(Re) Discovering Collagen

I recently came across an online article about the benefits of eating or drinking "collagen." In this article (click here to find it), Emily Eisen claims that after drinking a collagen supplement added to chai tea (recipe included) daily, she has noticed improvements in skin tone, hair growth and digestive issues.

Collagen? What's that? I wondered... It's a word I've only associated with cosmetic surgery... Is it a food?!

From Emily's article, it appears that collagen can be purchased as a powdered supplement.

I've never felt comfortable eating or drinking powdered supplements - unless I've made them myself... (like the soy flour, psyllium and wheat germ I mix up in equal parts and add to cottage cheese or yogurt) for added protein and fiber.

Further online research on the natural sources of collagen led me to food that I rarely eat anymore - but which my parents had often... Jello dessert, soup broth made by boiling beef or chicken bones, and "head cheese"... (a jellied sausage my parents bought - and even made a few times)  I enjoyed eating it - with vinegar.

In short, natural animal-based gelatin.

Time to get back to making homemade chicken soup - and beef broth. And I think I'll even try to hunt down some head cheese!

At the supermarket, I found beef soup bones. After boiling them for six hours in water with some vegetables and a little vinegar added, I now have half a dozen jars that I plan to freeze and begin eating (or drinking) regularly. I may add this broth to vegetable soups that I regularly make.

It's always interesting to find out that foods my parents and grandparents regularly ate - which I assumed had limited health value but were eaten because they were poor and didn't waste anything - are actually very good for you!