Try Some Lovely (cheap and nutritious) Lentils!
It’s a shame that lentils don’t receive the love they deserve in England. In Italy, everyone eats them, whether they are vegan/vegetarian or not. Native to the Middle East, lentils are cheap, tasty, nutritious and filling.
Throw them into your pasta sauce for a protein-rich dinner. Blend them in soups and stews, or add to fresh salads, for a filling lunch.
This lentil shepherd’s pie (Running on Real Food) subs the meat with lentils – more healthy and animal-kind!) You’ll never miss the meat with this hearty mushroom lentil filling, topped with creamy mashed spuds. It’s ready in 1 hour, and leftovers keep in the fridge (in a covered container) for a short time.
Read up on food safety for people and pets (onion, garlic and spices are unsafe near animal friends). Bin allium scraps (onion, garlic, leeks, shallots, chives) as acids may harm compost creatures (same with tomato/citrus/rhubarb scraps).
There are three main types of lentils:
- Red lentils are the easiest to cook, but tend to be less likely found in tins. So if buying from stores in plastic bags, you can recycle the packaging at supermarket bag bins, if your kerbside does not recycle. They take around 20 minutes to cook in water. They go quite mushy, and are nice in all recipes.
- Green and brown lentils are more ‘earthy’ in flavour. These take longer to cook, but are the best choice to replace meat in dishes like vegan shepherd or cottage pie, and hold up better if making lentil burgers.
- Black lentils are not so easy to find, but again are more dense in flavour.
Before recycling tinned lentil cans, pop the lid inside the can or pop the ring-pull back over the hole, to avoid wildlife getting trapped).
