Ideas for soups and stews without heavy carbs ?

[Taffyboyslim]

I am a simple one pot cooking person if I can get away with it

I used to love cooking my elderly mother vegetable stews often with minced pork , minced beef or cuts of chicken , lamb etc

But obviously back then I could chuck the lot in with one of those stockpots ?

I know potatoes , parsnips , butter beans , swede are a bit risky ?

Am I OK with cabbage , onions , greens , frozen peas , sprouts ?

And anybody know a substitute for kidney beans in a chilli ?

 

[rebrascora]

For the handful of chilli beans in a portion of chilli I would not worry about them. Yes you put a whole can in a panful but if it is spread out between 4-6 portions then it isn't worth depriving yourself. As you said in your other post, you have knocked on the head all the unhealthy food you used to eat so a few kidney beans in a chilli is a healthy compromise.

Swede is not considered high carb so I use that in stews with leeks and a few carrots and onion and butternut squash and I buy pork shoulder steaks and dice them and I cook it in a bottle of cider with the veg in the slow cooker and I add a diced apple as I have a lot off the trees this year. A bit like the kidney beans in the chilli, a whole apple in my pork casserole portion isn't going to break the bank, carbs wise. I thicken it by adding oat bran, chia seeds or psyllium husk or all 3, for a variety of fibre sources.

 

[Taffyboyslim]

Carrots are ok ?

 

[rebrascora]

Carrots are not a high carb food but they are one of the highest carb vegetables. Still lower carb than potatoes and bread, pasta, rice etc. And they provide vitamins and trace elements, so be mindful of portion size and don't have them with every meal. I think there is a suggestion that they are in the amber zone with regard to carbs, so choose mostly from the green (low carb) zone with green veg and meat fish eggs etc and perhaps one item from the amber zone, so don't have both carrots and parsnips with the same meal or a half portion of each. Nothing is totally off limits, even the odd potato or slice of bread which I believe is something you were asking about on another thread, although I personally would rather "spend" my carb allowance on things other than bread these days. Plenty of tastier things to eat..... and this from someone who was a serious bread lover from a very early age.

Interestingly, beetroot is also one of the highest carb veggies but I can eat pickled beetroot from the jar even though sugar is used in the pickling process, and not see any impact on my BG levels, so things like pickled beetroot and pickled gherkins feature quite a lot in my diet and go well with ham/gammon/beef and the gherkins go well with scrambled eggs and omelettes for me. Easy just to open a jar and have some extra veggies on your plate plus they add lots of extra flavour pickled. Of course you may not like pickled veg....

 

[Drummer]

I do a stew in my pressure cooker, meat first, if it is done from raw, but I usually have some left over swede to eat with it, and that would have been pressure cooked the day before as the flavour is too strong for me if cooked in with the rest.
I fry up onion and beef first, then add stock and cook on low pressure for a while - up to an hour for the really tough but cheap beef cubes. I then turn off the heat and allow everything to cool down naturally.
If the result is very fatty I sieve out the liquid and put it in the freezer or fridge until the fat sets and it can be removed to use for cooking or frying. I return the liquid, then put in a pack of mixed frozen veges - having selected the mixture without sweetcorn, for the lowest carbs, add boiling water from the kettle and cook for a few minutes at high pressure. I put a perforated basket of potato in the top, for my husband, and cook some frozen peas separately as he doesn't like the mixed veges. I mash the swede and put it in the halogen oven or the microwave to heat up, and I then eat the stew until I am fed up with it, so I freeze the remains, one with most of the stock to use as the base of the next batch.

 

[AndBreathe]

I am a simple one pot cooking person if I can get away with it

I used to love cooking my elderly mother vegetable stews often with minced pork , minced beef or cuts of chicken , lamb etc

But obviously back then I could chuck the lot in with one of those stockpots ?

I know potatoes , parsnips , butter beans , swede are a bit risky ?

Am I OK with cabbage , onions , greens , frozen peas , sprouts ?

And anybody know a substitute for kidney beans in a chilli ?

I love soup on a cold day. I just make or use a stock, then throw in whatever veg is hanging around. When done, blend or not.

