Spaghetti Bolognese?

MrStuffins

Hi,

I'm just looking for opinions on Spaghetti Bolognese as a dinner choice? I've been making it for dinner most nights after training (BJJ) as A. I'm trying to structure my meals as I never really eat "dinner", B. It's delicious and C. My limited understanding of food leads me to believe that it contains protein and carbs needed post workout.

How good for me is it? My recipe is very simple:

50g Wholewheat Pasta
150g Minced Beef (5% fat when I can get it)
Approx 200g Dolmio (or similar) Bolognese Sauce.

I don't add salt nor do I really add anything else.

cson

Make your own sauce if you can find the time - if you google it there'll be plenty of instructions on how to do this, tin of chopped tomatoes a few other items and you're set.

thegreatiam

MrStuffins wrote: »

50g Wholewheat Pasta
150g Minced Beef (5% fat when I can get it)
Approx 200g Dolmio (or similar) Bolognese Sauce.

I don't add salt nor do I really add anything else.

You might not add anything but you can be sure they did.

the actual choice depends on what your goal is.

gain weight? lose weight? stay healthy? become pasta eating champion of the south west district?

each goal you have will affect whether or not spag bol is a good choice.

If its losing or gaining weight then the rest of your diet will have more of an effect than one meal choice, portions and your body size will dictate that.

If its staying healthy then store bought pasta sauce is not a great idea. especially when home made pasta sauce is really basic and easy to make.

Its not a completely ****e idea tho.

Same goes for the pasta. while its not a great choice, its not the worst. depending on your own stomach but pasta (wheat) can cause dietary problems, but TBH unless you have a medical condition 50g a day wont kill you.

However, home made Spag bol on a bed of veggies will be a better choice. and is comically easy to cook and can be made in bulk and microwaved as and when you need it.

If your goal is to become pasta champion then 50g aint going to cut it, stop slacking and and boil more pasta.

At the end of the day, one meal wont affect you. your diet as a whole will, as long as it fits into your goals



homemade spag bol:
chop onions, carrots, celery as small as you can, use food processor if possible

fry them on a low heat in butter till they are soft and clear.

add your meat in batches and cook until its brown.

add crushed garlic + herbs (parley basil or Italian herb mix)

add a tin of tomato

let that cook for a while 5/6 mins

add beef stock, a stock cube is ok.

bring it up to the boil then reduce it to a simmer, let it simmer for a while, minimum 20 minutes, longer the better.

you can now let it cool and put it in jars or freeze it.
then just reheat and pour over cooked root veg and some spinach leaves or pasta.

While it does take a little more effort in the beginning you can minimise that by making several days worth of food at once.

for 20-30 minutes effort on one day you can make a weeks worth of dinners much much healthier.

youll also be getting much more veg in your diet.

Gunner1886

Losing weight and gaining weight falls to one thing, calories in, calories out this will change your body composition regardless of what you eat.
now eating for health is entirely different and makes the pasta on your plate a waste of space, sweet potato fries or baked sweet potato would be a far better option.
my recomendation would be if eating for the shape of your body, swap the pasta for dove farms brown rice pasta sold in tesco better option, no nasty extras.
swap your sauce to llyod grossmans its additive free and made with olive oil, take a multi-vitimin I like centrum.
If eating for health, drop the sauces for lean chicken or steak, stir fry or steam half a plate of veg for every meal, 1/4 plate of protein(lean meats) with every meal,
add in 1/4 plate of brown rice or brown rice pasta or even a single sweet potato cut into fries, table spoon of oil with every meal try franks hotsauce if this is too bland for you, throw in a protein shake, handful of almonds or natural yogurt with handful of berries as 2 snacks throughout the day, meal times are unimportant there is no magic windows despite what you hear.

Good luck.

Alf Veedersane

Gunner1886 wrote: »

If eating for health, drop the sauces for lean chicken or steak, stir fry or steam half a plate of veg for every meal, 1/4 plate of protein(lean meats) with every meal,

I never thought of making spaghetti bolognese like that!!!!

thegreatiam

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

I never thought of making spaghetti bolognese like that!!!!

when i college I made duck in orange sauce to impress a girl.

