beans – #ThisGirlEats

Serves: 2
How much does it cost? This recipe cost me less than 75p per person.
What are the benefits? This chilli is packed with goodness bringing in a whopping four of your five a day, is low in fat and is a great vegan recipe.

Christmas followed by a weekend trip to Belgium – the home of chocolate, chips and waffles – was only going to mean one thing: some serious eats.

I binged on the festive treats and feasted on a traditional turkey dinner over Christmas and drank my body weight on New Year’s Eve, then sobered up for a few days just in time to jump on the Eurostar and indulge some more. It’s been a great month for my tastebuds, but not so great for my health.

I’ve noticed my skin starting to break out and a definite feeling of lethargy and I’m sure the recent lack of good nutrition is to blame. One of my goals this year is to adopt a long-term and consistently healthier lifestyle and benefit from it so, now our holidays are over, it’s time to really put that into practise.

Luckily, my first recipe of the year is perfect for just that. It’s brimming with chickpeas, veggies and beans, with a little spice to help unblock a stuffy nose (something I’m constantly stuck with this time of year) and all the rich flavour of a classic chilli.

Coming to just over a pound in our local supermarket for two large portions, it’s also great for that tight January budget.

INGREDIENTS
400g Tin of Chickpeas
1 Large Onion, Chopped
1 Bell Pepper, Chopped
1 Carrot, Sliced
400g Tin of Chopped Tomatoes
400g Tin of Kidney Beans

SEASONING
Heat a generous helping of garlic at the start of cooking along with the onion and carrot, then throw in plenty of paprika, cumin and cinnamon a little later. Add a touch of salt and pepper, and a few chilli flakes for a nice kick.

So, this is how I did it…

1. Using a small drop of oil or cooking spray, fry the garlic, onion and carrot together in a large pan for a couple minutes, just to soften them up a little.

2. Drain the tin of chickpeas and add them to the pan, along with the pepper and chopped tomatoes. Season with paprika, cumin, cinnamon, chilli flakes, salt and pepper.

3. Leave to simmer gently for 15 minutes.

4. Drain the kidney beans and throw them in for the final 5 minutes of cooking.

Tips & Tricks

For a richer flavour, add in a teaspoon of tomato puree and a stock cube of your choice along with the chopped tomatoes.

This recipe is wonderfully versatile, so don’t be afraid to try it in different ways; spooned over a jacket potato, mixed in with rice, rolled into a tortilla wrap… I like mine with some sour cream and a couple of pitta breads to dip.

This would be heavenly bunged into a slow-cooked and left to gently heat for hours on end, so give it a go if you’ve got the time.

Chilli was probably the first meal I learnt to cook from scratch and really “perfected” (there’s always room for improvement, but my chilli is pretty damn good I’ll be honest) and it’s still my favourite home cooked meal. 🌶️

It started with beef mince, then I moved onto using Quorn or mince alternatives to experiment with different versions of my most cherished recipe. I fancied trying something new, so I thought I’d have a go at making a bean chilli which bursts with colour, flavour and texture, as well as being an excellent choice for vegetarian or vegan meals.

You could make this recipe even easier by just buying a couple of tins of mixed beans rather than buying each individually – this will shrink both the cost and ingredient list – but I prefer choosing which beans go into my chilli and having the option to chop and change each time I make it.

Beans are honestly so, so good for you. First off they count as one of your ‘Five A Day’ so, along with the carrot, onion, pepper and chopped tomatoes, you’re well on your way with this recipe! Beans also help with heart health, are a good source of protein and fibre, and keep you fuller for longer. They’re cheap, too, so make a great base for eating on a budget.

So, this is how I did it…
(Serves 4)

1. Heat up a large pan with a touch of oil (or some light cooking spray) and gently fry the onion and carrot on a low heat for 10 minutes.

2. Pretty much everything else goes in once the carrot and onion have softened. Add all of the beans (make sure you drain the ones in water), chopped tomatoes, chopped pepper, a crumbled stock cube, tomato puree and the seasoning.

3. Simmer for 10 – 15 minutes, giving the flavours a chance to develop.

4. Serve with a jacket potato, rice, flatbreads, whatever you fancy! 🍚

The prices below are the cheapest I could find when doing a comparison and are accurate at the time of publishing!

INGREDIENTS
1/2 Tin of Baked Beans – Reduced Sugar & Salt Baked Beans in Tomato Sauce – 30p – Sainsbury’s
Tin of Cannellini Beans – Cannellini Beans in Water – 42p – ASDA
Tin of Black Eye Beans – Black Eye Beans in Water – 55p – ASDA
Tin of Pinto Beans – Pinto Beans in Water – 55p – ASDA
200g Tin of Kidney Beans in Chilli Sauce – Chilli Beans in Chilli Sauce – 40p – ASDA
Tin of Chopped Tomatoes – Smartprice Chopped Tomatoes in Tomato Juice – 29p – ASDA
1 Carrot, Chopped – Carrots, Loose – 6p – Tesco
1 Onion, Chopped – Grower’s Selection Onions by Weight – 15p – ASDA
1 Bell Pepper, Chopped – Red Pepper – 41p – Tesco
Vegetable Stock Cube – Stock Cubes, Vegetable – 39p – ASDA
1tsp Tomato Puree – Double Concentrated Tomato Puree – 37p – ASDA

SEASONING
When you start frying off the vegetables, throw in some dried garlic flakes along with them. Then, once you’ve added the beans and tomatoes, season with a generous helping of paprika and cumin, a pinch of dried chilli flakes and salt and pepper to taste.

Tag: beans

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