Is this a healthy dish?

[frosting]

Wondering if I'm kidding myself, or something I've come up with over the last couple of years is healthy to eat.

Its sort of a vegetable stew comfort food. I usually put it over rice, recently switched to brown rice.

"Vegetable Stew"

3 or 4 Red Bell Peppers, cut up into bite size pieces. Add about half a cup of water and cook down, adding water as needed. A couple table spoons of olive oil.

After that Is cooked down I add about half a cup of olive oil. I really like what olive oil does for it. Most spices I use tend to be salt free. I typically make it quite spicy with a chili powder. There are no nutritional facts on it to know if there is salt or not. Sometimes I add 1/3 a cup of brown sugar so I get a "spicy/sweet" going on I really like.

I normally don't add any dairy but this time around I used too much chili powder and in an attempt to cool it down I added about a half cup of sour cream and 3/4 cup of whole milk.

I also add 2 cans of red or pink beans with the water inside, 1 can of corn with the water, and can of sodium reduced peas water drained.

--

So what do you think? Anything I should tweak? Is it healthy?? Skipping the dairy and being smarter with the chili powder I plan to. Same goes for the sugar, while I like what it adds I realize I should nix it.

[IvyW]

"fresh is best"

so to my standards.. no your meal isn't healthy. we all have our own opinions though however, its a lot better than going out and eating a cheese burger.(assuming u watch the amount you eat)

to tweak it a little bit.. do it without the beans or without the rice. or without both=)

you can also use fresh veges instead of can..

[frosting]

why without the beans? Just curious as protein is good for you.

[IvyW]

You are absolutely right about protein being good for u.

because fresh is best=) plus beans are also hard to digest. Also, with both rice & beans it kinda turns it into a heavy meal. If your not a vegetarian/vegan or whatever you can add some lean meat to it. or keep both beans & rice lol idc just trying to help you "tweak" it

like i said we all have different opinions on whats good for you and whats not
I would suggest doing your own research and deciding for yourself how to turn it into a better meal.

[wanzulfikri]

From the looks of it, it looks okay especially when you use brown rice.

[votoshka]

I would probably change the tinned veggies and beans for fresh veggies and dried beans (soaked overnight first). Apart from that, it's healthier than a lot of what people eat.

[ButterflyWoman]

Originally Posted by votoshka

I would probably change the tinned veggies and beans for fresh veggies and dried beans (soaked overnight first). Apart from that, it's healthier than a lot of what people eat.

Ditto. And I'd be careful with the amount of sugar.

[versy]

Originally Posted by IvyW

"fresh is best"

Yes, I agree, fresh is best. having natural food is always good than having all tinned foods, so try to eat natural homemade foods than foods with preservatives, it is not healthy.

[Razia]

Dish seems to be interesting, to be healthy its just needed to have natural & fresh ingredients.

[frosting]

Originally Posted by versy

Yes, I agree, fresh is best. having natural food is always good than having all tinned foods, so try to eat natural homemade foods than foods with preservatives, it is not healthy.

Some tinned foods don't have preservatives actually. According to nutritiondata.self.com they still have plenty of the minerals, vitamins, ect too.

Fresh IS best, when you're rich. For po folk like me we can't always afford fresh. LMAO. No, but really.... a 20 or 40 dollar a week food budget doesn't take you far :P

[ButterflyWoman]

Dried legumes (beans, lentils, peas, etc.) are some of the cheapest foods you can buy. Excellent value for the money.

[IvyW]

Originally Posted by frosting

Some tinned foods don't have preservatives actually. According to nutritiondata.self.com they still have plenty of the minerals, vitamins, ect too.

Fresh IS best, when you're rich. For po folk like me we can't always afford fresh. LMAO. No, but really.... a 20 or 40 dollar a week food budget doesn't take you far :P

you can also buy whats in season. Ill spend about 30 a week on fresh and 10 bucks on chicken breast. My husband and i have completely different diets though.. so the 40 bucks i spend is just for one person.
im not sure how many people you are feeding though. if you have a big family then yeah it wont take you very far.

however the above post is right. if you want beans, its a lot cheaper to buy a bag of dried. you get a good amount for the $

[firenexx]

There is no such thing as "healthy" since it is a relative term. Your dish is healthier than twinkies, but not as healthy as purslane and mezclun topped with julienne carrots.

So your dish will never be healthy, but a bowl of purslane and mezclun will never be healthy either, it will just be healthier than pasteurized milk and less healthy than purslane, mezclun and sprouted hemp seeds.

So if you are looking to make this healthier... 1/2 cup is a LOT of oil. 1/3 cup is a LOT of sugar.

Chili powder is very good for you. It helps clean out your sinuses and does a bunch of other stuff.
In fact, nearly all spices/herbs/seasonings (chili powder is technically a powdered, dried fruit since chili peppers are botanically a fruit) are good for you since they contain large amounts of antioxidants. In such a dish I might also put ground cumin or curry powder. Fresh basil, parsley, etc.
(Please not that seasonings that contain lots of salt or preservatives or MSG are NOT good for you).
II saw beans mentioned. One of the healthiest ways to cook dry beans is to sprout them first, and then steam them. It is humorous that a lot of people think beans are a good source of protein - sure, they can be, but if you boil the ♥♥♥♥ out of them for an hour, you've destroyed most of the protein and good luck to your stomach trying to absorb that. Still a great source of fiber though!

I noticed that you add canned corn/beans/etc. Don't add the water! It usually has loads of salt and preservatives. It can also contain Bisphenol A (BPA) from the can lining - the can doesn't have to say this on it. Sometimes, frozen vegetables are a better option when looking for a similar convenience. And, of course, dried beans. You can also sprout them first, which would make cooking quicker and would make them healthier.