I lacked duck so i just used 2 asda burgers. I also lacked orange sauce so I just used tikka masala sauce. Was very nice. Substitutions are a very common practice in high class cookery.

I still make duck a l'orange in the same method.

Alf Veedersane

thegreatiam wrote: »

when i college I made duck in orange sauce to impress a girl.

I lacked duck so i just used 2 asda burgers. I also lacked orange sauce so I just used tikka masala sauce. Was very nice. Substitutions are a very common practice in high class cookery.

I still make duck a l'orange in the same method.

I'm gonna need a new keyboard.

And coffee refill.

Essien

Time spent developing your understanding of food and learning a bit on how to prepare it is a great investment if you plan to "eat healthy".

@thegreatiam: Was the girl impressed?

thegreatiam

Essien wrote: »

Time spent developing your understanding of food and learning a bit on how to prepare it is a great investment if you plan to "eat healthy".

@thegreatiam: Was the girl impressed?

no, but my flat mates were, Burger tikka masala became a staple.

along with spam fried rice and meat salad

Chazz Michael Michaels

I always boil my mince. You should see the grease that rises to the top. Disgusting. Strain and you are left with grease free mince and the texture is lovely.

Chazz Michael Michaels

I always boil my mince. You should see the grease that rises to the top. Disgusting. Strain and you are left with grease free mince and the texture is lovely.

hfallada

Chazz Michael Michaels wrote: »

I always boil my mince. You should see the grease that rises to the top. Disgusting. Strain and you are left with grease free mince and the texture is lovely.

Or you could just buy the better quality slightly more expensive mince?

Any pre-made sauces are full of sugar and salt. Most pasta sauces in the us have over 30% sugar.

Alf Veedersane

Chazz Michael Michaels wrote: »

I always boil my mince. You should see the grease that rises to the top. Disgusting. Strain and you are left with grease free mince and the texture is lovely.

Dry fry it and you can drain off the fat.

And you're left with something reasonably appetising as opposed to boiled mince.

Trent Houseboat

Chazz Michael Michaels wrote: »

I always boil my mince. You should see the grease that rises to the top. Disgusting. Strain and you are left with grease free mince and the texture is lovely.

I can think of few thing less appetising that boiled mince. Just get some decent mince from your butcher and fry it in batches so you don't have it sitting in puddles of water.
Nothing wront with a bit of grease anyway, that's what flavour's made of.

billy2012

Add a few red peppers and mushrooms nom nom

Chazz Michael Michaels

I always boil my mince. You should see the grease that rises to the top. Disgusting. Strain and you are left with grease free mince and the texture is lovely.

Alf Veedersane

So good you said it thrice?

Chazz Michael Michaels

It's lovely. Don't knock it unless you try it.

Chazz Michael Michaels

It's lovely. Don't knock it unless you try it.

MrStuffins

I used to boil it but it tastes not so good. Now I just put a little (very little) bit of Olive Oil on a pan and fry it!

Thanks for the tips guys. I'm not looking at it as a weight loss thing. I know how to lose weight and have my calories down, but I just want to make sure that i'm not making a boo-boo by eating Spag Bol regularly.

Definitely going to start making my own sauce!

Stojkovic

Always buy good quality lean mince.
Always make your own sauce.

If you cant make simple tomato sauce you shouldnt be allowed near a cooker.

thegreatiam

Stojkovic wrote: »

If you cant make simple tomato sauce you shouldnt be allowed near a cooker.

although someone who cant make a simple tomato sauce probably is looking for any reason to avoid the cooker.

JOSman

Stojkovic wrote: »

Always buy good quality lean mince.
Always make your own sauce.

If you cant make simple tomato sauce you shouldnt be allowed near a cooker.

If your not allowed near a cooker, how do you learn?

danslevent

You could also try Quorn mince

Alf Veedersane

danslevent wrote: »

You could also try Quorn mince

Or clay.

It's cheaper and just as tasty.

MrStuffins

danslevent wrote: »

You could also try Quorn mince

What are the pros over regular lean mince?

SteelyDanJalapeno

MrStuffins wrote: »

What are the pros over regular lean mince?

