FitFarms Retreat High Protein Stew

FitFarms Stew From The Residential Weight Loss Retreat

This is a FitFarms favourite dinner dish! Traditionally, a beef stew is packed with root vegetables such as potatoes, parsnips, and carrots, but we've swapped these for butternut squash to keep the overall carbohydrate content lower while still adding plenty of flavour and nutrition.

As a general guideline, we encourage eating starchy carbohydrates earlier in the day, when you have more opportunity to burn off the carbohydrates through daily activity. In the evening, it's often better to focus on fibrous vegetables, which are filling, nutrient-dense, and lower in carbohydrates.

A simple rule of thumb is that many starchy vegetables tend to grow underground (such as potatoes and parsnips), while many fibrous vegetables grow above ground (such as broccoli, cabbage, courgettes, and green beans). It's not a perfect rule—there are exceptions but it's a helpful way to make healthier choices when planning your meals. Butternut squash strikes a great balance between fibrous and starchy.

FitFarms Ingredients (Serves 6)

800g stewing beef, diced 2 tbsp plain flour 2 tbsp rapeseed oil 1 large onion, chopped 1 medium butternut squash, peeled and diced 2 celery sticks, chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced 2 tbsp tomato purée 500ml beef stock 1 tsp dried thyme 2 bay leaves 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce 150g red lentils, rinsed Salt and black pepper, to taste

FitFarms Kitchen Cooking Method

Heat the oil in a large casserole dish or heavy-based pan over a medium-high heat. Toss the diced beef in the flour, seasoning with salt and black pepper, then brown the meat in batches until nicely coloured. Remove the beef and set aside.

In the same pan, add the onion, butternut squash and celery cooking for 5–7 minutes until they begin to soften. Stir in the garlic and tomato purée and cook for another minute to develop the flavour.

Return the beef to the pan and pour in the beef stock. Add the thyme, bay leaves, and Worcestershire sauce, then stir everything together and bring to a gentle simmer.

Cook in a preheated oven at 150 degrees for 3.5 hours, until the beef is tender and the sauce has developed a rich flavour.

Around 20–30 minutes before serving, stir in the rinsed red lentils and continue cooking until they are soft and have naturally thickened the stew. If the stew becomes too thick, simply add a little extra stock or water until you reach your desired consistency.

Before serving, remove the bay leaves, taste the stew, and adjust the seasoning if needed. Serve hot on its own or with your favourite side of green vegetables.

Here are some more great high protein healthy food recipes from the BBC

Calories: 355 kcal Protein: 33g Carbohydrates: 15g Fat: 14g

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