When you’re trying to lose weight you want to make sure you are eating right. It’s one of the most important components of the entire process, after all. But you also don’t want to miss out on some of your favourite foods, right? Which is why you might be wondering ‘is cottage pie healthy for weight loss?’ After all, if you’re looking at different aspects of your health, including  health insurance for mental health and physical health, you want to make the best improvements you can.

What is Cottage Pie?

Let’s start by taking a look at the ingredients of a cottage pie. First up, we have the meat. In a true cottage pie you’re looking at ground beef. Now, ground beef sometimes gets a bad reputation for being unhealthy, but it doesn’t have to be as bad as you might have heard. The best thing is to choose a lower fat variety or you could swap out the ground beef for ground turkey (though that’s actually a turkey Shepard’s pie) and get a leaner product.

Next up, vegetables. Typically you’ll find onions, carrots, and peas, but you could also use things like corn or celery or green beans or any of your other favorite vegetables. This is the part that’s really good for you. Whether you use fresh vegetables, canned, or frozen, you’re going to get some vitamins and minerals and other health benefits out of the vegetables.

The filling that goes in with the vegetables is often a tomato paste with Worcestershire sauce, herbs, beef broth, and flour. Now … those aren’t as healthy for you. Herbs and tomato paste can be relatively good. Depending on whether you’re making your own tomato paste or using it from a can (which can have additives and extra sugar) you might have some better than others. But this is the part that’s going to be the least healthy.

And finally you have potatoes on the top. This is a mashed potato that’s usually made with milk and butter and some seasoning. It’s not overly healthy (potatoes are mostly just starch and butter is really not that healthy) but it’s not too bad either.

For the cottage pie you layer your meat, then your vegetables and gravy, then your mashed potato mixture. In some cases you might also add some cheese to the top to give it a nice crust once it’s baked. And there you have it, cottage pie.

But is it Healthy?

Now you know what goes into making a cottage pie, and we’ve talked about the health benefits (or not) of different parts of it. So what do you need to know about that cottage pie and your weight loss goals? First, look at private health insurance for self-employed people. Then, start paying attention to what’s healthy and what might not be … or what might be a ‘sometimes’ option instead of all the time.

You should know that everything can fit into your diet, if you’re conscientious about it. And that goes for cottage pie as well. The best thing you can do is pay attention to how you’re making it and make a few simple swaps to make it even better.

If you leave it as it traditionally is, you can still include this in your healthy eating plan. It might not help you lose weight, but it can help you enjoy the food you’re eating, which means you’re more likely to stick with your plan and more likely to see results. So, eating to lose weight is going to be a balancing act. You don’t have to give up everything that you love just because it’s not as healthy as something else. You just need to eat it with a little more moderation. That means eating less of it or eating it a little less often. And of course, there are those swaps you could make …

Swapping it Out

First, the mashed potatoes use butter, but you don’t have to use a full fat, high calorie butter to get great flavor. Choose a low-calorie margarine instead. You can also choose low-fat or non-fat milk to mix into the potatoes and still get a creamy flavor without all the calories and fat. It’s a simple swap, but one that can save you a whole lot of calories.

When you’re cooking up the vegetables you could use oil, or you could use a little bit of water as needed. This will help you sauté your vegetables without adding in extra calories. And since you’re using herbs (which don’t add calories or unhealthy additives) you don’t need that oil to add flavor. And you don’t need it to make sure your vegetables are sauteed properly either. So why use it at all?

Swapping out the ground beef or ground turkey (even though it technically changes the name of the dish) is another way to cut down some calories. And one big benefit of this is that you’re likely not going to notice much difference. Ground turkey has a milder flavor and can be a little softer, but with all the flavorful veggies and gravy you’re not going to taste the meat much anyway. Lean meats are always a good option when you’re trying to cut back and make something healthier.

Where it Works

Now, there are some areas where cottage pie really works for your diet no matter what. And that’s because it’s actually great for those who are on specialty diets.

With the ingredients we mentioned above you might not have noticed that the entire thing is gluten free. It’s also paleo friendly and nut free. There are no ultra-processed foods used to create it. You also have the option to swap out your butter and milk for margarine and alternatives to get a fully dairy-free option.

A Great Dinner to Enjoy

You can enjoy cottage pie (or Shepard’s pie) whenever it fits into your schedule and you can feel good about it too. You’ll be able to find a good health insurance company to help you on that track as well. And that’s whether you’re looking for a better plan than what you’ve got with an employer, or anything else you may need. Premier PMI can help you with that and make sure that you’re getting the support you need, all the time.

Choosing a healthy eating plan doesn’t have to mean giving up your favorite foods and getting private health insurance doesn’t have to mean giving up your health. Instead, you can find ways to make sure that you’re getting both at the same time.