IS BETTER THAN BOUILLON PALEO?
We all know making the switch to whole foods and homemade meals can be overwhelming if you’re used to pre-packaged or convenience options. Many of us still look for those little short cuts, like using flavor packets, condiments, and store-bought dressings. We’ll take a quick look at one such culprit: Better Than Bouillon. Is it Paleo?
What is Better Than Bouillon?
Better Than Bouillon is a brand of concentrated broth (beef, chicken, vegetable), similar to bouillon cubes, but in a wet paste form, rather than a dry powder or cube. It is made by creating a standard vegetable, chicken, or beef stock, then boiling it down to a highly concentrated form, and adding seasonings, stabilizers, and other flavors.
Many of us might remember dropping chicken bouillon cubes into water with noodles for a quick “chicken noodle soup,” on sick days, but a quick look at the nutrition label clearly shows an overabundance of sodium, and often, the addition of MSG. Better Than Bouillon claims to be low fat, low in sodium, and free from added MSG. The Food Renegade does a little label decoding and finds this label to be incredibly misleading. One of the ingredients, hydrolyzed soy protein is a soy-based ingredient that always contains MSG. Interesting.
Is Better Than Bouillon Paleo?
Your first glance at a label might lead you to believe this product contains just concentrated vegetable and/or meat broth. The ingredients list is much more explanatory, with items like corn syrup solids, potato flour, and caramel corn. Plus, with the addition of things like hydrolyzed soy protein, it is clear that Better Than Bouillon is definitely NOT Paleo.
So what’s a chef to do? Make your OWN concentrated stock! Toss a bunch of vegetables or vegetable scraps in the crockpot, along with extra bones and a few quarts of water. Set it on low for several hours or days. Eventually you will have a delicious stock or bone broth. After getting every ounce of flavor from your meat, veggies, and bones, strain them out and put the stock on the stovetop. Bring to a low rolling boil for 2 hours, or until it has reduced in volume by at least half. Now you’ve got yourself some delicious concentrated stock! Freeze it in cubes using an ice cube tray, and then remove the cubes and store in a plastic bag or jar in the freezer. Voila! Concentrated broth at your fingertips. You can also roast the vegetables until tender, then blitz them in a blender to create a vegetable broth puree. Now that’s really better than bouillon!
Related Links:
- Decoding Labels: Better Than Bouillon (foodrenegade.com)
- Bone Stock Gelatin Recipe (rebeccawood.com)
- Pureed Paleo Beef Bouillon Cubes (originaleating.com)
Image Source: Food Renegade