There is none

thegreatiam

MrStuffins wrote: »

What are the pros over regular lean mince?

worth more points in scrabble

runawaybishop

Chazz Michael Michaels wrote: »

I always boil my mince. You should see the grease that rises to the top. Disgusting. Strain and you are left with grease free mince and the texture is lovely.

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

Dry fry it and you can drain off the fat.

And you're left with something reasonably appetising as opposed to boiled mince.

Why are you throwing away the tastiest bit? Give it to me.

El_Dangeroso

Chazz Michael Michaels wrote: »

I always boil my mince. You should see the grease that rises to the top. Disgusting. Strain and you are left with grease free mince and the texture is lovely.

Boiled mince has the texture of dryer lint, and is just as tasty.

Mellor

I’m a huge advocate of real food, and I think most jars are crap and often full of sugar. I never use them.
But I’m gonna go against the grain here and say that tomato based pasta sauce is an exception, and there’s little wrong with it.

Making a simple sauce yourself is easy of course. And of course it is better. To do it right you need to simmer the tomatoes for a while to remove bitterness. Which is fine, it’s no longer than I’d spend on my homemade thai curry for example.
Except that for me, it’s my go-to meal in a hurry (like Stuffins, often after BJJ). When I’ve spend 2.5 hours training, I prefer the quick option. Kangaroo mince (honestly), tomato pasta sauce plus lots of onions, mushrooms, peppers, (I don’t usually have pasta though).
Somebody made a suggestion that a jar is 30% sugar. No it’s not, not even close. The one I buy is 5%. Which is not significantly different than the sugar content of the tinned tomatoes going into homemade.

Here’s the ingredients for Dolmio – Extra Garlic
Tomatoes 85%, Garlic 8%, Sugar, Onion, Salt, Basil, Citric Acid, Yeast Extract, Pepper, Paprika, Oregano, Fennel, Garlic Extract 0.5%

That’s mostly vegetables and herbs. While the added sugar isn’t necessary, it’s about 1% - if that’s the worst part of your diet then you have nothing to worry about. We need some salt in our diet.
Now I’m not saying that every jar of tomato sauce is fine, I’m sure plenty are terrible. But if you take a minute to check the labels you can find a good one.
To each their own, I’m happy to give up that tiny nutritional edge in the interest of speed when I need it (maybe once a fortnight).
I suppose a perfect solution would be to make my own when I have time and store it in jars ready to go, would that work?

Typer Monkey

In fairness there isn't a huge difference time-wise between opening a jar of Dolmio and opening a tin of chopped tomatoes and adding some dried basil, oregano andsome garlic, even paprika or dried chillis if you like. The time difference is a minute or two surely?

thegreatiam

Mellor wrote: »

To each their own, I’m happy to give up that tiny nutritional edge in the interest of speed when I need it (maybe once a fortnight).
I suppose a perfect solution would be to make my own when I have time and store it in jars ready to go, would that work?

That really is the key. A jar of store bought is fine on occasion, but every day as a substitute for a home made sauce with real veg and nothing extra added is the problem. Plus the cost, home made is a lot cheaper, even more so in bulk.

(I had store bought carbonara last night, takes me the same time to make carbonara from scratch as t does to cook it in the jar, but yesterday I just couldnt be arsed. However its the first store bought sauce ive had in a looooong while. )

rubadub

El_Dangeroso wrote: »

Boiled mince has the texture of dryer lint, and is just as tasty.

If its in a sauce I cannot find much difference, as any moisture lost gets back in. I would not boil mince, no need to bring it to 100C to be properly cooked.

I have only simmered mince a few times, it was handy to do in bulk, I think I had 2x800g packs nearing the use by date so was able to put into bags which were easily added to other things later.

Mellor wrote: »

But I’m gonna go against the grain here and say that tomato based pasta sauce is an exception, and there’s little wrong with it.

+1. In many threads you see comments with people saying they would never every use a jar EVER as though its pure processed poison crap. Then they give their own recipe which nearly always starts off with "get a tin of tomatoes".

