A dear friend introduced me to this powerfully gentle broth when I told him about my chronic digestive issues. It quickly became a staple in our home.
My teenage daughter and 7-year-old son both love it when I cook up a batch of this magical broth. And I consider it part of my practice of self-love.
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Dr. Henry Bieler was a visionary American physician and author of Food Is Your Best Medicine, in which he advocated the treatment of disease through diet. He believed that the body has a natural ability to heal and that the primary cause of disease is not germs, but imbalances in the body caused by lifestyle, including poor diet.
His famous broth is rich in potassium and sodium, alkalizes the body, and supports the liver and the adrenal glands. It also helps the pancreas control blood sugar.
Adding ghee to the broth brings a host of additional health benefits. Ghee is clarified butter (but with all the toxins removed). In the practice of Ayurveda, ghee is used to heal a wide variety of ailments. It reduces inflammation, lubricates connective tissues, bolsters the immune system, and is believed to promote memory and intelligence.
Bieler’s Broth provides a gentle way to detox, either as the sole food intake, or to supplement a juice fast, but it also works beautifully as an addition to your regular diet. I often start my day with a cup or add a bowl of it to my lunch.
Ingredients
- 4 medium zucchinis, chopped
- 3 cups string beans, ends removed
- 2 sticks celery, chopped
- 2 bunches parsley, stems removed
- 1 quart filtered water
- sea salt to taste
- ghee (optional)
Preparation
Place water, zucchini, string beans, and celery in a stock pot.
Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer for about 30 minutes until vegetables are softened but not over cooked. Spoon the mixture into a blender, add a handful of parsley, and liquefy. I usually pulse a few times to get it started. Make sure you hold onto the lid.
One pot of broth will create several blender batches. Have a pitcher or jars on hand to fill as you blend. To thicken the broth and enhance the healing properties of the broth, add a teaspoon of ghee to each blender batch.
I urge you to use organic vegetables if at all possible. Feel free to play with the relative proportions of the various ingredients. There are times when I make it heavier on the zucchini, and sometimes I crave more string beans.
Call on your intuition and creativity to play with the ratios and vary the consistency. It’s important to remove the stems from the parsley. They have a special immunity to blending and will show up in the bowl and palate as pointy, stiff intruders.
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Zoë Kors is the Managing Editor of LA Yoga Magazine, a certified life coach, writer, mother, yogini, existential detective and vortex surfer. She offers Spiritual Core Empowerment programs for women, in which she draws on the principles of Eastern philosophy and the healing practices of yoga, breathwork, and meditation and blends them with more process-oriented modalities of Western psychotherapy and Co-Active Coaching to create sustainable transformation. She lives in Los Angeles with her son and daughter.