Soup is great in so many respects – cheap and easy to make, a good use of left-overs and warm and filling for those colder days.  A mugful after a walk in the rain, a bowlful with a buttered roll for lunch or a late night low-calorie snack.  Of course, a great way to get your veggies too!

I added a dollop of soured cream to this, but made a large batch which I’ve frozen in freezer bags to enjoy in the weeks / months to come!

Easy tomato and lentil soup – 110 calories per 300g serving

Preparation Time:       30 mins

Cooking Time:            1 hr

Serves:                        6

Calories per serving:  110

Ingredients:

Olive Oil, Extra Virgin                                              15ml

Carrot, Whole, Raw, Peeled                                    85g

Onions, Red                                                              85g

Celery, Raw, Trimmed                                              75g

Garlic, Raw                                                                3 Cloves

Knorr Vegetable Stock Pot                                      1 pot / 33g

Water, Tap                                                                 1000ml

Tomatoes, Tinned, Chopped                                   2 tins / 800g

Lentils, Red, Split, Dried                                          65g

Worcestershire Sauce, Lea & Perrins                    1 Tbsp/15ml

Preparation:

Peel the onion. Peel the carrots. Wash and trim the celery. Finely dice the carrot and celery. Finely chop the onion.

Method: 

Place the oil into a large lidded saucepan and heat over a medium heat, Add the onions, celery and carrot and cook until softened (about 15 minutes). Add the garlic and cook for a further 5 minutes.

Add the tinned tomatoes, stock pot, water and red lentils and bring the mixture to a boil. Lower heat and simmer, covered, for about 45 minutes, stirring every 10-15 minutes.

Add the Lea & Perrins sauce, stir through.  Serve topped with plenty of freshly ground black pepper.

This soup is best liquidised, but a stick blender will also work well.

Add a dollop of creme fraiche or soured cream for your very own cream of tomato soup!

Attempting to introduce more beans and pulses into my diet, and using up some of my staple store cupboard ingredients, I came up with this delicious three bean salad!

Beautifully refreshing and very versatile – alongside a regular salad, in a wrap…. what’s not to like!  As well as being super healthy, it’s filling and fairly low in calories.  Colourful, crisp and flavoursome.  Quick to assemble!

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Three bean salad

Preparation time:              20 mins

Cooking time:                    N/A

Serves:                                6

Calories per serving:          160

 

Ingredients:

Black Beans, canned – drained                               234g

Chick Peas, canned – drained                                 177g

Cannellini Beans, canned – drained                        147g

Garlic, peeled                                                             2 cloves

Half a small red onion                                               26g

Vine tomato                                                               130g

Chunk of cucumber                                                  55g

Radish, trimmed x 4                                                 40g

Red lady apple, quarter                                           30g

Celery stick, trimmed                                              35g

Red pepper, quarter                                                40g

Fresh coriander, chopped                                       20g

Kalamata olives, 6 x pitted and chopped

 

Dressing

Lime juice                                                                2 tbsps/30ml

Virgin Olive oil                                                         2 tbsps/30ml

Wholegrain mustard                                               2 tsps/10g

 

Method

Drain and rinse the beans. Remove skins from chickpeas if desired.

Skin/trim and then finely chop the red onion, garlic, tomato, cucumber, red pepper, radish, celery, olives, apple.

Mix together the chopped vegetables and the beans.

Finely chop the coriander.

Pour over the oil, lime juice and add the mustard. Stir to combined. Sprinkle with plenty of freshly ground black pepper.