Chickpeas

Chickpea Burgers

Method: 

1. In a food processor, whizz the chickpeas, lemon zest, lemon juice, cumin, half the coriander, the egg and some seasoning. Scrape into a bowl and mix with 80g of the breadcrumbs and the diced onions. Form 4 burgers, press remaining breadcrumbs onto both sides and chill for at least 10 mins. 
2. Heat the oil in a frying pan until hot. Fry the burgers for 4 mins each side, keeping the heat on medium so they don’t burn. To serve, slice each bun and fill with a slice of tomato, a burger, a few red onion slices, some cucumber slices, a dollop of chilli sauce and the remaining coriander. 

Chickpea and Coconut Dhal 

Method: 

1. Heat the oil and fry the onion over a medium heat until it’s pale gold and soft. 
2. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for another couple of mins. Stir in all the spices and cook for another minute or so, then add all the remaining ingredients and 450ml water. 
3. Bring to just below boiling point, turn the heat down and simmer for about 40 mins until the split peas are soft. If you like your dhal thick in texture, mash the chickpeas to break them down. If the mixture is getting dry, add more water. If it’s too thin, keep cooking until you get the thickness you want. There is no ‘right’ consistency; dhal can be almost brothy or like a thick purée. Scatter coriander on top of the dhal 

Chickpea Curry 

Method: 

1. To make the paste, heat a little of the 2 tablespoon oil in a frying pan, add the diced onion and 1 teaspoon fresh or dried chilli, and cook until softened. (about 8 mins). 
2. In a food processor, combine 9 garlic cloves, a thumb-sized piece of peeled ginger and the remaining oil, then add the spices and the tomato purée, ½ tsp salt and the fried onion. Blend to a smooth paste – add a drop of water or more oil, if needed. 
3. Cook the paste in a medium saucepan for 2 mins over a medium-high heat, stirring occasionally so it doesn’t stick. 
4. Tip in two 400g cans drained chickpeas and a 400g can chopped tomatoes, and simmer for 5 mins until reduced down. 
5. Add 100g creamed coconut with a little water, cook for 5 mins more, then add ½ small pack chopped coriander and 100g spinach, and cook until wilted. 
6. Garnish with extra coriander and serve with rice or dhal (or both). 

Chickpea Salad 

Method: 

1. Mix all the ingredients together, mashing a little so the chickpeas are a bit rough round the edges – this helps absorb the dressing. (Can be made a day ahead and kept in the fridge.) Try it with slow-cooked Greek lamb and tzatziki. 

Falafel

Method: 

1. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large pan, then fry the onion and garlic over a low heat for 5 mins until softened. Tip into a large mixing bowl with the chickpeas and spices, then mash together with a fork or potato masher until the chickpeas are totally broken down. Stir in the parsley or dried herbs, with seasoning to taste. Add the egg, then squish the mixture together with your hands. 
2. Mould the mix into 6 balls, then flatten into patties. Heat the remaining oil in the pan, then fry the falafels on a medium heat for 3 mins on each side, until golden brown and firm. Serve hot or cold with couscous, pitta bread or salad. 
3. Carb count the carbs you have with them. 

Beans

Butter Bean Pate

Method: 

• Gently fry the spring onion and garlic 
• Drain half the liquid from the tin of beans 
• Add the onion, garlic, beans, oil and yoghurt to a food processor and blend. You can use a hand blender too. 
• Season to taste 
• Try adding different herbs, spices and a chilli to suit your own tastes 

Bean Burgers

Method: 

• Preheat the oven to 180°C. Add your chopped pepper, onion and garlic to a food processor and blend to a paste 
• Drain your beans, rinse and mash well with a fork. Tip into a bowl 
• Tip the egg, breadcrumbs, pepper, garlic & onion and spices in with the beans and mix well. Season and split into 4 patties 
• Bake in the oven for 20 mins and serve in a bun (carb count from label) with lots of crunchy salad. 

