Vegetable stew, calorie content and dietary properties

What is vegetable stew?

Vegetable stew, the calorie content of which depends on the ingredients included in it, is a collection of various chopped vegetables and legumes stewed in a thick sauce. It can be prepared as an independent full-fledged dish or as a hearty and healthy side dish. Since ancient times, this simple dish was prepared in Rus' in a Russian oven, and the name stew was used to denote a foreign dish.

Today, this word does not denote a specific recipe, but a technological cooking process using modern means:

• ovens;
• multicookers;
• frying pans;
• pressure cookers;
• microwaves;
• air fryer.

Stewing is the most healthy and dietary way of cooking food, so stew can be safely classified as a healthy food dish.

Chemical composition and benefits of stew ingredients

Vegetable stew, the calorie content of which depends on the ingredients used, can be prepared from a huge number of food combinations. You can include any vegetables in the dish. The most common and useful component of vegetable stew is cabbage, and you can use not only white cabbage, but any types of cauliflower, Chinese and Brussels sprouts, broccoli, kohlrabi, as well as their combinations.

It is an excellent source of soluble fiber and plant fibers, many minerals and vitamins, including ascorbic acid. Cabbage perfectly nourishes and cleanses the body.

An essential ingredient in almost any dish is onion, which is a source of essential compounds of phytoncides, flavonoids and vitamins that help destroy viruses and pathogenic bacteria in the intestines, strengthen the body’s immune functions, and normalize metabolism.

Carrots contain a large amount of carotene, healthy sugars, carbohydrates, many minerals and fiber. It has a beneficial effect on the digestion process and normalizes glucose levels.

The use of sweet bell peppers and tomatoes in the recipe has a beneficial effect on cardiac activity, helps strengthen the walls of blood vessels, stops cellular aging and strengthens the immune system. Pumpkin will compensate for the deficiency of rare vitamin T, which accelerates metabolic processes and therefore promotes weight loss.

In addition, eating pumpkin has a mild laxative and diuretic effect, which allows you to remove decay products and excess fluid from the body, eliminates swelling, and normalizes blood pressure.

Legumes contain vegetable protein, which is necessary for the health of the nervous system and the structure of muscle fibers, so they must be included in the recipe for preparing vegetable stew, but in limited quantities, since they greatly increase the nutritional value of the dish.

Zucchini and celery root contain a minimal amount of calories, and the feeling of fullness does not leave for a long time. In addition, these vegetables accelerate lipid metabolism, which promotes the natural process of breaking down the body's fat reserves and removing them with excess fluid.

The spicy taste and aroma of garlic not only improves the taste of the dish, but also perfectly helps fight infections and prevents colds, especially during the autumn off-season and epidemics.

Calorie table for vegetable stew per 100 grams

Vegetable stew, the calorie content of which consists of the nutritional value of the original products, can easily be varied in composition, replacing some components with others, increasing or decreasing their quantity:

The nutritional value of vegetables is very low, so the average calorie content of the finished stew will be low: from 25 to 55 kcal per 100 g.

How to reduce the calorie content of stew?

The ingredient in the stew whose calories have the greatest impact on the nutritional value of the entire dish is butter. In this regard, it has been noted that usually when the number of ingredients increases, the average calorie content of the product decreases.

This rule applies only under other equal conditions: if you compare a purely vegetable stew with a purely vegetable one, a meat one with a meat one, etc. The fact is that, as already mentioned, the first product is fried, and the rest are practically stewed in their own juice.

Naturally, a product fried in oil has more calories than a stewed one. The larger the mass of the dish is stewed rather than fried, the lower the calorie content.

Nutritional value depending on cooking method

Stewing is the most dietary way to prepare vegetable stew, but not everyone likes the taste of only natural vegetables. You can enhance the appetizingness of the dish with the help of aromatic spices.

Calorie content of vegetables that can be included in stews

If, in the process of preparing vegetables, you use vegetable oil to fry onions and carrots, the taste becomes brighter and richer, but the calorie content of the finished stew increases. Vegetables baked in the oven become drier and more concentrated, and therefore their nutritional value per 100 g increases.

How to cook vegetable stew?

To prepare a classic stew, we need fresh vegetables (potatoes, carrots, zucchini, eggplant, onions and tomatoes), which we carefully cut and fry separately in vegetable or olive oil. You can also fry the vegetables in stages, adding them to the pan gradually, one after another. After frying, place the vegetables in a deep pan, add a little water, salt, add spices and simmer over low heat.

