Teach me what I’m doing wrong with beef

[curiosercurioser]

I cook rice, beef and vegetables for DH regularly. He likes it a lot but I find it mildly unsatisfying.

I’m hoping you lovely mumsnetters will help me discover why.

After we eat, I get a “dull” feeling, as if I’m not quite full. I often feel like I need bread to fill me up. This doesn’t happen with eggs. Eggs make me feel very satisfied and full and content. I thought it could be the protein or the fat? One idea I had was to sprinkle protein flakes on it but its not very natural, is it?

Can you help me understand what is happening and how to fix it? I’d like us to enjoy the same meal without looking like a greedy guts 30minutes later when I eat a sandwich.

[curiosercurioser]

@Pinkstump you and everyone was so fab!

[nonicknameseemsavailable]

mince shrinks a lot when cooked - it usually has a pretty high fat and water content. I would use a pack of meat 500g to feed 4 of us for 1 meal, you are making 6 meals out of it. I rarely cook with mince as I really don't like it and nor does one of my daughters. Could you try using stir fry beef instead or thin sizzle steaks? I think it would feel more substantial. Brown rice will fill you up more that white (sorry if I missed you saying you use brown), vegetables wise you can use anything, I love sweet potato, kale, you can add in kidney beans, or wash the beans from a tin of baked beans and throw those in (I saw that on this morning once).

[Pinkstump]

Go you @curiosercurioser!! I'm glad I was able to help.

[tofuschnitzel]

[quote curiosercurioser]@tofuschnitzel I am too focused on calories, you are right to notice that. DH is so focused on his sports and maybe I absorbed that. I will think again. When you say the benefit of vegetables, you mean the taste, right?

@raddledoldmisanthropist such a helpful comment, thank you. you know, i am cooking the mince saute-style, because i add the vegetables and let them sit together. It does become dull, as you suggest. I'll do it the way you say. So you would sear it quickly and then take it out of the pan? Will it be cooked enough that way?[/quote]
No, I mean the health benefits of vegetables, although they do taste good too! Fruit and veg is so good for you, it's healthy, usually inexpensive, and most importantly it is packed full of vitamins and fibre. Veg is not your enemy, OP.

[GreyishDays]

So are you very restricted in what you cook because of DH watching his weight?
Maybe play around with MyFitnessPal app and then you can be reassured that there are hardly any calories in vegetables (including tinned tomatoes). Potatoes and avacado would be excluded from that.

[merryhouse]

Good god, 500g for 4 people? I use 10oz (280g) for four and consider that fairly generous.

Having said that, I use a lot of vegetables. 100g is only one and a quarter portions, and my meals always contain at least 3.

[curiosercurioser]

@raddledoldmisanthropist I love how you have a whole system! Thanks for sharing.

[raddledoldmisanthropist]

So you would sear it quickly and then take it out of the pan?

If I'm faffing yes. I do it crazy hot in batches so it's frying instantly. It takes me 2-3 hours to do a spag bol doing it properly because there are a lot of faffy bits like that :-)

But most of the time I'd just brown the mince hot then chuck the onions in and turn it down, then start adding the rest. I generally caramelise big batches of onions and keep them frozen so if I've done that they can just get chucked in with the rest.

[shouldhavecalleditoatabix]

[quote curiosercurioser]@tofuschnitzel I am too focused on calories, you are right to notice that. DH is so focused on his sports and maybe I absorbed that. I will think again. When you say the benefit of vegetables, you mean the taste, right?

@raddledoldmisanthropist such a helpful comment, thank you. you know, i am cooking the mince saute-style, because i add the vegetables and let them sit together. It does become dull, as you suggest. I'll do it the way you say. So you would sear it quickly and then take it out of the pan? Will it be cooked enough that way?[/quote]
The vegetables add flavour but more importantly they add a whole host of vitamins and minerals. Plus they add fibre which will help you to feel fuller whilst generally being far lower in calories. Onions and garlic are excellent for flavour and antioxidants. Tomatoes provide vitamin A and lycopene which is another antioxidant I believe. Green veg will load you up with healthy vitamins and fibre.

[shouldhavecalleditoatabix]

@Flaunch

It is weird isn’t it

Jamie Oliver’s Ministry of Food is a great book for people who want to learn to cook simple filling family meals. Plain fried mince sounds dreadful

It's making me chuckle. Plain fried beef mince makes me feel sad! And tinned tomatoes are high in calories? I'm so screwed if that's true.

[curiosercurioser]

@tofuschnitzel I am too focused on calories, you are right to notice that. DH is so focused on his sports and maybe I absorbed that. I will think again. When you say the benefit of vegetables, you mean the taste, right?

