Bulking out Meals?

likabu_2

There are about 35g of carbs in 200g red lentils - not very low carb but cheap!

Lisa

weezl74

Yep, I agree, but Dr Atkins seems to think that lentils are ok post-induction phase, maybe I should call it 'medium-carb'!

L;)

livinginhope

Morning everyone,
was at my Weightwatchers meeting last night and a member mentioned she used porridge oats to thicken stews and casseroles,I have heard of this before,but never done it,how much would you use and does it dissolve? I have a lovely new slow cooker after a few years without one and will be making the stews etc in that if it makes any difference.
Thanks
LIH

MRSMCAWBER

Hi there

I do it .... i just grab a hand full and throw it in with the cooked meat n veg... before adding any stock cube/stock/gravy granules etc...
They don't dissolve, but sort of blend in with the meat/gravy. I do it with bolognaise/chilli/shepherds pie too. I use jumbo oats too, but you can use the finer oats if you are bothered about folks being funny about them if they know they are there ..

luxor4t

I stretch any mince dish with a handful of porridge, even Quorn mince. Nobody has ever noticed because I stir in in well!

trying-very-trying

Thanks for that. I think I'll give it a try, but because my lot are getting wise to most of my little food stretching tips, I think I might try whizzing the porridge oats in the blender first.

kittyscarlett

!!!!!!it MrsM you beat me to it :P

I am a huge advocate of using oatmeal as a thickener and I too go by the " good handful " principle. It's not only one of the most sensible and healthiest wartime eating tips but people, esp. in the North and Scotland, have been using oats in savoury dishes for 100's of years - not only haggis but all kinds of soups and stews etc. You *can* toastthem/dry them off in the oven if you like - gives slightly nutty flavour and helps bulk the meal out. You can add them to meatloaves, sausagemeat burgers and stuffing etc. I even have a Poverty Soup that I made up when I was really skint - handful of oatmeal boiled up them simmered in stock with 1 finely chopped carrot and 1 finely chopped onion - cheap as anything, healthy, tastes better than it sounds !

livinginhope

Thanks everyone,a good handful it is I like the idea of blending them first so they don't look obvious,will try it in my beef casserole tomorrow

shopndrop

I also use a handful in soups, casseroles and love adding them to crumble toppings.

thriftmonster

Thanks for this - I often throw in a handful of red lentils on the same principle but never thought of oats.