Red Lentil, Chickpea & Chilli Soup (4PP)

The blustery winds of this past week have stripped the magnolia tree at the bottom of our garden of its coppery leaves. A true sign that winter is almost upon us. It’s not all bleak though as the fallen leaves have exposed fresh new buds and the promise of spring to come.

Now that the days have turned colder, I want a more substantial soup for my packed lunches. I want a soup that will nourish my body as well as give me a comforting hug part way through a tough day at work. This delicious Red Lentil, Chickpea & Chilli Soup fits the bill perfectly. I’ve been teaming it with 1PP roast vegetables, which will be the subject of a future blog post, for a 5PP lunch.

Lentils and chickpeas form part of the legume family and provide an array of nutrients and phytochemicals that have been shown to have beneficial health effects. Phytochemicals are natural chemicals found in plants that may help prevent disease and keep your body working properly). Many studies have shown that consuming pulses helps to protect against developing cardiovascular disease, breast, colon and other cancers and diabetes (1) In addition, a study in the USA showed that consuming approximately ½ cup dry beans or peas on a given day resulted in higher intakes of fibre, protein, folate, zinc, iron and magnesium compared with people who didn't consume any (1). Experimental studies show that pulse consumption increases satiety over 2-4 hours; in addition, studies also generally support a beneficial effect of pulses on weight loss when pulse consumption is coupled with energy restriction (2).

Although further studies are needed on the weight-loss front, it’s clear that dried beans, peas and lentils pack a nutritional punch and I will be looking at more ways of incorporating them into my diet.

Make up a batch of this soup and feel good in the knowledge that you’re feeding your body with the nutrients it needs for optimal health.

References
1. Mitchell DC, Lawrence FR, Hartman TJ, Curran JM (2009) Consumption of dry beans, peas, and lentils could improve diet quality in the US population. J Am Diet Assoc, 109(5):909-13.
2. McCrory MA, Hamaker BR, Lovejoy JC, Eichelsdoerfer PE (2010) Pulse consumption, satiety, and weight management. Adv Nutr, 1(1):17-30. 

Red Lentil, Chickpea & Chilli Soup (4PP)

Adapted from BBC Good Food
Serves 5 (each serving is approximately 1 cup) - 4 ProPoints per serving

Ingredients
1 red onion, chopped
140g red split lentils
850ml vegetable stock (I used 4 Oxo Vegetable cubes plus 850ml boiling water)
1 tsp ground cumin
½ tsp hot chilli powder (I used Bart’s and this is milder than some I’ve used, so adjust amount to your taste)
400g chopped tomatoes
400g can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
15g fresh coriander, roughly chopped (save a few leaves to serve)
Black pepper, freshly ground

Method

1. In a large saucepan, put the chopped onion, red lentils, vegetable stock, ground cumin, chilli powder and chopped tomatoes. Bring to the boil. Simmer for 15-20 minutes until the lentils have softened.
2. Whizz the soup with a stick blender until smooth, add the chickpeas and return to the hob. Heat gently and season with black pepper (around 50 grinds). Remove from heat, stir in the coriander. Serve in bowls garnished with coriander.

Fusilli Bolognaise – 10PP per serving

Everyone needs a few recipes that they know by heart for those occasions when time is limited and a shopping list is required at the drop of a hat. For me, this is one of those recipes – the tomatoes, herbs and stock are always in my kitchen cupboard, so all I need to buy are the vegetables and meat. It’s also one of the meals that I regularly batch cook for my boyfriend and myself at weekends to ensure that we eat healthily during the week when I don’t have time to cook from scratch.

When I first started making this dish, around five years ago, I followed the original recipe to the letter. However, recently I have begun to use fusilli rather than spaghetti, simply because it’s easier to eat. I’ve also started to add celery to the sauce to boost the vegetable content, which has had the added bonus of enhancing the flavour.

I do hope that you enjoy this meal as much as I do.

Fusilli Bolognaise

Adapted from Spaghetti Bolognaise, The Holford Low-GL Diet Cookbook
Serves 4 – 10 ProPoints per serving

Ingredients
500g extra lean beef mince
1 tsp coconut oil or olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 red pepper, deseeded and diced
2 sticks celery, topped, tailed and diced
200g mushrooms, wiped with a paper kitchen towel, and diced
1 x 400g can chopped tomatoes
3 tbsp tomato purée
3 tsp Marigold Vegetable Bouillon Powder
1 tsp dried oregano
Freshly ground black pepper
½ to 1 level tsp granulated sugar (depending on taste)
200g dried fusilli pasta (I used Napolina Bronze die Pasta)
30g Parmesan cheese, freshly grated

Method

1. In a large non-stick frying pan, cook the mince until it starts to brown. Set aside.
2. In a large saucepan, heat the oil and, over a medium to low heat, fry the onion and garlic for 2 minutes, being careful not to brown.
3. Add the diced pepper and celery and place the lid on the pan and sweat for 3 minutes. Add a splash of water if the onion starts to brown.
4. Add the mushrooms and replace the lid to sweat for a further 3 minutes.
5. Add the cooked mince to the saucepan, along with the chopped tomatoes, tomato purée, bouillon, oregano and around 50 grinds of freshly ground black pepper. Cover and simmer for around 15 minutes until the vegetables are soft.
6. Whilst the Bolognaise sauce is simmering, cook the pasta according to the pack instructions.
7. At the end of the cooking time, add ½ tsp granulated sugar to the bolognaise sauce, taste and add the remaining ½ tsp if required. Also season with additional freshly ground black pepper if required.
8. Drain the pasta and serve with the sauce. Sprinkle the freshly grated Parmesan cheese on the top.

The deliciousness begins!

Welcome to my deliciously imperfect blog!

I’ve been dreaming of creating my own healthy eating and recipe blog for several years but that little voice called perfection has held me back. I follow many outstanding blogs, some of which are listed on the right, and I wanted my blog to be as good as the ones that inspire me. Some of the bloggers, like Heidi from 101 Cookbooks and Hélène from Tartelette are professional photographers, whilst others like Kathryn from London Bakes, are self-taught and working in other professions. Whilst I know that they have either been trained, and/or honed their skills over many years, and it’s only to be expected that my photos won’t be as good as theirs (for now), I’ve struggled to let go and do it anyways.

I’ve let excuses such as “my flat’s too dark to take photos” and “I don’t have the right equipment” get in the way. Now that I’ve moved into a wonderfully bright house, use my boyfriend’s Nikon D80 DSLR camera and have a cupboard full of props, I can’t use those excuses any more! The latest one is: “I’m rubbish at composing shots!” I can just about manage a decent close up, but forget anything with backgrounds!

I’ve now reached a point were it’s more ‘painful’ not to start my own blog and follow my dreams, than it is to launch it. A couple of weeks ago I realised that it’s accuracy, not perfection that I need to aim for, which is a whole lot easier to achieve!

I love to cook, try new recipes and learn about nutrition; I’ve also recently lost two stones (28lbs) through Weight Watchers by eating delicious and nutritious foods that no one would ever think were diet. Here, on Choosing Delicious, I will share my favourite ProPointed recipes, nutritional titbits and insights into my life.

Whilst Choosing Delicious won’t be perfect, it will come from my heart. My greatest hope is that you enjoy reading, and can sometimes relate to, my posts.

I look forward to connecting with you through Choosing Delicious.