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.

[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.

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.

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

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.

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.

[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.

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

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 you and everyone was so fab!