Bone Broth: The Good, the Bad & The Ugly

(Lynda Hammond (me!) sipping my breakfast drinks--coffee & bone broth! Yummy--well, sort of!)
Bone Broth is good for us but it isn’t good tasting—at least not to me, anyway. It basically tastes like salty water.
But I do drink it every single day-- for the health benefits. My Naturopath suggested I try it when I started losing my hair. I researched it and have been sipping it now every morning for more than four years.
My hair has come back—while bone broth might be one reason for that there are other things I’ve done to get my hair back—I’ll be writing on that soon but for now—we’re talking my favorite brand of bone broth.
The Ugly
First, I’ll start with the Ugly.  I’ve tried about 12 brands found in grocery and health food stores.  I don’t like the frozen brands, not because of the taste or the ingredients but for the simple reason, I don’t have enough room in my freezer. I buy bone broth by the case—so frozen just isn’t a good option for me. Please also avoid those with gobs of ingredients. More on that below.
The Bad
I’ve tasted some really bad brands. The best way for me to describe their taste is to reference an old I Love Lucy Episode. Remember, Vitameatavegin?  The one where she tries this “health potion” and it tastes terrible?
Well, the faces she makes while trying to get it down her gullet are nothing short of hilarious. I’ve always said, that episode should be used in acting classes: “Students, this lesson is where we learn how to pretend something tastes bad.”  
Okay, I digress. Anyway, I would make that this-tastes-terrible-face after every single sip of some of the bone broths I tasted. 
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In Homemade
My husband saw me doing this one day and said “Geez, if it’s that bad I can make it for you”. And he did for more than two years.  It tasted decent and it was a lot less expensive.
Bless his heart, Kevin would buy 10lbs of bones and cook it for 30 hours in the crock pot. We started with chicken bones. But chicken had no marrow left on it so we switched to beef bones. But even after 30 hours of simmering the concoction, the bones did not disintegrate. And that’s what most of the recipes say we need in order to reap the benefits.
(Left, that's me with the homemade version. It would last about 8 days.)
I felt I should go back to the big-name brands because they likely are able to get it right.
So, just recently I tried a bunch more brands and have switched back to store bought. I figure the big companies can create it better than I can.
The Good
Now, I drink this brand. I don’t make the “Lucy” face while drinking it. But it’s not something I’d order during a night on the town. However, it’s chock full of healthy nutrients—things that will give me more protein and vitamins in my diet. And that makes it all worth it!
Read Labels
How did I settle on this brand?   It’s fairly simple. While shopping in the grocery store, I get my glasses out, grab an item from the shelf, turn the package around and read. Some labels I didn’t even have the read—if the list included more than 10 things—I put it back on the shelf, toot-sweet.
Anyway, this is, by far, one of the cleanest drinks out there. Out of all the brands I looked at this one consisted of three key points: It had the fewest ingredients, the fewest calories per serving and no chemicals. Plus, I like the carton. Doesn’t have to be in the ‘fridge until you open it! Very convenient. I buy it by the case here.
***Important note: Please know I do not get paid, nor do I represent the company in the links above.  But I might get a few pennies IF you click on this link AND buy it here!  However, if Pacific’s incredibly knowledgeable, talented and health-conscious owners are reading this right now—Hey, I’m available! Call me! How’s that for a shameless plug!?
For more of the benefits of drinking bone broth see my blog post from February 10, 2020.
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