiences, and I have experienced devastating losses and long, tough roads. That’s life. I can always look around and see how blessed and lucky I am to live the life I live. While at the same time I can get frustrated, lose hope, and see a never ending pile of obstacles that can get pretty overwhelming. Especially when you have a child or children with an illness no one can figure out.

Being a wife and mother, allowing myself to be crippled by overwhelming thoughts really isn’t an option. While sometimes I would like to wallow in my misery, I can’t allow that behavior to last too long. I have a family. I am the personality type that says, “Pull yourself up by the boot straps, Elaine, and get to work. Do something. Anything! Think big, think out of the box and take some action.” This is easier said than done, but done it must be and relying upon the big man upstairs is the only way I have been able to get past myself and begin moving forward.

In the last 14 years I have worked consistently on two products I can call my own. Two products, whether anyone else likes them or not, I can honestly say I LOVE them! They are my life blood. They are my two labors of LOVE!

Bone Broths and Sushi Stories – Say what? Yes, Bone Broths and Sushi Stories 🙂 Today will be about “My Bone Broths.”

Bone Broths, stocks, what ever it is the experts want to call them, I’ll call them “My Bone Broths.”

Yes, I know bone broths have been made since the age of time and they are the latest and greatest trend right now. The new Starbucks, Red Bull, and Mountain Dew. Except “My Bone Broths”  are the real deal. Nutritiously dense, gelatinous and a delicious super food!

     

The road to developing Bernadette’s broth was an adventure I took seriously. I knew there was no way, on Gods green earth, I would get many chances to get my daughters to drink the mystery power drink. If it was nasty, even one time, it would be game over. The road to developing a broth my children would drink like a soda pop, was indeed, a long journey – a little over two years to be exact.

It all started when Dr.’s Pete and Lolin Hilgartner explained to me that the Cushing’s tumor in my lovable, hugable, happy-go-lucky, 8 year old Bernadette, would wreak havoc on her organs, mind and body. We needed to find a way to attack the root cause and not just go after treating the symptoms caused by the over production of cortisol in her tiny, but ever enlarging, body.

The good doctors suggestion; We know it is going to affect her organs so let’s create food medicine to help boost her organ function! She needs to eat organ meat. “HAHAHAHA Yeah Right! You fool!” was what I was thinking to myself.  Meanwhile, trying to keep a serious face and nodding my head, yes, in agreement like, “That’s such a brilliant idea doc’s!”

Dr. Pete then challenged me by involving me in my own child’s health, but at a different level: “You know Elaine, with your farm, you have the organ meats. We really need someone to develop foods with organ meats because it is seriously lacking in all of our diets. By consuming them, they help boost blood cell counts, fertility, support weakened immune systems and so much more.” Dr. Pete went on and on with detailed information that made perfect sense once I stopped and really listened to absorb the crux of what he was teaching me. No doctor had ever explained food as medicine in this way to me before, much less food as medicine alone or in combination with clinical medicine. Food as part of Bernadette’s overall medicine would quickly become part of our daily lives.

I went home scratching my head and thinking to myself, this is too much and way beyond me, but maybe I should keep reading and learning from that book, “Nourishing Traditions” by Sally Fallon Morell and Dr. Mary Enig. This great resource was given to me by that encouraging and insistent “The Healthy Habit Coach“, Tara Rayburn and now Dr.’s Pete and Lolin Hilgartner. I’ve learned in my lifetime that when the same something keeps popping up in front of you, over and over, regardless of the channel, I need to pay attention.

Pay attention I did, and playing Bone Broth Chef in my kitchen began. Two years later I had the “soda pop” my kids would drink without a bat of their eyes. In fact, my sweet Bernadette couldn’t wait to have it for her breakfast every morning before heading off to school at age 9. This really was the breakfast of champions! Today, Miss Bernadette is 18 years old – going to college, riding horses, working as a nanny and loving life. Yes, I am proud of “My Bone Broths” I have made over the years. One of my greatest joys has been in developing  “special batches” for many of you, for your family members with cancer, serious to extreme food allergies, pneumonia and more. I hope you have enjoyed them as much as I have enjoyed making them for you! I would love to hear how they have worked for you.

“I tell people that your broth is the most dense, best tasting broth I’ve had! Also, your Bernadette’s Broth is incredibly dense and full of nutrition with all the organ meat that is used.” – Dr. Pete Hilgartner