Lentil and Carrot Stew

Here in Exeter, freshers' week is coming to an end and it's definitely been better the second time around. So, for any freshers reading this who have had a disappointing one - don't judge what's to come by it!

This recipe is delicious and full of good stuff to make you feel better about yourself after a week of heavy drinking (it's definitely been one of them). Lentils are packed full of protein and the sweet potato gives you healthy carbs. This is definitely one where it's worth peeling and cutting everything before you begin to avoid burning things. About half an hour preparation time is needed in total.

Ingredients: This serves 4-5 people or one for several days. Keep it in the big saucepan with a lid on it in the fridge (allowing it to completely cool first) and heat up portions in the microwave until piping hot. 

• 200g or 7oz of puy or green lentils. Check on the packet that they're ones you cook for 15-20 minutes as they can vary.
• 1 stock cube - vegetable or chicken.
• 100g or 4 oz (ish) of mushrooms finely chopped.
• 1-2 carrot(s) peeled and grated.
• 1 can of chopped tomatoes (make sure it's just plain tomatoes in tomato juice, without added salt etc.)
• 1 onion, chopped.
• 1 pepper, chopped.
• Half to 1(depending on how big) sweet potato, peeled and cut into fairly small chunks.

Recipe:

• Place the lentils in a large pan (this is where the casserole dish comes in handy - see our Kitting out your Kitchen blog post for an example) and cover with cold water. Crumble in the stock cube and set over a medium-high heat to simmer. When it's boiling, set your timer to 20 minutes.

Crumble crumble

• Once you've done that, fry the onion, pepper and sweet potato in a dash of olive oil over a medium-high heat until the onion is soft.
• If at any point the lentils look like they're boiling dry, add some water from the kettle, but not too soon before adding the tomatoes because otherwise it'll be too wet.
• Add the mushrooms and fry until they're soft. 

Frying 

• Stir this mixture into the lentils and simmer for about 5 minutes before adding the chopped tomatoes and grated carrot.
• Now you season, season, season. Add a pinch of salt, a twist of pepper and a shake of dried herbs. If you've got any fresh herbs - chuck them in too. Taste it and adjust until it's just right. If you've got any tomato ketchup, a squeeze of that doesn't go amiss either.
• Cover, and cook for the remaining time on the timer. The lentils are done when they're tender but not mushy.

Done! 

I normally serve this with some boiled fresh veg such as celery, courgette and peas (chuck them in slightly salted boiling water for 8-10 minutes and the peas for 5 minutes) and some brown rice for extra carbs if I'm hungry/need it. It may not look so appetising after the first day as the lentils are brown by nature, but if you heat it up it's still perfectly good and tasty.

Complimentary Tune: Boom Clap - Charlie XCX

Tip of the day: Get a lamp/fairy lights for your room - believe me it can turn a horribly lit uni room into a warm and cosy-feeling space so easily. It makes all the difference in the world!

Hearty Bean Stew

This is a favourite of mine in the winter - it's filling, yummy and it's a one pot wonder! I make it if I know I've got a busy few days because you can make a pot and eat it in portions. It's basically just vegetables and beans, so it's all super healthy and CHEAP. It's great if you want a healthy meal on a low budget. It's bulked out with vegetables and I eat it with wholegrain pasta to stretch it further and give me some long-lasting energy. And of course, the beans provide that all important protein!

Ingredients:

This is recipe is so flexible and ideal for using cheaper seasonal veg. It also makes use of the pot-planted herbs we've mentioned in previous posts. As it's summer at the moment, in the pictures in this post I've used summer vegetables, but in winter I use sweet potato and parsnip (very much down to personal taste) as well as other veg I can pick up.

The quantities are changeable according to what you've got, you can't really go wrong as long as you've got plenty of nice vegetables to add flavour and variation! So this is very approximate.