Lime and Chipotle Black Bean Tacos 

Method: 

1. For the beans, heat a frying pan over a medium heat. Add the garlic and a splash of olive oil and cook for a minute or so, until the edges of the garlic begin to just brown. 
2. Add the cinnamon, cumin and chipotle paste or chilli and stir for another minute to gently toast the spices. Add the beans and their liquid, bring to a simmer, then turn the heat down and cook for 10-15 minutes, until the liquid has thickened but the beans are still holding their shape. If you need to, add a little hot water to loosen. Season with salt and pepper and keep warm. 
3. For the salsa, chop the tomatoes roughly on a big board. Pile the chilli and coriander on top, season with salt and pepper and chop all this together. Scrape into a big bowl, add the lime juice and a splash of olive oil and mix well. Set aside. 
4. For the guacamole, mash the avocado in a bowl with a little salt and pepper, the chilli and lime juice. You can use a potato masher or a fork if you like. 
5. Once everything is ready, heat your tortillas under the grill or in the oven. 
6. Fill the tortillas with the beans, salsa, guacamole, cheese and lettuce. Add the chilli sauce, coriander and a little yoghurt, if using. 

Butter Beans with Tomatoes and Greens 

Method: 

1. Drain the beans and rinse. 
2. Gently soften the onion and garlic in 1 tablespoon of the olive oil for 5 minutes. When soft, stir in the paprika, tomato purée, chopped tomatoes, 100ml/3½fl oz water, salt and pepper. 
3. Bring to the boil then reduce to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes. Stir in the chard and take off the heat. 
4. Preheat the oven to 160°C/140°C Fan/Gas 3. 
5. Mix the beans with the tomato and chard sauce, adding a further 1 tablespoon of olive oil and the chopped herbs. 
6. Transfer the beans to a casserole pan, bake for 35–40 minutes until the beans are tender and the sauce thickened and bubbling. Serve hot, warm or at room temperature. 

Mixed Bean Salad

Method: 

1. Cook the green beans until they still have some crunch 
2. Drain the beans and sweetcorn 
3. Chop the pepper, cucumber and onion finely 
4. Halve the cherry tomatoes 
5. Chop the herbs and chilli finely. Crumble the feta 
6. Make your dressing. In an old jar, add the oil, lime juice and crushed garlic clove. Put the lid on and shake well. 
7. Mix the beans the chopped vegetables, feta, herbs and dressing and mix well. Serve with a flatbread or crusty bread ( carb count the bread) 

You can use whatever vegetables you like – there are no rules for a salad. This salad also works well with roasted squash, peppers or beetroot. Just cut into cubes and roast. Mix into the salad when hot or cold, it doesn’t matter 

Lentils

Lentil Salad

Method: 

1. Cook the lentils as per the instructions on the pack using the stock cube to season 
2. Chop the pepper, cucumber and onion finely 
3. Chop the herbs finely. Crumble the feta 
4. Once the lentils are cooked and tender, rinse in cold water and drain. Tip into your serving bowl to cool fully 
5. Make your dressing. In an old jar, add the oil, lemon juice, mustard and crushed garlic clove. Put the lid on and shake well. 
6. Once the lentils are cool, add the chopped vegetables, feta, herbs and dressing and mix well. Serve with a flatbread or crusty bread ( carb count the bread) 
7. You can use whatever vegetables you like – there are no rules for a salad! You can also replace the feta for grilled halloumi cheese 

Lentil and Vegetable Curry 

Method: 

1. Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the onions and cook over a high heat for about 8 minutes or until they are golden brown. Add the garlic and chilli and cook for a further 2 minutes. Stir in the curry paste and cook for a minute. 
2. Add the red lentils and squash and stir into the paste. 
3. Slowly pour in a little of the stock so it sizzles, scraping any bits from the bottom of the pan. Gradually pour in the rest of the stock. 
4. Simmer until the lentils and the squash are tender. Add the frozen peas and cook for a further 10 mins 
5. Toss in a handful of chopped parsley, then serve with rice or naan bread (carb count rice and naan) 

Red lentil soup (and with squash or sweet potato) 

Method: 

1. Peel and finely chop the garlic, then peel and dice the carrots. 
2. Heat the oil in a large pan on a medium heat, add the garlic, carrots and stock cube, then fry gently for 5 minutes, or until softened, stirring regularly. 
3. Add the lentils, then pour in 1 litre of water and bring to the boil, stirring occasionally. 
4. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the lentils are soft. Sieve, blend, mash or leave the soup as is, then serve. 
5. You can also mix with butternut squash or sweet potato, if you want to mix. Just peel, chop and add to the soup. Spice it up with a red/green chilli or a couple of teaspoons of curry powder if you like. 