Instead of pasta or rice I have being using chopped up raw cabbage as a filler for sauce dishes like spag bol, -cabbage bolognese! Others make "caulflower rice"

thegreatiam

rubadub wrote: »

Instead of pasta or rice I have being using chopped up raw cabbage as a filler for sauce dishes like spag bol, -cabbage bolognese! Others make "caulflower rice"

thinly sliced onions and bell peppers mixed with a handfull of spinach/cabbage stirfried does the job most of the time too.

Manzoor14

rubadub wrote: »

"caulflower rice"

This! So tasty, especially with a hint of spice, paprika or tumeric or similar.

El_Dangeroso

Mellor wrote: »

I’m a huge advocate of real food, and I think most jars are crap and often full of sugar. I never use them.
But I’m gonna go against the grain here and say that tomato based pasta sauce is an exception, and there’s little wrong with it.

Making a simple sauce yourself is easy of course. And of course it is better. To do it right you need to simmer the tomatoes for a while to remove bitterness. Which is fine, it’s no longer than I’d spend on my homemade thai curry for example.
Except that for me, it’s my go-to meal in a hurry (like Stuffins, often after BJJ). When I’ve spend 2.5 hours training, I prefer the quick option. Kangaroo mince (honestly), tomato pasta sauce plus lots of onions, mushrooms, peppers, (I don’t usually have pasta though).
Somebody made a suggestion that a jar is 30% sugar. No it’s not, not even close. The one I buy is 5%. Which is not significantly different than the sugar content of the tinned tomatoes going into homemade.

Here’s the ingredients for Dolmio – Extra Garlic
Tomatoes 85%, Garlic 8%, Sugar, Onion, Salt, Basil, Citric Acid, Yeast Extract, Pepper, Paprika, Oregano, Fennel, Garlic Extract 0.5%

That’s mostly vegetables and herbs. While the added sugar isn’t necessary, it’s about 1% - if that’s the worst part of your diet then you have nothing to worry about. We need some salt in our diet.
Now I’m not saying that every jar of tomato sauce is fine, I’m sure plenty are terrible. But if you take a minute to check the labels you can find a good one.
To each their own, I’m happy to give up that tiny nutritional edge in the interest of speed when I need it (maybe once a fortnight).
I suppose a perfect solution would be to make my own when I have time and store it in jars ready to go, would that work?

I agree with you, but I think I'd still always encourage people to try to make their own spaghetti sauce for a couple of reasons:

1. A LOT of people really do eat everything from jars, back in my college days I was one of them. Making your own sauce can be eye opening in terms of making other dishes. It was for me.

2. It's almost more than half the price

3. Dolmio has yeast extract in it, that's MSG by another word. So Dolmio are really cheating in terms of what it takes to make a tasty sauce and may contribute towards an over reliance on that 'umami' MSG taste to consider food tasty.

Mellor

thegreatiam wrote: »

That really is the key. A jar of store bought is fine on occasion, but every day as a substitute for a home made sauce with real veg and nothing extra added is the problem. Plus the cost, home made is a lot cheaper, even more so in bulk.

If you are having spag bol everyday you got bigger issues than 1g of sugar and a pinch if salt.
I wasn't saying its fine on occasion, I was saying the bad elements are so tiny that not worth sweating about. It's certainly not the worst part of my diet, and my hats is off to anybody who has it nailed down that much.

Typer Monkey wrote: »

In fairness there isn't a huge difference time-wise between opening a jar of Dolmio and opening a tin of chopped tomatoes and adding some dried basil, oregano andsome garlic, even paprika or dried chillis if you like. The time difference is a minute or two surely?

You should be sauting onions first. Then add the above. But it needs to be simmered for about 15 minutes to develop the flavour and remove the bitterness of tinned tomatoes.
Extra time is about 20 minutes to do it right (I make my own sauce for heuvos rancheros)

Tinned tomatoes aren't unprocessed btw. And possibly not always additive free. How many people do it with fresh tomatoes?

thegreatiam

Mellor wrote: »

If you are having spag bol everyday you got bigger issues than 1g of sugar and a pinch if salt.
I wasn't saying its fine on occasion, I was saying the bad elements are so tiny that not worth sweating about. It's certainly not the worst part of my diet, and my hats is off to anybody who has it nailed down that much.

