Do the vegetables in Bolannaise ‘count’ ?

[FollowYourOwnNorthStar]

I’ve been trying to make a conscious effort to get more vegetables into my day, and one way has been adding more vegetables to stews and things like bolannaise.

Leave aside what exactly should go in a bolannaise sauce (another recent thread!) the vegetables I put in are grated onions, carrots and zucchini, then chopped garlic, baby spinach leaves, mushrooms and any tomatoes if I have them (always used tinned tomatoes too).

In doing so I reduce the mince/meat required for each person, so from a health perspective I thought I was making the meal healthy twice - less meat per serve and more vegetables. (It tastes delicious too!)

However my sister thinks that vegetables like this don’t ‘count’. That by grating and cooking them down so much, their nutritional value is pretty low and, whilst still an ok healthy meal, it’s not as good as I think.

I’ve tried to google the answer, but opinions are divided about eating vegetables cooked or raw with a case made for both sides or in favour of some but not others.

What does everyone else think?

TheChineseChicken

YAallBU for putting vegetables in bolognese
Every recipe I've seen has carrots, celery and onions in. What would you call them?

Spag Bol with six a day

Thanks for the helpful info about serving sizes.

When exactly do I measure the 75 or 80grams? As raw onion, carrot, mushroom, spinach etc? Or as cooked? I imagine some of the cooking weights would reduce significantly (onions, grated carrot etc)

@notacooldad onions and garlic granted but other than that I would only add mince, bacon/pancetta, tinned tomatoes, tomato purée and a shit tonne of red wine. Then slow cook for about 4 hours.

My comment was tongue in cheek though - people can do what they like, obviously!

They wont lose their nutritional content but they will lose a lot of the "fibre" part of what makes them so healthy - thats why you cant get your 5 a day just through drinking 3 smoothies.

FollowYourOwnNorthStar
On the link that December sent about the NHS guidelines it tooks about portion size and cooked and raw weights.
I know you said that you are in Australia so your government may give different advice.
My advice, although not a nutritionist so you can take it or leave it, is not to get hung up on a particular recipe but make sure you have a rainbow' diet throughout the day. That is get a good mix of different colour fruit and veg with your meals. Some cooked, some raw, it's fine.

Yes it counts , I don’t blend mine though as I’m a greedy fucker and feel fuller if it’s all in their whole. I even put peppers in these days

Sorry Chinese!
I didn't realise it was tongue in cheek! I dont always pick up tone!! My lads would prefer your bolognese to mine. Mine is a veggie version which no one else in the world would describe as bolognese!!

I don't know whether veg cooks off.

It is true that if you put an average amount of veg eg 200g of 3 or 4 veg inc onions and tomatoes, then serve 4 with it, that you're not looking at a lot of veg per person.

No need to apologise @notacooldad

I think it’s raw weight. I normally guess at an onion / pepper / carrot being 1-2 portions each, a courgette would usually be 2, and I think half a tin of tomatoes is one portion.

They'd better count bolognais is the only vegetables I get into my toddler and he'll only eat it with mash potatoes as he hates pasta.

I was confused by Bolognese so I looked it up:

^Is it Bolognese or Bolognaise?
Bolognese is a dish that seems to create confusion outside Italy. ... (And by the way, that's Bolognese, not 'Bolognaise', as I have seen it spelled around the world.) First of all, Ragù alla Bolognese, or Bolognese sauce, is only one of the many ways which a meat sauce – or Ragù - can be prepared in Italy.^

Back to all the distractions. www.usingenglish.com/reference/irregular-verbs/sit.html

And as for courgette versus zucchini controversy, I live in Mexico, which is where that vegetable comes from, so why not call them Calabazas, as we do?

@Onescaredmuma
I know they probably aren't ideal, but have you tried given him sweet potato smiles?

For some vegetables, particularly tomatoes, cooking releases more nutrients than raw. If you are cooking them in a sauce, any vitamins list in cooking are going into the sauce. You are also eating less meat per portion.

@IHaveBrilloHair
No I haven't seen them, I will be looking for them when I shop this week! I'll try anything the picky little monster barely eats!

I live in Mexico, which is where that vegetable comes from, so why not call them Calabazas, as we do?
Actually, I may just do that!!!😃

Cooking depletes nutrients but it also makes the nutrients you do eat easier to absorb. That's why raw diets are a fad and essentially bad for you. There's a reason we're the only species in the animal kingdom that cook and are the smartest.

I also have to blend my bolognese sauce for Ds Op,as he has a problem with certain textures .
I keep lots of frozen veg so also add mixed peppers & either sweet potato or butternut squash in with the soffrito,mushrooms,spinach & courgette.

I make it in the slow cooker which is 6.5l so a lot of veg goes in .

I apologise for being patronising. I intended my comment to be aimed at people complaining about spelling and acceptable ingredients for bolognese sauce. But it misfired- I'm sorry!

Does vegetable soup count? Or roast vegetables? Of course they do. Same with your sauce. In fact cooked tomatoes are higher in lycopene than raw tomatoes. Good for heart and anti cancer.

Eating more vegetables is better than not eating more vegetables. Why worry about some arbitrary number of servings etc. You are eating more vegetables than you used to eat.

That is a good thing.

I've never seen bolognese spelt like mayonnaise before.

Be sure to include that in your autobiography @noonarna* *

The deletions are covering a world wide conspiracy to hide the fact that vegetables are disappearing into the ether when you cook them