Chicken broth.. do you mix with water?

(Karen) #1

I made some chicken bone broth today… do you mix it with water or just drink on its own?? Looking to have it as a meal replacement… is that advised or should I have protein too?

#2

You made it, it’s your taste you so only you can tell if it needs more water…

It’s not a meal replacement, of course. You may use it to postpone a meal but it doesn’t give you the nutrients your body needs…
Some people use broth when “fasting”, it’s perfectly fine not eating for some days if you handle it well but that’s not eating then. For a meal, you typically need enough protein and fat and longer term they are vital.

Can you tell something about the circumstances? What is your goal, how long term you plan to consume only broth…?

And if you don’t get enough water from your broth, you need to drink water too but it’s quite obvious at this point - or no, see people doing even dry fasts…

(Peter - Don't Fear the Fat ) #3

Welcome to the forum :blush:

Are you on a Keto diet already? Or just starting … your among friends so give us some background info.
Personally I don’t add water, but I guess you could if it’s very concentrated.
also … meal replacement? why not have a great big satisfying meal with loads of fat plus some chicken broth to wash it down :stuck_out_tongue:

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #4

First, welcome to the forums!

You can dilute the bone broth or not, as it suits you. I try to keep it at a reasonable level of liquid while it’s simmering, and then use it as is.

Bone broth by itself is not going to satisfy your hunger. It’s main purpose is to supply us with salt and other electrolytes. If you simmer the bones for 24 hours, you should be getting a lot of the goodness out of the marrow, especially the magnesium it contains.

The essence of a ketogenic diet is highly restricting the carbohydrate intake. Most especially, avoid sugar, grains, and starches. Eat enough protein and fat to supply essential nutrition. Fat is the replacement source of energy on a keto diet, and it this is important, because the whole point of this way of eating is to lower our insulin as much as possible, so we can stay in fat-burning mode. Fat has almost no effect on insulin, plus it’s calorie-dense, so it takes a lot less fat to give us the same amount of energy as a given amount of carbohydrate. And contrary to the government’s misinformation, saturated and mono-unsaturated fats are much more healthful than polyunsaturates.

Take a look in the Newbies forum. There is plenty of useful information there. And if you have questions about what you read–well, that’s what we’re here for!

#5

When I make chicken broth, I usually throw in all the bones ( and sometimes I have some beef or pork bones waiting in the freezer, so I pop those in too) and some of the skin for fat (sometimes I add some bacon, too), and I tend to save some meat. I make the broth, then add the meat and whatever spices I think it may need once I taste it. This I sometimes have for lunch, it has the goodness of the broth plus some fat from the skins and/or bacon and meat for protein, so it’s a mini meal. It always satisfies a lot, it just feels really good going down, and it sates also.

Quite frequently I am not hungry for dinner after that, that’s how much it hits the spot for me.

#6

It’s a bit like my meat soup… I put in whatever I have, turkey bone, chicken frame, smoked pork hock bone, some pork, pork skin… It gets really tasty especially since I started to put in smoked stuff. It’s not really a bone broth, no way I spend more than 1-1.5 hour on a soup but it’s nice. It just disappears way too quickly if I am not careful.
I don’t like my soup fatty so I don’t put in much skin. If the pork itself is fatty, that’s fine, most of the fat stays inside :wink:
I like it with poached eggs too.
Couldn’t get satiated by it alone (or not for long) but it’s quite satisfying.

I don’t try to have just the liquid instead of eating as soup is a great gateway food for me. I touch it and I get hungry and need a full-blown meal. I actually use it when I need food but my low appetite keeps me from eating. I always can eat soup…
But it seems many people can postpone meals with broth.

#7

Oh, yes, poaching an egg into it is very good! I do this in the pressure cooker, so I am not sure about how much time it would be stove top. I sometimes add the egg white immediately when I take the broth out of the pressure cooker, and stir vigorously, so there are little white cooked egg bits floating. Then I add the yolk, without breaking it, just before eating.

Now I want some. I have the bones to make it, too. :slight_smile:

(Karen) #8

I have been doing keto for about 8 weeks… I heard alot about broth via the podcast and thought I would try it. Mainly for the nutritional value and potential skip a meal for intermittent fasting (not fasted before).

(Peter - Don't Fear the Fat ) #9

It’s a powerful tool so well done :+1:
And the bone broth is excellent but eat enough fat and protein to get through to your next meal.
If you like veg have some but not starchy root veg. Keep your carbs low but meat, fish, eggs, butter, etc eat plenty.

(Karen) #10

Thanks Pjam, I have been enjoying the transition and my husband joined me after a couple of weeks on keto. He’s a meat eater so happily eating the protein :grinning:

(Peter - Don't Fear the Fat ) #11

Awwww thats brilliant. I’m a hopeless salesman and have totally failed to convince Mrs Pjam.

(Karen) #12

Hubby has been doing the gym and reaching amazing weight lifting bests, also his skin issue is much better. He is hoping to get off meditation for blood pressure and cholesterol … so far winning. I have cut out any sugar and inflammatory foods with a hip issue… so far keto is helping us feel better and enjoying the foods… weight loss is a bonus too :grinning:

(Peter - Don't Fear the Fat ) #13

All blood work improves over time on a Keto diet, Blood pressure should improve as the others improve I believe.
The cholesterol is a whole subject and one that causes much confusion … I’ll let some else explain that or you will also find a heading under health.
In a nutshell there’s no proven link between saturated fat, cholesterol and heart disease. Claims were made against Saturated fat in when 1955 Eisenhower suffered a heart attack. At that time sugar was put forward as a risk but that was dismissed.

(KCKO, KCFO 🥥) #14

I use less water to make my broth so it is more concentrated, I then thin it out as needed when I use it for cooking. If doing a broth fast, I would add a lot more water, but it is really up to you and your tastebuds as to how much you should add.

Welcome to the forums. Hope you and your hubby enjoy this WOE.