YMCA Healthy Living Magazine, powered by n4 food and health Winter 2016

ELAINE BO, PROVISIONAL APD Elaine is a private practice Dietitian and Sports Dietitian working across two locations. She is passionate about improving general health and wellbeing, sports performance and teaching others about quick meal ideas. Learn more about Elaine at https://theswimmingdietitian.wordpress.com or n4foodandhealth.com depending on the type of bean you use and how soft you like them. Lentils on the other hand, cook quickly so they only need to simmer for about 20 minutes. If you’re a bit pressed for time then canned beans are your best friend. Using a colander, simply drain and rinse under running water before using. Otherwise, baked beans on toast is a classic snack. Opening a tin of beans is actually easier and quicker than cooking two-minute noodles. How much should you eat? Legumes are so special that The Australian Guidelines to Healthy Eating has given them the luxury of appearing under the ‘vegetable’ group, due to their fibre and micronutrient content, as well as ‘meat and meat alternatives’ group because of their protein content. According to the 2013 Australian Guidelines to Healthy Eating, one serve equates to: • ½ cup or 75g of canned or cooked dried beans, chickpeas or lentils (as a vegetable) • 1 cup or 150g of canned or cooked dried beans, chickpeas or lentils (as a meat alternative) Keep in mind that we should be eating five serves of vegetables and two to three serves of meat/meat alternatives each day. The GLNC recommend that legumes should feature in our meals at least two to three times a week. Surveys have indicated that only 35% of people regularly eat legumes, mainly because people just don’t think to include them in their meals, or they don’t know what to do with them. So here is one of my favourite recipes to get you started. RECIPE: MIXED BEAN STEW AND VEGGIES Serves: 4 Ingredients • ½ cup each of dried kidney beans, chickpeas, cannellini beans and borlotti beans, soaked overnight • 1 medium potato, cubed • 1 carrot, cubed • 1 zucchini, cubed • 400g canned tomatoes • 1 tablespoon tomato paste • 1 teaspoon cumin • 1 teaspoon chilli powder (if you like it hot) • 1 tablespon paprika • Pinch of salt • Plenty of cracked pepper Method 1 Drain and rinse the beans and place in a large saucepan with water filled to the halfway mark. 2 3 Bring to the boil and simmer with lid partially on for about 30 minutes. 4 5 Add the tomato paste, salt and cracked pepper. Taste it before serving. After 30 minutes, add the canned tomatoes, potatoes, carrot and zucchini, and spices. Cook for a further 10-15 minutes until the beans are soft to your liking. At this point if the stew is too wet for your liking, you can continue to reduce it down by simmering for longer. Alternatively, if it’s too thick, add another 200g canned tomatoes. Serve with rice or crusty bread. NUTRITION INFORMATION PER SERVE • Energy: 1364kJ/326Cal • Protein: 21.1g • Total fat: 2.7g (0.5g saturated) • Fibre: 16.2g • Total carbohydrates: 48.5g (7.1g sugars) • Sodium: 118mg • Calcium: 168mg • Iron 6.2mg Note: If you use canned beans, skip straight to step 2, and add the beans once your vegetables are cooked. You can modify it to your liking with different spices, other beans and add other vegetables. It’s one of those dishes that works every time and leaves plenty of leftovers for lunch the next day. Enjoy! WINTER 2016 YMCA HEALTHY LIVING MAGAZINE 9

YMCA Healthy Living Magazine, powered by n4 food and health Winter 2016 | Page 9