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Healthier alternative to Better Than Bouillon?
I'm constantly using the Better Than Bouillon vegetable base when I need vegetable broth, because it's so convenient, space efficient, and it keeps longer than those cartons of vegetable broth.
But, I recently looked at the ingredients and was a bit put off, as I've been trying to eat healthier (less salt, sugar, and processed ingredients.)
Does anyone have any recommendations for something with a similar level of convenience and shelf life?
I wouldn't worry about it. I looked at the nutritional facts and it seems fine. Remember, you're not like spreading it on toast or something. That sodium and sugar is spread throughout an entire pot of soup, or whatever you're cooking. You'll almost certainly have to add salt anyway to the meal, and the sugar is, as Adam Ragusea likes to say, nutritionally insignificant. Neither is there reason to be scared of ingredients just because they have fancy chemical-sounding names.
Yeah. To get any more control over the micronutrients in your stock, you'll have to make it yourself. Making stock isn't that hard if you already have vegetables around, but from a purely nutritional perspective, you'll do a lot of work to save a few mg of salt and sugar.
Any idea which video Adam goes into "nutritional insignificance" like that? I love that man but don't remember that one.
What is it that you actually have a problem with? I've gone through scores of stocks, and BTB is hands down the best by just about every metric. They are high in sodium, but that's because it's supposed to be the base of your soup; it needs salt for the flavor. And like others have mentioned, it flavors your whole pot.
Do keep in mind they do have reduced sodium versions and as concentrates it's entirely up to you how much you add; you can weaken it if you feel you need to.
A healthier alternative would be to make your own. You could freeze it in jars. I do this with chicken stock. Unfortunately, convenience/shelf life and health/nutrition are often at odds with each other.
To add to this, to make veggie broth, you can store your clean veggie scraps in the freezer until you have enough to use.
Most veg work, but stay away from Brassicas (eg, broccoli, cauliflower, mustard greens, etc.). Im sure there are some more rules of thumb you could look up, but its pretty simple if you have freezer space to store the scraps (and final broth).
I do the same, and also avoid potatoes, cucumbers, squashes, etc things like that. If I get a whole roast chicken at the store, I put the bones in a freezer bag too. I also toss in the ends of parmesan wedges.
That's a great idea. I'll have to start a vegetable scrap bin in my freezer, like I do with bananas for smoothies.
Yes, I have thought about doing that. It would be a good way to use up vegetables that are going to go bad in my fridge. Thank you for the suggestion. It is unfortunate that the most convenient options are usually unhealthy. I'm just glad most fruit is both healthy and convenient.
As a side comment, Better Than Bullion is sold in the US at Costco stores at a significant savings over the regular grocery store sizes & prices.
Yeah, they have the huge jars! It's pretty awesome.
Keep in mind, the main reason that stuff has so much salt in it is because salt is still the best preservative we have. The salinity is what makes it shelf stable basically forever.
You can have a less sodium-loaded broth if you make vegetable broth yourself, but the only way that's feasible is if you cook often enough that you have a consistent supply of vegetable scraps to keep making broth every week. It's doable if you treat running your home-kitchen like a job, but it can be challenging otherwise.
Organic markets nowadays will also sell you frozen broth nowadays (though it's usually meat-based), but it gets expensive fast.
For the most part, though, that sodium is just substituting salt you'd put in for seasoning purposes anyway. If it bothers you, you can try to just mitigate it through dilution.
If you’re able to see a doctor for checkups, it would be worth asking about how concerned you personally need to be about cutting back on salt or other things. People can vary widely on this.
If you do need to reduce your salt intake but not so much that shelling out for the various salt alternatives on the market makes sense, I would try two things:
Replace some of the broth with a small amount of acid, like lemon juice. In most circumstances, you obviously won’t want to replace all of it, but this is an easy way to get a similarly intense flavor with less salt.
In the longer term, you can habituate to simply using less salt. How much salt we think tastes “right” largely depends on what we’re used to. Using good spices and herbs can go a long way towards making flavorful food that isn’t very salty. Umami flavors can help too, like the nutritional yeast that @elight suggested.
When you add salt can also make a difference in the flavor you get. Samin Nosrat’s Book Salt Fat Acid Heat is a great resource on this topic, and if your local library carries cookbooks, they probably have a copy.
BTB has an organic vegetarian product if you mostly care about the processed ingredients.
Edward & Sons have a bunch of organic vegetarian low sodium bouillon cubes but I've never tried them (not gonna do low sodium products unless my doctor advises me to.)
Better Than Bouillon is the healthier alternative. :-)
I've had the same thought you had reading the ingredients.
I can't remember the name, but there is a yellow powdered vegetable broth...but there instead of saturated fat you get scads of sodium.
The way I look at it convenience broths keep me away from unhealthy meals and get me eating stews.
You can try experimenting with different flavors of miso pastes. Miso will keep in your refrigerator for years, years, years, and years. Aside from the sodium there is nothing unhealthy in Miso.
Agreed on the miso. The only problem with them is that they don't taste like the stocks you're replacing, but different isn't bad and can sometimes be preferable. Besides that, miso is fermented, and fermented food is associated with a number of health benefits.
Miso is an interesting idea. I'm wondering how it would taste in more European inspired dishes though. I know it tastes great in Asian dishes.
It's better when you're trying to build a rich mostly-savory flavor profile. If your recipe is relying more on herbal flavors the miso may overpower it.
I'm not big on traditional European fare, though, so I don't really have much experience with this particular substitution. Even if it's not what you want, it should still taste pretty good, so give it a try.
I'll give it a shot, thanks! I'm guessing it's pretty healthful because of the fermentation.
This suggestion really depends on the dishes you cook, but you might be able to sub out some or all of the veg broth for some tomato puree+water, then amp up flavour with extra herbs, spices, onion/garlic... It'd obviously change the overall style of the dish, but can yield tasty results!
They have lower sodium versions of their Beef, Chicken and Vegetable Base. 500mg vs 700mg for the Veggie base. Personally, if I'm using BTB or any stock (store or home made), I'm not adding salt until after I start assembling whatever I'm making. I've never found my recipes over salted when doing it that way. Also, keep in mind the nutrients are listed as if you added a tsp of base to a cup of water then chugged it.
Another alternative: replace it with nutritional yeast. Nooch is a terrific foundation for most soups and stews. Also, literally, it's chock full of vitamins!
That's pretty cool! How does it taste as broth, and how much should I use per cup of water?
Penzeys has a similar product that seems to be a bit healthier.
You can also start making your own vegetable stock'broth and then cook it down yourself. It's a much longer/time intensive/energy expensive effort, but if you want something with fewer ingredients and better quality, that might be the way to go.