Really Good Broth

We are starting the second week of post op clear liquid diet for my daughter and I have been looking at posts about the clear diet. One thing I keep seeing is people hating their broth and saying it tastes nasty or flavourless.

Everyone shopping for a clear liquid diet should know about Better Than Bouillon. I have been using it for decades now and didn't even think about it when we went in for her surgery, I just packed it along in my bag of goodies. Which was good, because the broth they served her resembled dish water more than anything else. With ho****er from a microwave I was able to make her broth that tasted good. It made a big difference in her morale when she was feeling really crappy.

It is a concentrate that comes in a glass jar. They have a lot of flavours, beef, chicken, fish, lobster, fish, ham etc. It has no MSG and a minimum of extra 'stuff'.

For the purpose of most people here the chicken and maybe the beef or au jus, are the ones you would be interested in drinking as broth. Between 2 teaspoons and a Tablespoon in 8 oz of boiling water makes a really good cup of broth

They have an organic low sodium version if that suits you better.

They are available at Costco. You can also order them online direct from the company or on Amazon. They are not cheap, like bouillon cubes, maggi, knorrs, or other brands, but not bank breakers either. They are less than the boxes of stock, like Swansens. And if you are going to be drinking it you want it to taste good!

Before you go drinking any stock, broth, bouillon, cube, soup base LOOK at the ingredients, they can be scary. Besides tasting awful when you are drinking them straight!

For example the ingredients in the chicken are;

Chicken Meat and Natural Juices*, Salt, Cane Sugar*, Maltodextrin*, Yeast Extract, Dried Onion*, Potato Starch*, Dried Garlic*, Turmeric* and Spice Extractives*.

In comparison;

Swansons; CHICKEN BROTH, SALT, MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE, DEXTROSE, YEAST EXTRACT, CHICKEN FLAVOR, FLAVORING, CORN SYRUP SOLIDS, AUTOLYZED YEAST EXTRACT, CHICKEN FAT, HYDROLYZED SOY PROTEIN, CHICKEN BROTH POWDER

Knorrs; Salt, monosodium glutamate, hydrogenated cottonseed oil, chicken fat, hydrolyzed soy/corn protein, dehydrated mechanically separated cooked chicken, dehydrated chicken meat, dehydrated chicken broth, autolyzed yeast extract, dehydrated onions & parsley, lactose, water, colour, spices & spice extract, disodium guanylate, disodium inosinate, citric acid, tartaric acid, hydrogenated soybean oil and sulphites.  

Maggi; SALT, SUGAR, PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED PALM OIL, MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE, CORNSTARCH, AND LESS THAN 2% OF ONION POWDER, CHICKEN FAT, DEHYDRATED CHICKEN, GARLIC POWDER, TURMERIC, DISODIUM INOSINATE, SPICES, TBHQ (PRESERVATIVE)

Ironic how the third and forth ingredients are sugar, artificial sweetener, yet on the nutritional label it doesn't mention that.  This is one reason I make my own :)

Is homemade better? Of course. But lots of peole don't make their own. So if you are going to use a commercial product better one that is mostly chicken with only a few additions. And cane sugar rather than corn syrups. And tastes good and is easy to make. It' a superior product compared to the dreck in the rest of its class ; -)

I buy Kirkland Organic Chicken Stock in boxes:

Organic chicken stock, organic vegetable stock (organic carrot, organic celery root, organic onion juice concentrates), sea salt, natural flavor, organic tumeric concentrate, organic ground bay leaves and organic black pepper extract

I also buy the Organic Beef and Organic Vegetable stock.  I usually use them for cooking.

I made 8 ice cube trays of turkey stock this Thanksgiving as I don't make stuffing.  Plan on using turkey stock when I make crustless pot-pies or a soup.