I was quite surprised to find a half pot portion of M&S Pean and Ham soup was calculated at 12gr carb. It had clear and obvious peas and ham in it (rather than just being a smooth green liquid).

In fact it was so thick I loosened it a bit with a splash of milk.

 

[Taffyboyslim]

Carrots are not a high carb food but they are one of the highest carb vegetables. Still lower carb than potatoes and bread, pasta, rice etc. And they provide vitamins and trace elements, so be mindful of portion size and don't have them with every meal. I think there is a suggestion that they are in the amber zone with regard to carbs, so choose mostly from the green (low carb) zone with green veg and meat fish eggs etc and perhaps one item from the amber zone, so don't have both carrots and parsnips with the same meal or a half portion of each. Nothing is totally off limits, even the odd potato or slice of bread which I believe is something you were asking about on another thread, although I personally would rather "spend" my carb allowance on things other than bread these days. Plenty of tastier things to eat..... and this from someone who was a serious bread lover from a very early age.

Interestingly, beetroot is also one of the highest carb veggies but I can eat pickled beetroot from the jar even though sugar is used in the pickling process, and not see any impact on my BG levels, so things like pickled beetroot and pickled gherkins feature quite a lot in my diet and go well with ham/gammon/beef and the gherkins go well with scrambled eggs and omelettes for me. Easy just to open a jar and have some extra veggies on your plate plus they add lots of extra flavour pickled. Of course you may not like pickled veg....

That's good to know

Peas again in moderation ?

I am just think of my standard , run of the mill veggie stew sort of soup or stew plus meat dish , I wouldn't go for peas or carrots in a big way

 

[Taffyboyslim]

I do a stew in my pressure cooker, meat first, if it is done from raw, but I usually have some left over swede to eat with it, and that would have been pressure cooked the day before as the flavour is too strong for me if cooked in with the rest.
I fry up onion and beef first, then add stock and cook on low pressure for a while - up to an hour for the really tough but cheap beef cubes. I then turn off the heat and allow everything to cool down naturally.
If the result is very fatty I sieve out the liquid and put it in the freezer or fridge until the fat sets and it can be removed to use for cooking or frying. I return the liquid, then put in a pack of mixed frozen veges - having selected the mixture without sweetcorn, for the lowest carbs, add boiling water from the kettle and cook for a few minutes at high pressure. I put a perforated basket of potato in the top, for my husband, and cook some frozen peas separately as he doesn't like the mixed veges. I mash the swede and put it in the halogen oven or the microwave to heat up, and I then eat the stew until I am fed up with it, so I freeze the remains, one with most of the stock to use as the base of the next batch.

If I cook a veg stew with meat such as pork or chicken , eat then let it cool and put it in the fridge how long do I have to use it up ?

And would you suggest slowly reheating it portion by portion on the hob or microwave ?

 

[rebrascora]

10-20 peas in your portion of stew is not going to make a big difference to your BG.

 

[rebrascora]

Do you not have a freezer?
I have eaten things from the fridge a fortnight old, but I reheat them after a week in the microwave to kill any developing bacteria and then put back in the fridge what I don't eat. Some things I will have reheated twice or even 3 times. Stews tend to get better as they age.

 

[Leadinglights]

I have just put a casserole in the oven, steak, onions, a carrot, half and aubergine, red and green peppers, a tin of chopped tomatoes, herbs and spices.
Also in a chilli, a tin of kidney beans, well washed is a good idea, when divided by 4 or 6 portions will not be many carbs, I also add courgette, carrot, celery, green peppers plus the mince beef. In fact any veg knocking around will usually go in.

 

[Taffyboyslim]

I love soup on a cold day. I just make or use a stock, then throw in whatever veg is hanging around. When done, blend or not.

I was quite surprised to find a half pot portion of M&S Pean and Ham soup was calculated at 12gr carb. It had clear and obvious peas and ham in it (rather than just being a smooth green liquid).

In fact it was so thick I loosened it a bit with a splash of milk.

