Dubious about shepherd's pie

[PickyEaters]

OH and I are embarking on a healthy eating plan to lose weight. He has suggested shepherd's pie to go on the meal list as he "can't eat salad every day" (I like salad). I have never eaten shepherd's pie (I'm an immigrant) but it doesn't look very healthy to me (minced fatty lamb, potatoes and gravy with a few overcooked peas thrown in?), not to mention it sounds like it would taste disgusting! Isn't this something that featured heavily inschool dinners of the 1970s and should be banished to memory?

It's a pretty normal meal which can be made with less fat. Try it before declaring your disgust.

If you’re on a calorie controlled diet just factor it into calories and have with some veg, but no it’s not overly healthy

Can be delicious. Put in a low proportion of lamb and bulk up with onion, grated carrot, mushroom and celery and it's fairly healthy and very filling.

Can also chuck in a handful of lentils or beans to bulk it out and up the protein content without adding more fat.

It’s fucking delicious and not unhealthy as such but it’s not weight loss food, really.

If you’re making it yourself it’s as healthy or unhealthy as you want to make it. Mine is bulked out with lentils and plenty of veg - I don’t like peas but carrots, onions, maybe leeks if they’re in season, some tinned tomato’s and a few fresh tomatoes which will break down in cooking. I tend to do a big batch of meat in the slow cooker and taste as I go to see when it tastes right - seasoning, a few herbs, a bit of Worcester sauce and it can be lovely.

Cottage pie is nicer. Minced, low-fat beef. Carrots, onions, peas, thick stock, chopped tinned tomatoes, all with fluffy mashed potatoes on top.

I love shepherds' pie, but I'm vegan so I use either meat free mince or lentils instead of lamb mince. Could that work for you? Btw, I always lose weight if I have stir fry for dinner for more than a day or two. Could that also work instead of salad all the time?

Nothing disgusting about a shepherds pie. I make a lovely one, and serve it with greens, cabbage, and sweetcorn. I shall be making it a lot over winter. I do eat it in the warmer months.

That should have said do not eat it in the warmer months.

There is nothing disgusting on shepherd's pie and I am a fellow immigrant.
As pps said, just change it up a bit to fit calories. I make mine with more veg, less meat, leaner lamb. Or try cottage pie. Same thing about just lighten it up. It's nice warming meal

🙄nice try

If you are worried about it being fatty, try cottage pie made with lean mince. You can also add, e.g. cauliflower to the mashed potato if you want it less starchy. Cottage or shepherd's pie are great foods to eat in winter; do give it a go before writing it off!

Mashed cauliflower with some low fat cheese in or some mashed swede and carrot make lovely more healthier toppings for a shepherds or cottage pie.

Isn’t it basically a type of a ragoût with mash on top? Or am I doing it wrong? 🤔

I actually make a cottage pie recipe but use turkey mince-very nice too!

There's a lovely BBC Good Food recipe for an Indian-style keema shepherd's pie. I think it uses sweet potato in the mash too. It's delicious. The calorie estimate per serving is > 500.

I make mine (cottage pie I suppose) with lean mince (less than 4 percent) and top with turnip mash rather than potato so it’s ok for weight loss

Agree with PP, do cottage pie instead. Plenty of veg in 5% beef mince and mashed root veg for the top. No potatoes! We use Swede, celeriac, carrot and parsnip.

Echo this recommendation - it's a winner in our house with kids and I make it regularly. Very tasty and a spin on the original

Cottage pie is horrible! Stick with shepherd’s pie, OP, and make sure you have Henderson’s Relish to hand as a condiment. Serve with tenderstem broccoli instead of chips.

Failing that it doesn’t have to be shepherd’s pie, does it? Just “not salad”, which seems fair in November. Spiced lamb chops, tzatziki and a mountain of vegetables might equally suit?

Got my < the wrong way round. It's less than 500 calories per serving.

I recently discovered Felicity Cloakes cottage pie recipe.

its NOT very low fat, but it’s made with shin of beef rather than mince. Somehow it makes so much difference to flavour and texture. It’s excellent and I’ve purchased an additional enamel tin for batch cooking it :)

Cottage pie is better imo. I'm not averse to fat, but lamb mince can be a bit too fatty. There shouldn't be 'overcooked peas' in a shepherd's pie or cottage pie though. You sound very snide about his food choices. I like salad too, but at this time of year it's nice to eat hot food!

This. Cottage pie is the food of the gods.