Easy and healthy mixed meat paella Recipe

This healthy mixed meat paella recipe is really popular in our house. Stuart and Ben both love it and regularly ask me to cook it. Have you ever had paella? I make a vegetable and chickpea one for me sometimes which I enjoy.

The importance of adding vegetables to your meals

This healthy mixed meat paella recipe has plenty in but if you remove any due to your personal preferences remember to add some as a side dish.

Vegetables are low in calories compared to their density. This essentially means that they fill you up with very few calories.

The more vegetables you have in a meal either as a side dish or mixed in with the meal itself the lower-calorie the meal tends to be. A filling but low-calorie meal is perfect for weight loss.

All my recipes include vegetables where possible but do feel free to add more as an accompaniment when you can. Always choose vegetables that you enjoy because otherwise you will begrudge eating them and are more likely to before long stop cooking them at all.

Trying vegetables cooked differently or with herbs and spices can make them a little more exciting too.

Healthy Lunches

If you are eating healthily then you may have difficulty in finding healthy lunches for work. This is just one of many lunch ideas I have found. Stuart often takes leftovers for his work lunch so do check out my other recipes for more ideas.

If you take lunch then you are so much less likely to buy food which inevitably will be less healthy. Taking a variety of food throughout the week to work keeps your lunchtimes interesting and stops you from getting bored.

Even if, like me, you work alone at home it can make such a difference having your food already prepared for you. Why not give it a go and make sure you build a variety of lunches into your weekly meal plan.

Why you need vegetables to lose weight

Everyone knows vegetables are good for you, don’t they? They are healthy and filling for very few calories!

The best vegetables are those with low-calorie density.

This means if you eat 100g of spinach, for example, it is just 23 calories and 100g of crisps, which would be just as filling, is around 536 calories!

Find more tips about the best vegetables for weight loss.

Adapting this healthy mixed meat paella recipe

You can replace the meat in paella with almost any vegetables and it will remain authentic (though you do need to keep the rice).  In fact, paella started in Valencia as a “leftovers” dish, where housewives would throw food in before it expired.  

The key to good paella is how you cook it.  By keeping the paella less than an inch deep it develops a fluffy texture.  You don’t need to stir the rice this way – and in fact, you shouldn’t.  

The resulting burnt rice on the bottom is the favourite part of the meal for some Spaniards.  The Valencians call this “socarrat”.  Obviously, like many “delicacies” socarrat isn’t exactly healthy.

Of course, it helps to have a proper paella pan to do this.  These are wide and shallow, letting you cook a decent amount of paella the traditional way, otherwise, I would recommend a wok or the largest pan you have.

Other recipes you may enjoy

A fellow blogger has this chicken paella recipe which sounds great and definitely worth trying if you are a paella fan.

If you love recipes with rice like this healthy mixed meat paella then be sure to check out my ultimate selection of rice recipes including mushroom risotto. Don’t panic if you are rubbish at boiling rice, I have a foolproof guide!

Which meal do you struggle with ideas for healthy eating? I have lists of breakfast ideas and lunch ideas if that helps you.

If you love using chicken in recipes then check out my chicken recipe guide.

I have a lot of weight loss guides and support if you want to exercise including if you have a condition like fibromyalgia.

Have a good look around and see how I can help you achieve your weight loss goals. Request my free resources to get you started too!

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