Hearty and nutritious, this traditional and safe-for-colonoscopy beef broth is a good clear liquid diet meal for lunch or dinner to stave off your hunger pangs.
Can I have beef broth before a colonoscopy?
Yes, you can! As Dr Akintomiwa explains in his article on What You Can Eat on a Clear Liquid Diet, most forms of clear broth are an excellent choice for keeping up your nutrition during the clear liquid diet colonoscopy prep phase, including beef broth.
Many people swear by the health benefits of drinking bone broth, so why not make the most of your clear liquid diet time and give it a try yourself. This broth is strained to remove all solids, so you can safely have it on a clear liquid diet.
Depending on how fatty or meaty the bones you use are, you may need to filter the soup through paper or cloth to remove the residue. Where possible, try to use lean bones with very little fat. Otherwise you may discover (like I did the hard way) the headache of trying to clean the residual fat out of your sink and out of your cheesecloth afterwards! But if you use lean bones, you should be able to avoid that sort of mess and enjoy your soup relatively headache-free.
I recommend making it a day or two before you go on the clear liquid diet, and keep it in a jug in the fridge, so it is ready to go on the big day.
Colonoscopy Beef Broth for Clear Liquid Diet
Classic Beef Bone Broth
Cooking Time: 8 hours 5 minutes
Servings: 2 quarts (1.8 litres)
Ingredients for a Classic Colonoscopy Beef Bone Broth
- 3 lbs (1.36kg) bones beef or lamb
- 3 qts (2.8L) water
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 Tbsp black peppercorns
- Salt to taste
Method
- Arrange the bones on an oven sheet and roast for 30 minutes at 400°F (205°C).
- Remove bones from oven and place in a heavy stockpot.
- Add water, bay leaves and peppercorns to pot.
- Bring the pot to a boil over medium-high heat, and then reduce to low heat.
- Simmer broth for at least 8 hours, uncovered. Every now and then, skim off any foam that forms on the surface.
- Pull out the largest bones with tongs.
- Strain the broth through a fine-mesh sieve to remove smaller bones, bay leaves, peppercorns, and any fat or meat pieces from the bones. Discard or compost bones and other solids.
- Optional: Strain the broth again through cheesecloth or coffee filter paper, to remove any remaining residue*.
- Season the broth to taste with salt.
- Serve immediately, or transfer to a jug or containers for storage.
Cooking Notes
*Whether you need to do this step largely depends on how meaty or fatty the bones were to start with, and how fine the mesh on your strainer was. If the strainer was not very fine, or if the bones you used were quite fatty or meaty, the more likely it will contain residue that should be strained out.
You may find as it cools, a layer of fat rises to the surface of your colonoscopy beef broth. Whether this happens will depend on how fatty the bones were to start with. If this happens, simply skim off the fat with a spoon and discard, then blot the surface of the soup with some paper towel to remove any remaining fat.
Storage | Refrigerate for up to 1 week or freeze for 6 months.
Nutritional Info | Calories: 121cal | Protein: 7g | Carbohydrates: 12g | Fat: 5g
