Does a stew count as a healthy meal?

[TheGrinchIsComingToTown]

I'm having a bit of a debate with my mum.

I've made a chicken stew - chicken breast, carrots, peas, onions, potato and gravy.

She says it doesn't count as being "healthy", because of the potatoes. I think it does, because it's got a ton of veg and protein in it.

Basically just that. In the winter my healthy meal staples are stews and soups, but now I feel like they're not actually that good 😅

@Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g to be fair to my mum, she'd always do chicken stew after they've had a chicken roast, using the leftovers - I just get chicken breast because I don't need a whole chicken and it would be such a waste. So she'd do the veg, gravy and then add the cut up chicken - all really in one pot (boil veg in a big pan that's then used for the stew), or browning off beef and then adding it to the big pot. Not sure what else it could be called if it's not a stew?

It’s a stew.
ignore deraillers

Ah, that makes more sense. I do something similar with turkey leftovers. But mostly stew means cooking raw ingredients all together, I'd say.

It's a shame that your DM has made you doubt what's a healthy meal

Of course a stew made from meat and veg including potatoes is healthy

Although the way you make it is bizarre

Boiling the veg first ?!? Cooking the chicken first separately? Then mixing it all together with bistro granules.

Clearly your DM can't cook properly and neither can you which is a real shame because if you cooked it properly it could taste truly delicious

It tastes great thanks.

I cook the veg in the stock, add the chicken and add some granules into that. I don't bin off the water.

Did that make you feel better about yourself?

First two paras fine. Last three are prime mean girl and not really appropriate in a thread about a stew!

What a dick 😂

Your diet sounds fine. A bit more fresh fruit and veg is always grand, but you eat better than most people!

What’s your mum’s diet like, out of interest? What does she consider ‘healthy’? As she seems to have some very odd ideas about nutrition.

It tastes great to you obviously because that's what your DM seems to have taught you as being ok as a stew

It's really not a stew though

It just boiled veg and chicken mixed together in some gravy.

so as PP more like a pie filling

Maybe watch some YouTube videos of how to properly cook a stew / casserole

Your tastebuds will thank you for it I promise

I'm not a mean girl or being a dick at all

I'm just factually pointing out there are better ways to cook a stew ie the proper way

OPs way is bizarre

You're acting like I'm just plonking it all in gravy though, which I'm not? I boil the veg because it just saves time in the slow cooker, the water is still used, I don't think two chicken breasts release enough juice to make a stew. Yes the gravy granules aren't ideal but I have stuff to do, really weird to be this rude about a stew

"proper way" is very much subjective when it comez to cooking😉

Most people would brown the meat/chicken, then add the vegetables + any spices/herbs and cook everything together. Stew is typically a one pot dish. I don’t really understand your methodology, tbh.

However, if you like it the way you make it, there’s no reason to change. You haven’t asked us for cooking advice. 😊

Sounds alright to me. I'd put tons of Worcestershire sauce on it tho.... 😋

Honestly it doesn't sound particularly appetising to me. I wouldn't ever make a stew or casserole with gravy granules..
But it's not me eating it so if you like it, that's the main thing

Sounds more a soup. With a stew it all goes in raw, and cooks over time usually with the cheapest cuts of meat that need ages to tenderise. Stewing steak, oxtail beef cheeks whatever. If you and your family love it that's great. Peas in last minute though, they don't need slow cooking.

A bit of flour to thicken, a spoon of tomato puree and a dash of wine and add stock would be how I'd make the sauce

Ooh only in a beef (not) stew for me, but I always add tomatoes to that too and I feel like it works better 🤣

@ThatTealViewer so basically what I'm doing, but I just cook the chicken through so I can shred it and add it to then be cooked? And you've all got your backs up because it's a bit different to how you do it?😂

I definitely wouldn’t describe how you cook it as a stew (especially as yours seems to be more labour intensive than an actual stew and ends up with a similar end product)
But to answer the question, yes it’s perfectly healthy!! If you wanted it to be perfect (which there is no need to!) then more veg- a different variety added in as well as carrots and peas. And I suppose you could take the potatoes out, but carbs are healthy in moderation and you probably eat less with it being combined in than you would if you had potatoes on the side.

I don’t understand why you oven cook your chicken breast first though. lol Surely if you wanted it shredded and mixed in you just put in the whole breast with the veg at the beginning of the cooking process and just cook it low and slow and then it will become shredded anyway.
I do mine in the slow cooker and literally just bung it all in together (including the raw chicken breast) and some stock and the veg and jobs done (thicken at the end with some gravy granules if you want too or cornflower etc)

I’d be very surprised if it was that low in calories - do you have a very small portion ? I say this because of the gravy but if not using gravy granules that would save a lot of calories

@CoastalCalm it's a tablespoon or two, I've never counted the gravy and I've lost 5 stone this year so it can't be harming me!

Actually gravy granules aren’t as bad as I thought but saying that a 50ml serving wouldn’t work in this house

I honestly don’t know what part of my comment reads like I’ve got my back up, so I’m a bit lost. I said your way wasn’t mine, but it was fine if you liked it and you hadn’t asked for cooking advice?!

However, as you seem to want feedback on your process, I just cook the chicken through so I can shred it and add it to then be cooked doesn’t really make sense. Chicken doesn’t need to be double cooked, so there’s no benefit to doing this, and it’s probably detrimental to the overall flavour and texture. Particularly if you’re not browning it beforehand.

Similarly, boiling vegetables and then adding them to a slow cooker with already cooked chicken and gravy granules is a bit baffling. You’re precooking the various elements separately and then slow cooking them. That’s entirely different to the one pot method I described.

To repeat what I said upthread: However,if you like it the way you make it, there’s no reason to change..

I have no idea how to count them in all honesty 🙈 it's never x grams of gravy powder = x calories, it's always "xml made up to the recipe" and by that point I've given up