If you are not on a diet and do not want to calculate how many calories are in vegetable stew, then you can safely add fried chopped meat to the vegetables. This dish will not only be very tasty, satisfying and juicy, but will also acquire a characteristic meat aroma. If the calorie content of the stew is of fundamental importance, then during the cooking process you can eliminate the stage of frying the vegetables. This will not only reduce the consumption of vegetable fats and oils, but will also significantly reduce the cooking time and also reduce the overall calorie content of the stew.

Dietary properties of the dish

Vegetable stew, which is low in calories, has many other properties that are beneficial for people on a diet:

• easily absorbed and digested;
• stimulates digestive processes;
• improves intestinal motility;
• normalizes stool and relieves constipation;
• has a beneficial effect on the functioning of the biliary and excretory systems;
• has a gentle effect on the mucous membrane of the stomach and intestines;
• is a source of vitamins, dietary fiber and essential microelements;
• clears bad cholesterol;
• normalizes metabolism and metabolic processes;
• promotes natural weight loss.

Useful properties of vegetable stew

Vegetable stew is not only tasty, but also healthy! First of all, the benefits affect the state of the digestive system (stomach, intestines).

Useful properties of vegetable stew:

1. Easily absorbed by the body;
2. Improves intestinal function;
3. Useful for gastritis and impaired intestinal motility;
4. Rich source of vitamins and dietary fiber;
5. Contains minerals: -potassium; -phosphorus; -magnesium; -iron;
6. It is a therapeutic food for people who are overweight or obese and have diabetes;

Vegetable stew contains large quantities of fiber and B vitamins, nicotinic acid, ascorbic acid and vitamins A and E.

The dish not only saturates your body, but also cleanses the intestines of toxins. It is useful to eat vegetable stew with meat, it facilitates digestion and absorption of proteins.

How to eat vegetable stew on a diet?

Vegetable stew is a low-calorie dish that is recommended to be included in the regular menu. It is useful for both children and adults, and especially for those who watch their figure and limit caloric intake.

On a diet, you can safely consume 1-2 servings of stewed vegetables per day, combining them with protein foods: lean meat or fish, various seafood. The best time for vegetable stew is lunch and dinner. The only thing that nutritionists warn against exceeding the total daily norm is 1-1.5 kg of vegetables and fruits.

What is stew?

A traditional stew must have beans or meat. You can choose any meat for the stew, but you should remember that the calorie content of the stew will be higher if you use, for example, fatty pork. In the past, game meat was often chosen as hunting was a common way of obtaining food in those days. It must be said that the use of game made this dish more useful. The fact is that such meat is lower in calories, which means that the calorie content of the stew will be less than if you add domestic animal meat to it. It is interesting to know how many calories are in a stew prepared according to a traditional recipe.

The stew must contain vegetables. The amount of vegetables should be equal to the amount of meat. It is allowed to have a little more meat. If you are preparing a stew with meat, then usually the meat is first cooked separately and then mixed with vegetables. The calorie content of a stew that uses meat can range from 120 to 240 kcal, depending on the ingredients. As you can see, the recipe is not at all complicated, but the dish turns out tasty and nutritious.

Meat increases the nutritional value of the product because it provides protein that our body needs. It certainly improves the taste characteristics of the dish. However, this does not mean that you cannot cook stew without using meat. Excluding such an ingredient as meat from the recipe will significantly reduce the calorie content of the stew. In addition, it will be easier to digest, which is important for people suffering from gastrointestinal diseases. Vegetable stew will be an excellent alternative to traditional stew also for those who are watching their figure or for other reasons cannot eat meat. So how many calories are in vegetable stew?

Recipes for dietary vegetable stew

The composition of vegetables in a dietary stew is determined not only by taste preferences, but also by the seasonal availability of certain products. If possible, you should opt for zucchini and eggplant, which are low in calories but satisfy your hunger for a long time. Mushrooms are also well-saturated, which will enhance the taste of the dish.

Starchy potatoes should not be completely excluded from the diet of those losing weight, since they also contain a large amount of substances and microelements useful for humans. Just don’t do this in too large quantities, diluting it with other vegetables: turnips, celery root, rutabaga.

The sequence of adding each vegetable is strictly determined by the time of its preparation, which should be taken into account so that the stew does not turn into an unappetizing porridge. To reduce the amount of salt and make the taste of the finished dish brighter, you need to use various spices and seasonings, which also speed up metabolism and promote fat burning.

With broccoli

First you need to rinse and peel all the vegetables.

