What is Bone Broth? (And why am I drinking it?)

So, I was doing some laps through the cable stations a few weeks ago when I stumbled upon a doctor who was talking about a new diet.  I paused for a second and then flipped past it.  Another infomercial, right?  But as I flipped through a couple more stations, I realized, that channel that the  doctor was on was PBS.   Maybe this was worth checking out.  PBS must do some type of vetting before they put someone on, right?  I mean, it’s PBS, home of Master Piece Theatre and Frontline and Sherlock and Sesame Street.  That’s gotta lend some credibility, right??

The doctor is Dr. Kellyann Petrucci and she is a naturopathic physician and a nutritionist.  She’s written several books, including one on the Paleo Diet.   The book/diet/lifestyle she was presenting to a small audience for PBS was “Dr. Kellyann’s Bone Broth Diet“.   The basics of the diet are similar to eating Paleo, a lot of vegetables and lean meats, some fruit and then a long list of things that are banned, like, pasta, rice, beans, sugary foods, potatoes (except sweet!), bread, etc, you get the point.  Basically if it started out white, don’t eat it.  What is different is the Bone Broth.

What is Bone BrothBone broth is a broth that you make from animal bones.  I know.  It sounds really hard to make and not very appetizing.  It’s neither, I swear.  The broth is slow cooked for many hours (12-24 for red meat bones) so that all of the nutrients that are locked inside of the bones and marrow and cartilage are released into the broth for you to consume.  The benefits that Kellyann sites include fat burning, wrinkle reduction, anti-inflammation and gut healing. You had me at fat burning, wrinkle reduction and anti-inflammation.  I’m sure I need gut healing, too.

I downloaded the book and read through it in a couple of days.  What I enjoyed about the book and the show I saw on PBS was that the initial diet is for 3 weeks.  The first three weeks of the diet are strict.  5 days a week of perfectly planned meals (recipes provided in the book) and two days of fasting with only the bone broth to drink.  Ouch.  Kind of hard core.

I finished my first fasting day today.  I drank the broth for breakfast, lunch and dinner and I might have snuck one more serving of it in somewhere in the middle of the day because I was hungry. I have to say, there were moments when I was hungry, certainly.  But the bone broth was filling.  And Kellyann does allow for a “snack” on your fasting day, after 7PM.  The snack is more like dinner, in my opinion.  Today it was a slice of Turkey Meatloaf and a side of steamed veggies.  That satiated me and I will go to bed without hunger pains, I promise.

In all, this is day three of 21 of the diet for me.  The first two days were, dare I say, fun!  I cooked the recipes that Dr. Kellyann provides in her book.  I made something called Scotch Eggs for breakfast, a turkey meatloaf, roasted chicken breasts and chili.  It is a lot of cooking, but I enjoy cooking and most of the recipes are doubled so that you can eat leftovers for lunch.  I can assure you, I was not hungry during the first two days of the meal plan.  In addition to meals, you are to drink two servings of the broth as well.  My only issue has been some serious sugar cravings.  Like really bad.  It’s probably cheating, but I resorted to chewing gum after meals so that I could have a little bit of that sweetness.

All of this probably sounds super restrictive and harsh.  And it is.  But, one of the things that I liked best about Dr. Kellyann’s approach is her  maintenance plan.  After you have completed the 21 day Bone Broth Diet, she recommends an 80/20 rule.  Stick with the foods she recommends 80% of the time and splurge 20% of the time.  That’s something I feel like I can stick with.

I am going to do my best to update weekly my experiences with Dr. Kellyann’s Bone Broth Diet.  It is only three weeks long, so here’s to me sticking to it!

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