Healthy Cooking by design

I like to add some flavor to brown rice, quinoa, and pilaf type dishes.  In addition to onion, garlic, celery, carrots and such, I usually add bouillon.  But what kind should you use?  I would say that depends on what you currently eat.

If your taste buds are accustomed to fast food, restaurant food, and pre-packaged gravies or sauces you are used to large amounts of sodium and msg (monosodium glutamate).  And while there is lots of evidence to support that msg should be avoided, you might not want to quit cold turkey.  So when you cook rice, quinoa, or barley you may want to use a teaspoon of Wyler’s instant bouillon or a store brand bouillon.  If you decide in the future you want to eliminate msg from your diet, you can change to a healthier (and also more expensive…) bouillon.

Here are a few links with information about msg.  What Exactly Is MSG? ; MSG: A Neurotoxic Flavor Enhancer ; The Dangers of MSG ; The Hidden Names of MSG ; Does MSG Make You Fat?

If you have already eliminated msg from your diet by avoiding prepackaged meals, sauces, dressings, soups, etc, you may want to use Herb Ox bouillon, which is labeled msg free.  It has the same flavors of regular bouillon, but without the chemical that tricks your brain into thinking that what your are eating is good for you, tastes amazing, and you want more.

If you are concerned about excess sodium, you could use Herb Ox sodium free, msg free bouillon.  It is made with potassium chloride (salt substitute) and sugar.   In fact, sugar is the first ingredient listed.  (Many things that are low sodium add sugar to please your taste buds and counteract the bitter aftertaste of salt substitute.)  This one is a toss up for me.  I’m not entirely convinced that sugar with chemicals is a better alternative than salt.

Boxes or cans of stock come in all varieties - low sodium, low fat, etc.  You can read “Store Bought Chicken Stocks, Reviewed: Which are the best?” by Michele Humes at Serious Eats.  The comments on that article also provide some good input.  I personally think canned or boxed stock tastes like slightly flavored water, which is why I lean toward bullion.  I also often want concentrated flavor without additional liquid.

Which brings me to my latest idea.  What if I stewed some bone-in chicken (or the leftover carcass from roasting a whole chicken), sea salt, fresh pepper, parsley, a bay leaf, and some thyme, with tons of onion, celery, and carrots all day in the crockpot in a small amount of water?  I could food process that mixture (minus the bones and bay leaf), freeze it in ice cube trays, and then add one or two to a recipe instead of the bullion granules.  It might even be cost effective if I plan it for the day after I’ve roasted a chicken with vegetables and already have it all on hand.  Hmmm, I’ll let you know how it works.

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