1. The carrots need to be cut into thin strips, and the onion should be chopped into half rings.
2. You can lightly fry the vegetables in a small amount of vegetable oil in a deep frying pan or saucepan. If the diet is very strict, then this step is skipped.
3. The stalks of 2 eggplants should be removed, but the skin need not be peeled. Cut the fruits into medium-sized pieces, add to the onions and carrots and simmer over low heat, pouring a little liquid into the bowl.
4. Now you need to send a straw of sweet bell pepper there. You can take 2 pods of different colors for a brighter look of the finished dish.
5. If necessary, cut the broccoli florets into pieces of the same size. To maintain a bright, rich color, vegetables can be blanched in boiling water for 2-3 minutes and then immersed in cold water.
6. Tomatoes can be peeled by making a cross cut and placing the fruits for 1-2 minutes. into boiling water. Then the tomatoes must be chopped and added to the bowl with stewed vegetables along with the broccoli.
7. Now you should salt the stew and add your favorite spices. Freshly ground black and red pepper, nutmeg, curry, cumin or cardamom work well.
8. After this, cover the dish tightly with a lid and simmer for another 10 minutes.
9. Chopped fresh dill, parsley and cilantro can be mixed with finely chopped garlic, lightly grind the mixture and add to the finished dish.

With zucchini without oil in a frying pan

Vegetable stew based on young zucchini has a delicate, light texture and neutral taste, so you can add any vegetables to it as additional ingredients.

• A peeled large onion should be cut into large cubes, and 2 carrots should be chopped into thin circles.
• Vegetables need to be sautéed in a deep frying pan or saucepan in vegetable oil until soft.
• Now you should send the potatoes cut into large slices there. 1 tuber per serving will be enough.
• White cabbage should be chopped into thin strips, lightly kneaded, salted and sent to the rest of the vegetables for stewing under the lid.
• Several pods of sweet bell pepper need to be peeled from seeds and stalks, cut into thin strips and placed in a bowl, thoroughly mixing all the vegetables.
• Young zucchini must be cut into medium cubes and added to the rest of the ingredients, stir gently, cover the pan with a lid, and simmer until half cooked.
• Now you can pour 100 ml of tomato juice with salt, pepper and spices into the bowl, cover tightly with a lid and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes.
• You need to add finely chopped herbs and garlic to the finished dish for flavor.
• You can serve zucchini stew with a spoonful of sour cream or low-fat yogurt.

With Chiken

Dietary vegetable nutrition must be supplemented with protein foods, and chicken breast is considered the most suitable option for this, since it contains a minimal amount of fat, and cooking in the oven allows you to prepare the most healthy dish.

1. It is necessary to cut 0.5 kg of chicken meat into small identical pieces and place it on the bottom of a thick-walled pan or casserole dish. If desired, you can prepare the dish in portions in ceramic pots, evenly distributing all the ingredients in them.
2. Peeled onions need to be chopped into half rings and mixed with chicken meat, add soy sauce and a little freshly ground pepper.
3. In the meantime, you need to start preparing the remaining vegetables. Potato tubers must be thoroughly washed and cut into small slices or equal slices.
4. Eggplants should be cut into medium-sized cubes.
5. Sweet bell pepper pods must be peeled from seeds and stalks and cut into large squares.
6. Fresh cauliflower must be thoroughly washed in running water and divided into inflorescences of the same size.
7. Tomatoes need to be grated, removing the skin. You can replace fresh tomatoes with canned tomatoes in their own juice or with tomato paste diluted in water.
8. Now you need to place all the vegetables in a bowl with the marinated chicken. You can lay it out randomly or in layers, sprinkling with spices and herbs.
9. At the end, all the vegetables need to be poured with pureed tomatoes. You can add a little spicy adjika. Cover the dish with a lid and place in an oven preheated to 180 degrees for 30-40 minutes.
10. After which you need to turn off the heat, but do not take out the dishes, let the dish simmer and brew for another 20 minutes.

With mushrooms in a slow cooker

It is fashionable to prepare a very tasty and satisfying dish without much difficulty using a multicooker, in which food is prepared without human intervention, you only need time to prepare the ingredients:

1. First you need to wash and peel 3-4 potato tubers, cut into large slices and place in a multicooker bowl.

2. Fresh mushrooms must be thoroughly washed and cut into equal parts and sent to the potatoes.
3. A medium-sized peeled onion should be finely chopped into cubes, and large carrots should be grated.
4. Young zucchini should be peeled without removing the core and cut into large slices.
5. All vegetables should be placed in random order in the multicooker bowl, add a small amount of clean drinking water, add salt and spices to taste. You can put 1 laurel leaf.
6. After this, close the lid of the unit, set the extinguishing mode and set the time based on the power of the device.
7. After the sound signal, you can put the stew on plates, after mixing all the components of the dish.
8. Serve mushroom stew with a spoonful of low-fat sour cream or a small piece of butter; you can decorate the dish with fresh dill.