Lentil burgers 

Method: 

1. Add the drained tinned lentils to a large mixing bowl, along with the grated cheese, tomato puree, garlic granules, dried parsley, and plenty of black pepper. Mix well to combine. 
2. Add the plain flour and mix to combine. Then add the egg and mix very thoroughly until everything is well mixed. The lentils will probably become a bit mashed up, which is good. 
3. Using clean hands, form the mixture into burger shapes, and place on a baking tray lined with non-stick foil. I made 5 large burgers, but you could easily make 6 slightly smaller burgers if you prefer. The mixture will be fairly sticky, but able to hold its shape – add a dash more flour if you think the mixture seems too wet. 
4. Bake at 190°C (Gas Mark 5 / 375°F) for around 35-40 minutes, or until they are quite firm and golden brown. 

Lentil Bake

Method: 

1. Heat the oven to 180°C 
2. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and fry the onion, carrots and celery over a medium heat for 5 minutes 
3. Stir in the chopped mushrooms and cook for a further 5 minutes 
4. Stir in the tomato puree, the spice mix, soy sauce and the stock cube and stir in with the vegetables. 
5. Add the lentils and chopped tomatoes. Fill the tomato can with water and add this to the pan and simmer for 15 minutes until rich and saucy. 
6. For the topping, mix together the tahini, half the lemon juice, 100ml cold water and the eggs. Beat together. Add the cheese 
7. Pour the lentil mixture into a baking dish and pour the tahini topping over the top. Bake for 30 mins until golden brown and set on the top. 

Spicy squash and lentil soup

(serves 4)

Soup is perfect for a quick tea if you have after school activities to get to or to put in a flask for packed lunches. Soup is versatile, it can be made ahead and frozen in batches and can be adapted to suit your family’s tastes. This soup contains some spice but I have put different variations at the bottom if you don’t like it spicy. Soup is also a great way to use those ‘not as fresh as they could be’ veg lurking in the back of the veg drawer so, you’re also reducing your food waste.

*Lentils and vegetables usually do not make BG rise too much due to their protein and fibre content so you may be able to have this soup as a snack without insulin. However, if larger quantities are eaten and the soup is blended, it may cause BG to rise so you will need to give insulin. Checking BG 2 hours after eating will give you more information about managing your BG with this soup.

Ingredients (carbs shown in bold)

• 300g butternut squash, washed and baked (24g)
• 60g raw red lentils (19g when cooked – see above*)
• 1 red pepper (0g)
• 1 x 400g tin of chopped tomatoes (0g)
• 1 carrot, peeled and chopped (0g)
• 1 onion, peeled and chopped (0g)
• 1 stick of celery (optional) (0g)
• 2 garlic cloves (0g)
• 5cm piece of root ginger (optional) (0g)
• ½ - 1 red chilli ( or ½ tsp chilli flakes) (0g)
• 2 pints of veg stock (0g)
• 1 tablespoon veg or olive oil (to roast the squash in) (0g)
• 40g feta cheese or other tangy crumbly cheese (Cheshire, Lancashire, goats cheese) – optional (0g)
• Total carbs 43g in the recipe. = 43 ÷ 4 = 11g carbs per portion

Method:

1. Wash the squash and cut in half lengthways. Scoop out the seeds. Leave the skin on, it goes soft when cooked and can be blended. Chop into big chunks and rub with a little veg or olive oil.
2. Roast the squash until soft and golden and set aside. (Oven temperature 190°C)
3. Whilst your squash is roasting, rinse the lentils in plenty of cold water
4. Chop the carrot, onion, chilli, pepper, garlic and ginger and celery. These can be quite chunky as they will be blended
5. Make up your stock
6. Heat up the tablespoon of oil and gently fry the chopped vegetables until golden brown. This should take about 5 mins.
7. Add the lentils and stir together.
8. Add the roasted squash
9. Finally, pour in the stock. Bring the soup to the boil and then lower the heat and simmer until the lentils are soft. This should take about 20-30 mins
10. Once the veg are soft, leave to cool for 15 mins and then use either a hand blender or food processor to blend. The soup can be smooth or left a little chunky depending on your taste. If it is looking think, just loosen it with some water.
11. Crumble over the feta or other cheese (if using) and serve with bread (don’t forget to carb count).

The carrot, onion and celery are there only to give extra flavour and are usually added to most soup recipes. Pumpkin can also be used – just use the flesh scooped out from your Halloween pumpkins (make sure you buy an edible one). Red lentils are a good way to start eating pulses as they do not require pre soaking or cooking.

If you don’t like hot and spicy food, other spices can be used which give a good flavour without the heat. Spices such as ground cumin, coriander or a mild curry powder go really well with squash or pumpkin.