@raddledoldmisanthropist such a helpful comment, thank you. you know, i am cooking the mince saute-style, because i add the vegetables and let them sit together. It does become dull, as you suggest. I'll do it the way you say. So you would sear it quickly and then take it out of the pan? Will it be cooked enough that way?

[Flaunch]

It is weird isn’t it

Jamie Oliver’s Ministry of Food is a great book for people who want to learn to cook simple filling family meals. Plain fried mince sounds dreadful

[shouldhavecalleditoatabix]

This is such a strange thread.

[raddledoldmisanthropist]

Agree with all of the above about the mince needing onions, garlic etc.

How hot are you cooking the mince? The pan needs to be empty and really hot so you sear the outside and get a maillard reaction. If you just saute the mince then it goes grey and dull.

You can always take the browned mince out and put it back again when you've cooked your veggies.

[tofuschnitzel]

OP, there is approximately 30 calories per 100g of tinned tomatoes. I really think the benefit of vegetables outweighs the (very low) calories. I am not sure why you are so focused on the calories of vegetables.

[curiosercurioser]

Update, I tried what @MrsMariaReynolds @Pinkstump advised and DH loved it. We're still digesting so will be back if I crave a sandwich is 30mins . I'll try the packing with veg.

MN is aces!

@PickAChew why do you think you have a problem with rice? i'm wondering if maybe I do too.

[curiosercurioser]

@Sooverthemill that's so much veg, wow you're a star! DH would love you.

@VitreousHumour You know you're probably right, I guess it is plain - even dull . DH is big into sports and likes to know exactly what he's eating. That is where I know about protein flakes @grassisjeweled it's like powdered protein that bodybuilders use to get enough per day. You can just add it and it has no taste.

@tofuschnitzel i like your suggestion of packing it with veg. I wouldn't use tinned tomatoes though just for the extra calories for DH. So I think your suggestion is aces, stir fry it and add rice. It's only one extra stage for me.

@Chewbecca Not very common, no! Probably for the best.

[Atalune]

I don’t think @curiosercurioser likes the intimation that maybe the recipes need a tweak or 2.

[Chewbecca]

Yeah, I don’t know what protein flakes are either. I doubt ‘MN’ is anti them, I just don’t think they are very common.

I think my diet is well balanced without having to resort to adding anything like protein flakes.

I do use minced beef about once every few weeks, but never just plain fried. I use it for

• cottage pie
  
• spaghetti bolognaise
  
• chilli con carne
  
• ‘hob to table’ moussaka (from bbc good food)
  
• lasagne
  
• burgers
  
• meat balls
  
• tacos

[tofuschnitzel]

I would add more vegetables, as others have suggested. What do you usually serve with beef and rice? It sounds like you may not be very confident with food/cooking, I'm sorry if I have got that wrong. If you make a Bolognese type dish with the beef mince, you can add all sorts of vegetables to the dish. For a Bolognese I would use beef mince, onions, garlic, carrots, celery, courgettes, and tinned tomatoes. It is filling and packed full of veg.

Or if you are happy with the way you cook beef, you could stir fry some veg and mix it in to the rice once everything is cooked. Broccoli is also lovely with rice, you could have it on the side. What vegetables do you like to eat?

Beef is high in protein, you do not need to worry about that. I'm not sure what protein flakes are so I can't help with your query about using them.

[VitreousHumour]

OP, I can't imagine eating plain fried mince, even with spices. Everything I've ever seen in terms of European cookery serves mince which has been braised in some liquid, usually stock, with additional flavourings. So bolognese sauce /ragu with pasta/spag, or shepherd's pie, or moussaka.
I think one of the reasons you're feeling unsatisfied is because it's such a plain (dull - sorry!) way to serve it!

[grassisjeweled]

Is MN anti-protein flakes?

^

I'll bite.

What are protein flakes?

[Sooverthemill]

I just use what I have: cabbage, carrots, parsnips, peas, bread beans, broccoli, spinach, leeks, we go through so much veg!

[curiosercurioser]

@Sooverthemill that's uncooked weight. Maybe it is a lot.
What vegetables would you recommend?

I'm going to try @MrsMariaReynolds clever suggestion right now, mixed with chickpeas from @Pinkstump. Wish me luck!

[Sooverthemill]

100g of rice seems masses unless that's cooked weight? I do 60g per person of uncooked rice. I agree though that 'mince' in itself isn't a nice meal for me , too many memories of school dinners but transformed into chilli, lasagne, spag Bol etc it's the food of gods. Half your meal should be veg or salad though