With beans and green peas

A very satisfying dish is made from grain or green beans, which, in addition to onions and carrots, can be supplemented with fresh tomatoes, zucchini and bell peppers. The grains must first be soaked for 12 hours, then rinsed and boiled until half cooked in unsalted water over low heat. Only after this can they be added to the stew.

At the end in 10 minutes. Before the vegetables are ready, you need to add green peas, which will add sweetness to the dish. Beans go well with garlic and walnuts. It is good to decorate the finished dish with plenty of cilantro and parsley.

With basil

Spicy basil is widely used in the cuisine of the southern peoples of the world; it is especially loved in Italy. This herb goes well with fresh tomatoes, eggplant and garlic. You can take some potatoes and zucchini as a neutral base for the dish. Sweet bell peppers and cauliflower would also be appropriate.

• Vegetables must be chopped and lightly fried in olive oil with sautéed onions.
• Then pour in a small amount of vegetable broth or water, season with a little salt and freshly ground pepper, and cook over low heat, covered, for at least half an hour.
• In 10 min. until ready, add a large amount of pureed tomatoes with chopped basil and garlic, mix and simmer.

Vegetable stew is an excellent dish for an everyday family diet, which can be endlessly varied based on the availability of vegetables, and its low calorie content and enormous benefits make it indispensable for a healthy lifestyle and healthy diet.

Vegetable stew with meat

Universal option

To prepare vegetable stew with meat, you will need any vegetables, but it is better to take young meat with bones.

In winter, a lot of carrots, potatoes, onions, and celery are added to vegetable stew, and in summer it is better to cook it with zucchini, eggplant, bell and hot peppers; garlic is good both in winter and summer, and the abundance of greens makes the taste of the dish unique.

So, the meat stew includes:

• Half a kilogram of beef or lean pork;
• One large carrot;
• Onion head;
• Two bell peppers;
• Half a kilogram of potatoes;
• A little white cabbage, a quarter;
• Peppercorns, bay leaf - 2 sprigs;
• Salt, ground black pepper;
• Three cloves of garlic;
• Fresh parsley, dill, cilantro, basil.

All preparation will take approximately 80 minutes, the calorie content of the dish will be 1180 kcal.

Now let’s learn more about how to cook vegetable stew with meat. Beef meat is cut into small pieces and fried in a frying pan; it is advisable to do this so that each piece is properly fried on both sides.

If you can’t fry all the meat at the same time, you can then add it in batches.

Chop the onion into small cubes, cut the carrots, if desired, into cubes or into short strips, but under no circumstances grate them. Potatoes are also cut into cubes.

Gradually add all vegetables to the meat, starting with onions. As soon as they are fried, take a glass of water and pour it into the bowl in which the vegetables and meat should be stewed. Bay leaf, peppercorns, salt and pepper everything and simmer for about five minutes.

Then place the shredded cabbage on top, stir, reduce the heat and let everything cook for another 50 minutes. From time to time you need to check whether there is water there and, if there is not enough, add a little more. Five minutes before readiness, add finely chopped herbs and garlic.

Summer option

If you prepare a vegetable stew with chicken according to the summer version, it is better to use chicken drumsticks or legs, as they are higher in calories and the dish only benefits from this.

So, the dish contains the following ingredients:

• 5 chicken drumsticks, skin removed;
• Two medium eggplants or one large;
• Two zucchini;
• Two bell peppers;
• Three potatoes;
• Three medium tomatoes;
• One large carrot;
• Two medium onions;
• Three cloves of garlic;
• Vegetable oil - 70 grams;
• Any greens;
• Salt and pepper to taste.

Cooking time is only an hour, calorie content - 1134 kcal.

This vegetable stew recipe is good because it can be cooked in the oven, and all the vegetables remain intact.

Chicken drumsticks are first fried in a frying pan on both sides until golden brown, this will help preserve the juices and flavor of the meat. You can remove the skin if you wish, but this is not necessary.

All vegetables except carrots should be cut into even squares; it is advisable to cut carrots into circles. Finely chop the garlic. Place all the chopped vegetables (except tomatoes) in a large bowl, stir and add half the prepared butter, salt and pepper.

Then place the vegetables on a baking sheet along with the chicken, add oil and put in the oven for half an hour.

At this time, the tomatoes need to be marinated, that is, sprinkle with salt, pepper, add a little vegetable oil and season with garlic on top.

After 30 minutes, remove the vegetables, add tomatoes, garlic and herbs. Place back in the oven for 15 minutes. The dish is ready!