Op is having it most nights. That's enough to worry about whats in it. Like I said, it's not the worst, but it can be improved

While having the same meal every day isn't always a bad thing, having dodgy dolmio would be.

If i was eating it 3/4 nights a week then I would just make a big batch at the start of the week. With as much veg as I could. you might even be able to let it sit on the stove for a couple of days. Or at least in jars in the fridge.

Mellor

El_Dangeroso wrote: »

I agree with you, but I think I'd still always encourage people to try to make their own spaghetti sauce for a couple of reasons:

1. A LOT of people really do eat everything from jars, back in my college days I was one of them. Making your own sauce can be eye opening in terms of making other dishes. It was for me.

I agree. All my other dinners are from scratch, whole foods.
I'd encourage somebody who can't cook to start with pasta sauce.
Because I can, it's different that I choose not to compared to somebody who can't, I think.

2. It's almost more than half the price

For me, It's 69c in Aldi.
I doubt I'd save much my doing it myself

3. Dolmio has yeast extract in it, that's MSG by another word. So Dolmio are really cheating in terms of what it takes to make a tasty sauce and may contribute towards an over reliance on that 'umami' MSG taste to consider food tasty.

I'm never sure what to make of yeast extract tbh. It's a natural ingredient, but it's also very processed. Hydrolysed protein is the same.
Isn't marmite yeast extract, is it the same stuff? I hate it but it could be a new secret ingredient

thegreatiam

Mellor wrote: »

I'm never sure what to make of yeast extract tbh. It's a natural ingredient, but it's also very processed. Hydrolysed protein is the same.
Isn't marmite yeast extract, is it the same stuff? I hate it but it could be a new secret ingredient

Isnt MSG a natural ingredient? FWIW I love the stuff so sad that it has a bad rep from food manufacturers.

I had no idea yeast extract was the new msg.

I used to get bags of it from asian shops sometimes called Japanese salt. for use in stir fries. it really make a huge difference in taste.

Mellor

thegreatiam wrote: »

Op is having it most nights. That's enough to worry about whats in it. Like I said, it's not the worst, but it can be improved

5 nights of dolmio vrs 5 nights homemade amounts to maybe 5-8g of sugar and 2g salt. We need so e salt in our diet. Especially when training.
Over the course of a week this is a totally insignificant difference.

I'd be more concerned about missing nutrients and a lack of variety with either option. Lack of fibre etc
Stuffins, FFS learn a new dinner for the sake of your sanity

MrStuffins

Mellor wrote: »

5 nights of dolmio vrs 5 nights homemade amounts to maybe 5-8g of sugar and 2g salt. We need so e salt in our diet. Especially when training.
Over the course of a week this is a totally insignificant difference.

I'd be more concerned about missing nutrients and a lack of variety with either option. Lack of fibre etc
Stuffins, FFS learn a new dinner for the sake of your sanity

Ha! Yeah i'm not the best cook in the world. I need to change that!

Gonna take a few of the tips from this thread and try a couple of things next time i'm making Spag Bol!

El_Dangeroso

Mellor wrote: »

I'm never sure what to make of yeast extract tbh. It's a natural ingredient, but it's also very processed. Hydrolysed protein is the same.
Isn't marmite yeast extract, is it the same stuff? I hate it but it could be a new secret ingredient

Marmite is very unprocessed yeast extract, hence that 'bitter' taste that puts a lot of people off isn't present in commercial yeast extract. You also get the b vitamins removed etc.

Yeast extract/hydrolysed protein is just MSG by another name. Not really bad for you in the context of foods it naturally occurs in (Parmesan cheese, soy sauce, fish sauce etc. ) but it does mask the natural blandness of processed foods and can lead to overeating. Pringles without MSG would be no where near as addictive.

Gunner1886

If worried purely about sauces use passata its just crushed tomatos

doctorwhogirl

I use courgette, peel into strips with a veggie peeler and sauteed for a few mins and have it as an alternative to pasta! Nom!!!!

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

that is the weirdest sitewide spam i've ever seen