My mum had dementia and towards the end I had to blast it in the liquidiser

But generally it's fry a large onion in butter , add mixed herbs

Fry meat .....bits of chicken or beef or pork ......or minced beef , turkey or pork till sealed



Add all veg in one , don't spend too much time prepping it

Usually cabbage , sprouts , peas

Sometimes no meat , just veg

Add pint of water from boiling kettle , stock cube , usually a vegetable one

Simmer in pot for 30 minutes , add cornflour to thicken if needed

Used to have big slices of bread and cheese

 

[Leadinglights]

If I cook a veg stew with meat such as pork or chicken , eat then let it cool and put it in the fridge how long do I have to use it up ?

And would you suggest slowly reheating it portion by portion on the hob or microwave ?

I don't normally keep it for more than 2 days so would put some in the freezer on day 1 if there was more than needed.
That was one of the things I found was what would previously have done 4 portions are now doing 6 so it means there are 2 portions for a home made ready meal in the freezer.
You can buy those take away type tubs pretty cheaply and they can be reused many times.

 

[Taffyboyslim]

Do you not have a freezer?
I have eaten things from the fridge a fortnight old, but I reheat them after a week in the microwave to kill any developing bacteria and then put back in the fridge what I don't eat. Some things I will have reheated twice or even 3 times. Stews tend to get better as they age.

You can cook a chicken or pork stew ......eat a portion .....let it cool ....in the fridge it goes ......reheat it after a few days to kill off bacteria .....and then even heat this and eat again ???

I thought this would be a no no because of possible food poisoning , especially chicken and pork ?

You learn something every day

 

[Taffyboyslim]

I have just put a casserole in the oven, steak, onions, a carrot, half and aubergine, red and green peppers, a tin of chopped tomatoes, herbs and spices.
Also in a chilli, a tin of kidney beans, well washed is a good idea, when divided by 4 or 6 portions will not be many carbs, I also add courgette, carrot, celery, green peppers plus the mince beef. In fact any veg knocking around will usually go in.

I use peas in a chilli instead of kidney beans but if a tin used sensibly is OK?

 

[Leadinglights]

Do you not have a freezer?
I have eaten things from the fridge a fortnight old, but I reheat them after a week in the microwave to kill any developing bacteria and then put back in the fridge what I don't eat. Some things I will have reheated twice or even 3 times. Stews tend to get better as they age.

From a microbiologists point of view, I think that is a bit dodgy, you must have a cast iron stomach.
There are some bacteria which once having grown in the food leave behind a nasty present of toxins they have produced so even though reheating may kill the bacteria the toxin is still there.

 

[rebrascora]

I don't reheat and eat anything which has obviously gone off but things last a lot longer than people are led to believe. If you are worried you can reheat every few days to knock back any bacteria.

 

[zuludog]

I live on my own, and if I buy salad I end up having it for several meals in a row or it goes off faster than I can eat it
So if the salad is starting to look a bit tired I make a batch of veg stew in a slow cooker -
onions, garlic, the usual stew veg except starchy stuff, and a can of beans/lentils/chick peas
Also leftover salad including cucumber and lettuce, just dice it fine and it blends in

Veg stew tends to grow & grow; any I can't eat I put into the freezer in plastic bags.

 

[Leadinglights]

I live on my own, and if I buy salad I end up having it for several meals in a row or it goes off faster than I can eat it
So if the salad is starting to look a bit tired I make a batch of veg stew in a slow cooker -
onions, garlic, the usual stew veg except starchy stuff, and a can of beans/lentils/chick peas
Also leftover salad including cucumber and lettuce, just dice it fine and it blends in

Veg stew tends to grow & grow; any I can't eat I put into the freezer in plastic bags.

I find the bags of salad though convenient go off much more quickly than getting a lettuce, cucumber, celery, red cabbage, carrots, peppers which can be used to make a salad with some added seeds or nuts.

 

[Taffyboyslim]

From a microbiologists point of view, I think that is a bit dodgy, you must have a cast iron stomach.
There are some bacteria which once having grown in the food leave behind a nasty present of toxins they have produced so even though reheating may kill the bacteria the toxin is still there.

I find the bags of salad though convenient go off much more quickly than getting a lettuce, cucumber, celery, red cabbage, carrots, peppers which can be used to make a salad with some added seeds or nuts.

I agree but I tend to buy the plain salad bags and just add tomatoes, spring onion and cucumber

I am not one for fancy salads