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Think you don’t like pulses? Ten thrifty recipes that might change your mind

4th May 2017 by shoestringjane@outlook.com 14 Comments

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We all know that meat is expensive, so if you are trying to save money on your groceries it makes sense to eat less of it.  There are lots of thrifty recipes containing pulses that help you stretch your budget. However, I  have lost count of the number of times people have told me that they hate pulses whilst being known to happily scoff a nice pot of hummus, baked beans or a spicy lentil dahl!

There is also a substantial body of evidence showing that a well thought out vegetarian diet is healthier too. But you don’t have to give up meat altogether. Adding pulses will bulk out a meat dish nicely whilst upping the fibre content.

Here at Shoestring Cottage we enjoy a wide variety of meals, some of which contain a little meat and some that are meat free. We often include beans and pulses in our meals. As well as being packed with protein, they are low in fat and, as I said,  a great source of fibre. You can buy them cheaply in cans and sachets, so don’t have to spend a lot of your precious time soaking and cooking them.

Ten thrifty recipes containing pulses

thrifty recipesHere are some of our favourite frugal meals containing pulses (forgive my chick pea obsession):

Smoky chicken with chickpeas. This is mildly spiced with my favourite smoked paprika. The cheaper chick peas stretch the chicken.

Tarka dhal, a recipe featured by Jamie Oliver. This is nice as a side dish or it can be eaten with rice or bread for a simple, super frugal meal.

Chick pea curry. This is cheap, tasty and easy to make.

Red dragon pie. I have been cooking this for years from my old copy of Vegetarian Kitchen by Sarah Brown – lovely book! This recipe involves a lot of chopping but is much easier if you use canned beans, as I usually do. This link takes you to a nice little website called Sprinkles of Love, which is an online shared cook book. Sadly, nobody seems to be contributing any more. The book can still sometimes be picked up second hand on Amazon and I recommend it.

Spanish chicken with butterbeans, chorizo and tomatoes. One from the lovely Delia Smith. My friend cooked this for me at a dinner party one evening and it was delicious!

Chick pea burgers. Stick them in a bun with some salad and relish.

Cottage pie without the meat

Cheesy mushroom and lentil cottage pie. I like this with lots of veggies and gravy.

Quick beany enchiladas. One from the BBC Food website. I like to double up when making the filling and freeze if for a quick ready meal to use with rice. They use frozen peppers, although I tend to use fresh since I always have some in the fridge.

thrifty recipes

Another one from Delia, although you can find versions of this all over the Internet: Boston baked beans. As I am generally pushed for time, I always buy canned beans to use in this.  It needs long, slow cooking.

Finally, the recipe that launched Jack Monroe’s career as a cookery writer, carrot, cumin and kidney bean burger. How can you go wrong when you can make a burger for around 10p?

Give these thrifty recipes with beans and pulses a try. They can help you stick to your budget and improve your nutrition.

For more of my thrifty recipes see here.

 

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Comments

  1. Katy Stevens says

    6th May 2017 at 13:24

    There are some fantastic ideas here. I’ve been increasing our use of pulses. We have already started to eat hummus, use chickpeas regularly and add pulses and beans to lots of meals. We are branching out now – or should I say me as I’m the unadventurous one! I love a nice chickpea curry too. Yum!

    Reply
    • shoestringjane@outlook.com says

      6th May 2017 at 14:44

      Thanks Katy. They are a crazy cheap protein source!

      Reply
    • Jane Rea says

      7th May 2017 at 05:42

      Thanks for sharing, I have some cans of various beans in the cupboard and needed some inspiration on how to use them.

      Reply
  2. Sara @ Debt Camel says

    6th May 2017 at 14:40

    Some good inspiration there – I love the term red dragon for aduki beans.

    I just went to Jack Monroe’s website and found this, which sounds like a good combination: https://cookingonabootstrap.com/2015/05/11/kidney-bean-and-peanut-butter-burger/

    Reply
    • shoestringjane@outlook.com says

      6th May 2017 at 14:46

      Oooh! I am still waiting on my cooking on a bootstrap book. I was one of the crowd funders two years ago but it has yet to materialise

      Reply
  3. Lesley says

    6th May 2017 at 15:49

    These look lovely, I love a good lentil dish. And I’m also waiting for the book, it’s been a while

    Reply
    • shoestringjane@outlook.com says

      6th May 2017 at 15:56

      I barely go on the email account I registered with either so no updates. I know she has had troubles, but I think she needs to get it published as a matter of priority

      Reply
  4. Eloise at. thisissixty.blog says

    6th May 2017 at 17:44

    Pulses are fab, though I’m not keen on chickpeas. I make Jack Monroe’s burgers regularly. We love them, and that is saying something when my husband definitely prefers meat. I eat a bit of chicken but no other meat so pulses feature regularly, a great favourite of mine being a Slimming World’s lentil & veg cottage pie. I also like a vegetable chilli made from pulses (don’t like quorn at all). I’m going to try thr be any enchiladas. They sound nice.

    Reply
  5. Eloise at. thisissixty.blog says

    6th May 2017 at 17:48

    The new book is due out late this year.
    Message on Jack’s website below………..l.

    I am very very very proud to announce that Bluebird (part of Macmillan) will be republishing Cooking On A Bootstrap in late 2017, so if you didn’t grab a copy in the Kickstarter, you’ll be able to get it from any good bookshop(!!!)

    To my 4,377 backers, I was sitting in the British Library sobbing fat tears on a Rare Books And Manuscripts Desk (from which I hastily moved my 500-year-old cookery tomes before I dissolve them in snot) as I typed this a few days ago. Please know that this would not have happened without you, and what great things your support has done, and how thankful I am for you all getting me back on my feet.

    – Backers will receive one of my kickstarter copies, which will be limited editions, a few months before general release.

    Reply
    • shoestringjane@outlook.com says

      6th May 2017 at 17:50

      Thanks for that

      Reply
  6. Eloise at. thisissixty.blog says

    6th May 2017 at 18:13

    Lol, ” thr be any “. should read “the beany” enchiladas!

    Reply
    • shoestringjane@outlook.com says

      6th May 2017 at 19:35

      Reply
  7. Julia says

    7th May 2017 at 10:41

    This is one of my favourites. I use any veg I have lying around. It worked particularly well substituting butternut squash and marrow for the parsnips which I didn’t have. You have to let the liquid evaporate to get it nice and thick. Yum!

    https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1364/spicy-root-and-lentil-casserole

    Reply
    • shoestringjane@outlook.com says

      7th May 2017 at 10:58

      Sounds yummy. I love a lentil!

      Reply

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Would you like to take control of your finances, pay off your debts and save for the future? At Shoestring Cottage we aim to show you that you can live a good and happy life on less than you think, you can get off the consumer treadmill and you can live more simply and healthily and not feel deprived.
We are also moving toward a less wasteful, more sustainable lifestyle and believe frugality and sustainability go hand in hand. Read More…

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