Not sure if this is healthy or no... (curry)

[Crunchie]

I've been making this since I was old enough to cook but I'm not really sure how healthy it is. I'll try writing it down and maybe someone can offer an opinion on how to make it a bit healthier.

Chicken and veg curry (serves 2-3)

two table spoons of Patak's korma curry paste (100cal)
1 chicken breast (excess fat removed 140cal)
5 cheasnut mushrooms
4-5 pieces of cauliflower
half red onion
handful frozen peas or sweetcorn
1 chicken stock cube

Add about 200ml water to a pan and bring to boil
Add curry paste and stock cube
roughly chop veg and add to stock, leave to simmer for 10mins
Dice and remove excess fat from chicken and add to veg and stock, cook until chicken is cooked all the way through

Serve with brown rice (100g about 335cal I think)

Alternatively replace paste with curry powder though I've yet to find a brand of curry powder I like!

With paste 625cal
With curry powder 525cal

 

[ImaFatass]

Sure its healthy. For something even healthier, you could skip the brown rice and instead simmer with lentils and water for a low fat low carb high fiber soup.

 

[ImaFatass]

Heres a recipe from 'The World's Healthiest Foods' website

You could add chicken and other stuff and also delete items as you wish:

Curried Lentils

Ingredients:
1 cup brown or green lentils, washed and picked over
4 cups + 1 TBS vegetable broth
1 medium onion, chopped
3 medium cloves garlic, chopped
2 medium carrots, diced into 1/4 inch pieces
2 medium celery stalks,diced into 1/4 inch pieces
2 cups finely chopped kale
2 tsp curry powder
1 15oz can diced tomatoes (do not drain)
3 TBS chopped fresh cilantro
salt and black pepper to taste

Directions:

Rinse lentils in strainer and sort through, removing debris.

Heat 1 TBS broth in medium soup pot. Healthy Sauté onion in broth over medium heat for 5 minutes stirring frequently, until translucent.

Add garlic, carrots, celery, and kale. Continue to sauté for another couple of minutes. Add curry powder and mix to bring out its flavor.

Add rinsed and drained lentils, broth and tomatoes. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium low, and simmer uncovered until lentils and vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes. Add cilantro and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serves 4

Healthy Cooking Tips: Chopping the kale, carrots and celery into the size recommended allows them to cook thoroughly in the time it takes the lentils to cook. The dish also has a better appearance, when they are in proportion to the lentils. In this kind of dish you don’t want them el dente. They are better when cooked longer. Their nutrients are not lost, as they are retained in the broth.

Nutritional Profile

Curried Lentils
1.00 serving = 240.35 calories
%DV Nutrient
vitamin K 493.6% excellent
vitamin A 291.6% excellent
molybdenum 147.1% excellent
vitamin C 123.1% excellent
folate 70.8%
dietary fiber 61.3%
manganese 61.0%
tryptophan 43.8%
iron 37.6%
protein 32.3%
phosphorus 31.3%
potassium 27.5%
copper 26.5%
vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) 25.0%
vitamin B1 (thiamin) 23.3%
magnesium 19.7%

 

[Crunchie]

I suppose you could stuff it all in a brown pita bread or a tortilla wrap too couldn't you. Hmmm possibilities are endless but hey I'll try them all I think!

 

[ImaFatass]

I suppose you could stuff it all in a brown pita bread or a tortilla wrap too couldn't you. Hmmm possibilities are endless but hey I'll try them all I think!

Yup. Really the only item I would avoid is the boullion cubes... They are primarily MSG, which causes weight gain and increases appetite

 

[didactus]

Thanks for link

Heres a recipe from 'The World's Healthiest Foods' website

Thanks for this link. This place looks great.

 

[Crunchie]

Yup. Really the only item I would avoid is the boullion cubes... They are primarily MSG, which causes weight gain and increases appetite

Good God really! I remember my mum doing a diet (can't remember which) and those things were counted as free (i.e. you could eat as much as you want). I remember she used to make very simple soups with them.

Guess we now know why that diet didnt work!