Thai Bone Broth, Bougie Dogs & Why We’re All Addicted to Collagen Soup

One thing that six days of being on a liquid diet has taught me is that Bone Broth is life. Experiencing a colonoscopy is no joke. I knew there would be two days of a liquid diet, including one day of chugging basically lemon-flavored Pledge directly on the toilet, but I had no idea I needed to continue fasting after my procedure until I was being rolled out of the hospital in a wheelchair, still woozy from being sedated. I could practically see a Carl’s Jr El Diablo protein burger across the boulevard from Bear Valley Hospital. I felt my tiny starving heart start to break as I read the words, Continue a liquid diet for two days after your procedure. You have got to be shitting me. Literally. Thank God for Bone Broth benefits.

Now my boyfriend and I have been on a 36-hour fast once a week for the last two weeks, so after that experience, I didn’t think being on a liquid diet would be that bad. Rather than our normal boring, difficult fast, where I was just consuming water, black coffee or tea for 36 hours, with the surgeon-recommended liquid diet, I could also indulge in broth, apple juice and ginger ale. How hard could this be?

That’s what I thought anyway.

I have to admit a secret. I decided to drink a hot steaming cup of the Bone Broth I make for my dog as my supper every night of my liquid diet. That plain Bone Broth was so incredibly good, maybe because I was wasting away over here in Big Bear City, but at least my pants fit again. I never realized how delicious this plain Chicken Bone Broth I make for my dog tastes! That is one lucky bitch!

By day five of a liquid diet, I waas just trying to distract myself from the thoughts of all the foods I was going to enjoy when I could consume solid foods again. Luckily, Mother Nature threw an early-season snowstorm our way. I spent two days trekking through snow with my pup, driving down snowy mountain roads in my Jeep and also convincing my dog that yes, she wants to go sledding. Bone Broth benefits saved me. I swear this homemade Bone Broth is the only thing that got me through six days of a liquid diet.

This, however, is a way fancier ethnic version than what I drank at five p.m. every evening while pretending I was enjoying Hearts of Palm Keto Fried Rice.

Why My Dog Eats Better Than Most College Students: A Bone Broth Benefits Manifesto

Now that the colonoscopy is in my rearview (Haha, see what I did there?), my boyfriend and I are planning to enjoy Bone Broth as a meal as a regular part of our diet. We are no longer spring chickens and staying young, mentally and physically, starts in the kitchen. This is my favorite version of Chicken Bone Broth I make weekly in my Pressure Cooker. Sure, the experts say you should simmer this Bone Broth for twenty-four hours, but I don’t have time for that, so I do a faster version in my pressure cooker. The hiking guide who works every daylight hour out in the forest during the winter season simply has no time for a complicated Bone Broth.

Why is bone broth so good for you?

Let me start by telling you all about Bone Broth benefits. Well, aside from making you feel like the kind of person who has their life together enough to simmer bones for 24 hours, it’s packed with collagen, minerals, and all sorts of gut-soothing magic your digestive system will thank you for. And why is bone broth great for your active hiking dog? Because your four-legged trail buddy burns serious calories, needs those joint-supporting amino acids, and frankly deserves something better than dry kibble dust after smashing 10,000 steps on a snowy mountain trail.

When it comes to bone broth, my recipe is as basic as they come—basic, but mighty. A few days before I’m ready to brew up my famous Thai Chicken Bone Broth, I start hoarding veggie scraps like a Depression-era grandmother. Carrot ends, celery tops, bell pepper bits, tomato pieces—basically everything except the weird stuff, like beets or fennel.

You can add onion scraps or chili pieces if you’re making broth only for yourself, but I don’t. I always build a clean, gentle base first so my dog can enjoy her weekly gourmet broth without accidentally ingesting something toxic or ending up with chili-induced digestive fireworks. Once her portion is safely set aside, that’s when I add the fancy bits for the humans: garlic, onion, lemongrass, Thai chilis—basically all the things that make dinner delicious and make veterinarians shake their heads.

Half the batch goes into my dog’s weekly kibble upgrade—because, yes, she is absolutely living her best life.

Thai Chicken Bone Broth

1 Rotisserie chicken from Costco or Sprout’s (Good quality rotisserie chicken is key)

3 teaspoons fish sauce

1 green onion, diced fine

3 dried red chilis, crumbled

1 teaspoon beef tallow

In a pan, heat the beef tallow and fry your chili pieces. With a spatula, add this to the pressure cooker, making sure you get all those beef tallow fat bits. Add the chicken carcass and the veggie trimmings. Add as much water as you want to at least cover the chicken carcass. Turn the heat on the stove to high once you hear the first whistle, then turn the heat down to simmer. After two more whistles, turn off the heat and let your Bone Broth rest for at least an hour until the pressure is released. Remove the lid and let your chicken sit for at least thirty minutes until the carcass is cool enough to handle.

If you are also sharing this Bone Broth with your pup, omit the chilis and beef tallow.

Remove all the chicken from the carcass. At this point, I set the chicken meat aside in my dog’s portion of the broth and I put that away in the fridge or freeze it if I make a big batch. You can feel free to add in the chicken meat to your Thai Bone Broth if you like. For the human consumption batch, add the fish sauce to your Bone Broth