Nothing beats the boost of comforting flavor that chicken broth can add to a recipe, but while we do adore homemade, we confess we don’t always have gorgeous quarts of stock in the freezer. Boxed broth is a convenient shortcut. But the selection of brands out there can be pretty overwhelming, not to mention the fact that broth can now come in boxes, cans, cubes, jars of concentrate, and even little packets.

Since we use it in so many recipes, we decided it was time to do a taste test here at The Kitchn of boxed low-sodium chicken broths, and here are the results!

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Barbecue Turkey Meatloaf

I have been known to say that any cookbook is a weight loss book, because I strongly believe that cooking for yourself at home is the best way to lose weight. I know this axiom isn’t totally accurate (hey, Paula Deen!), but it contains a lot of truth.

Another reason I like to issue this advice is that I’ve seen weight loss and home cooking goals evaporate in the face of recipes that are engineered to be low-cal, low-fat, and low-sodium. Those recipes can also be incredibly low-flavor. Regardless of how “good” the nutrition facts of a dish are, it doesn’t benefit your health or your weight loss efforts if you don’t eat it, or if you’re snacking an hour later because dinner didn’t satisfy.

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Who cooks and eats here: Jade and Toby Keller, son Cy, and dog Dot
Where: Chiang Mai, Thailand
Rent or Own? Rent

Jade and Toby’s kitchen in Thailand feels familiar and inviting at first glance, but if you look closely you’ll notice several elements you don’t often see in American kitchens: a shelving rack for helmets for the couple’s scooter transportation, a (tiny) portable oven instead of a large range for baking, a power converter to operate all the coffee-making equipment.

Those are just some of the ways Jade’s cooking life has changed since she and her husband moved to Thailand four years ago, but you know what? They love it.

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Vietnamese beef noodle pho is an easy soup to fall in love with. Those chewy noodles. That savory broth. The tender slices of beef. All those crunchy, spicy, herby garnishes that we get to toss on top. On a cold evening, after a rough day at work, when we’re sick, on a lazy weekend afternoon — a bowl of piping hot pho is pretty much always a good idea.

Beef pho (pronounced “fuh“!) feels like a restaurant staple, but it’s not actually all that hard to make a quick version at home. This recipe for Quick Vietnamese Beef Pho was one of our favorites from The Kitchn Cookbook, so much so that we wanted to walk you through how to make it, step-by-step.

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