This simple vegetable broth will add flavor and richness to a wide variety of dishes!  It can be used anywhere you would use store-bought vegetable or chicken stock. You won’t believe how EASY it is to make your own custom-made broth at home!

Today, I’m showing you one of the most essential ingredients in my kitchen.  I realize that’s a pretty bold statement, but I’m sure many of you realize how important a good broth or stock really is.

Broths and stocks can be used as soup bases, flavorings for sauces, used to flavor meat or fish without adding a ton of calories, and the list goes on.

Many of you know that I have been working to sort out some digestive troubles in the past few months.  Because of this I have been following a low FODMAP approach to eating.  I realize the low FODMAP diet is not a “forever” way to eat, but I’m still on the journey to figure out what is going on inside my tummy.

Two of the BIGGEST things I miss while eating a low FODMAP diet are…garlic and onions.  HA!  I bet you’re thinking “garlic and onions?”  “I could totally do without garlic and onions!”  OK…now go look in your pantry at any pasta sauce, salad dressing, pesto, thai curry paste, spice combination, or chicken or vegetable stock and tell me that you wouldn’t miss garlic and onions too?

Prior to having these stomach issues, I had no problem purchasing low sodium organic pre-made stock/broth…but now that I’m avoiding garlic and onions I needed another option to add some flavor to my dishes!

Luckily, in January Brian and I took a cooking class at Sur La Table (so fun!)

Our instructor was full of knowledge and little tips, and one of the tips she mentioned was for making homemade vegetable broth.  Our instructor told us all we had to do was save our veggie scraps from the week, boil them in water with a little seasoning and viola!  We would have our own homemade broth!

Well, friends, I took the idea and ran with it and now this low FODMAP vegetable broth is something I make on a bi-weekly basis 🙂

I have recently joined the Recipe ReDux, which is a recipe challenge group of bloggers founded by registered dietitians that provide great tasting and healthful recipes based on whole foods and sound nutrition principals.  Each month, members receive a theme and post a recipe according to the theme.

This month’s theme?  DIY Kitchen Essentials

Remember how I said that this low FODMAP chicken stock was one of the MOST essential ingredients in my kitchen!?  It fits the theme perfectly!

OK, now on to the recipe.  It’s so easy, you’ll wonder why you ever purchased the stuff from the store 🙂

Homemade Vegetable Broth {low FODMAP}

Yields:  4 cups (this is the amount that comes in one box of store-bought stock)

Ingredients:

• Veggie scraps from the week (kale stems/leaves, carrot ends, squash ends, etc – avoid using onion and garlic for low FODMAP)
• 1 additional carrot
• 5 chive sprigs
• 3 stems of rosemary
• 5 stems of parsley
• 2 bay leaves
• 2-3 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp black peppercorns
• 6 cups water

Directions:

1. Place all ingredients in a large pot (I like to use my le cruiset Dutch oven).
2. Bring to boil over high heat.
3. Lower heat to low and allow to simmer for 3 hours…the longer the better!!! (this is where all the flavors meld.)
4. Remove from heat and allow to cool a bit.
5. Strain herbs and vegetables from the broth with a fine mesh strainer over a large bowl.
6. You can store this in the fridge if you plan on using it within a couple of days, but if you are planning to use it at a later date freeze using the method below.

My favorite way to store my homemade vegetable broth is to freeze it!  This allows the broth to last longer and it allows me to use a little bit at a time.

This is how I freeze my vegetable broth:

1.  Fill an ice cube tray with 2 Tbsp of broth in each compartment.  I like to place 2 Tbsp of broth in each part of the ice cube tray because that makes it SUPER easy to measure later on.

2 Tbsp=half of a 1/4 cup, so 2 ice cubes=1/4 cup, and 8 ice cubes=1 full cup.

2.  Place in the freezer and allow to freeze for 24 hours.  (It may take less time to freeze-through, but this ensures that it is completely frozen!)

3.  Remove the ice cube trays from the freezer, empty and store the frozen vegetable broth in a large container or freezer bag.

Now your stock will last you a long time AND it’s pre-measured 🙂

This recipe has not been tested for FODMAP content, but ingredients are used in amounts compliant with the Monash University App and guidelines.  Please eat the foods that make you feel your best!

Question of the Day:

• What is the most essential ingredient in your kitchen?

You can check out all of the other Recipe Redux DIY Kitchen Essentials by clicking on the links below:
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