On cold winters' nights, stews and casseroles can be soothing — a filling meal to warm you. Pile on the vegetables to accompany these hearty dishes…
Remember, the Tried and Tasted Team don’t know which product is which, so there’s no bias involved!
Beef Stew with Dumplings, Count On Us, Marks & Spencer*
Ranking #1 of 6
This was unanimously voted 'delicious' and our panelists agreed it would be hard to beat. A good size portion, the dish contained two light and tasty dumplings with big chunks of swede and carrot and a generous portion of beef. The gravy complimented the meal. Tasty and filling. Full marks to M&S!
430 Calories per Serving
(454g pack)
Vegetable Stew and Dumplings, Linda McCartney*
Ranking #2 of 6
Tasty dumplings in a very nice savoury gravy with lots of chunky vegetables. Not bad at all and a reasonable sized portion!
A reasonable sized portion from Eat Smart, the new low cal range from Safeway. A tasty dish but the panelists felt the flavour of the leek was a little overpowering. The dumplings received favourable comment but the chicken was deemed too dry.
345 Calories per Serving
(400g pack)
Chicken Casserole with Mashed Potato, Good for You, Asda*
Ranking #4 of 6
The chicken content was good but we all felt, for a 'casserole' this dish was lacking in vegetables. There was a heavy gravy content which was not complimentary. The mash was pleasant and made up a little for the lack of other items.
191 Calories per Serving
(425g pack)
Beef Stew & Dumplings, Healthy Eating, Tesco*
Ranking #5 of 6
Not a bad tasting stew with a few, much needed, dumplings — there was too much gravy and very little in the way of veg (only 3 pieces of carrot!) Overall, a bit disappointing — shame, because it had a good taste.
495 Calories per Serving
(450g pack)
Beef Hotpot, Weight Watchers from Heinz*
Ranking #6 of 6
A good potato topping complimented the pleasant tasting hot pot. We all commented that the serving size was poor (alright for a snack but not a major, complete meal) — yes, it is the lowest in kcal for the portion size but only because it is 320g compared to 400/450g — if this was a main meal you were left feeling very deprived!
290 Calories per Serving
(450g pack)
We all enjoyed the fact that our winner, Count On Us, Mark's & Spencer, was one of the lowest in fat! Linda McCartney's vegetarian alternative also came out well.