• 1/2 an onion (this is pretty important for flavour)
• 1/2 a pepper (or a whole one if you've got one that needs eating)
• 1/2 - a whole peeled sweet potato (optional/seasonal)
• 1 parsnip (optional/seasonal - see the stuffed peppers for how to cut it up)
• 2 sticks of celery sliced (if you don't like this, it's not essential, but it's such a good flavour giver! Give it a go)
• 2 carrots, sliced into circles
• A few cherry tomatoes if you have them
• 3-4 mushrooms
• Courgette (this is one I always buy - it adds some green)
• French beans, if they're not too expensive - at their best round about now (late July)
• A tin of chopped tomatoes
• Half a chicken or vegetable stock cube.
• A tin of beans - I prefer cannellini beans in this one 

Recipe (serves 4 or lasts 4 days, roughly):

• Start by chopping up all the vegetables - the onion into small chunks, pepper, sweet potato if you're using it etc.
• Depending on the cooking time, it might be an idea to put a bit of wholegrain pasta on to cook whilst you're making it - not much though because this is filling!
• Put a dash of olive oil (or whatever oil you have) in a large-ish casserole dish or saucepan, and begin to fry the onions until softened, then add the pepper and hard root vegetables (parsnip and sweet potato).
• Once they've been frying for a few minutes, add the mushrooms.
• Then add a can of chopped tomatoes, and a stock cube dissolved in a bit of boiling water - this depends on how many veg you have. You want to cover them in liquid, plus a little bit as it boils down.
• At this point, also add the celery, carrot, courgette etc. (any reasonably soft veg that normally takes about 8-10 minutes to boil)

• Season it with about a tbsp of tomato ketchup (magic ingredient this), salt, pepper, herbs (basil is especially nice here), dried herbs, black pepper - whack it all in!
• Allow it to simmer for about 10 minutes, and meanwhile, rinse the beans well (believe me, this bit is worth it...) under running water.
• Add the beans and peas if you fancy it. Taste, check the seasoning and simmer for 5 more minutes - until the vegetables are soft - then you're done!

How easy was that!? It's one to do when you can't be bothered to think. Hardly any washing up either! This can also be frozen in portions in the freezer.

Tip of the day: Try and go for seasonal veg when you're shopping - it's often cheaper, local, and more tasty!

Tune of the day: Hozier - From Eden

Enjoy!

---K

Moroccan Couscous

This is something that can be made in a large batch and reheated in smaller portions when needed. It is highly versatile and the recipe always varies whenever I make it, so different ingredients can be added each time you serve it.

Although couscous itself is not bursting full of nutrients, it is a great alternative carbohydrate to the wheat we tend to choose for most meals. The chickpeas provide you with much needed protein and the fruit and vegetables provide a lot of long-lasting energy.

This is great as a quick lunch option, especially if made in advance and kept in the fridge, but can also be a healthy dinner (perhaps with the addition of some grilled chicken to bulk it up a bit).

Kitty has talked about the use of planted herbs in recipes in a previous blog post, and the tactic of buying at the end of the day in supermarkets when they tend to be reduced. This recipe is a great opportunity for these plants to be used (especially if you don't have a vast quantity of dried herbs and spices in the cupboard), as Moroccan implies a lot of exotic herby flavours.

A work in process

Ingredients (makes 5 large portions)

500g of Couscous
1 onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 can/carton of chickpeas (drained)
A large handful of herbs of your choice (coriander/parsley etc)
or
A large tsp of dried herbs (ground cumin/ground coriander etc)
1-2 tbsp of lemon juice (or any fruit juice you have)
2-3 carrots (grated)
1 pepper (optional but adds colour, espec. if red)
150g of raisins
150g of sultanas (or just 300g of one of these if cheaper)
2 cups boiling chicken or vegetable stock (about 2 stock cubes worth, follow ingredients on packaging)


Recipe

• In a large saucepan (you need to be able to fit in all the rest of the ingredients as well) fry the chopped up onions and crushed garlic cloves on a low heat.
• Stir in your boiling stock once the onion has browned (make sure cubes are completely dissolved before adding)
• Turn down the heat to as low as possible (or just remove from heat) and add couscous (and more boiling water if needed).
• Make sure you keep stirring well, as the couscous is liable to stick to the bottom of the pan without sufficient movement and lubrication (insert lols here).
• Once couscous is properly fluffed, chop up and add the rest of the ingredients (I would advise adding raisins/sultanas first, as allows them to plump up slightly with the steam from the boiled water).

• The best way to chop up fresh herbs is with a large non-serrated knife, place your hand flat on the farthest end of the knife and make a levering motion back and forth across the herbs (repeat in contrasting directions).

Action shot

• Add a decent amount of salt and pepper before finishing to taste (if you don't feel you used enough stock then add more salt to compensate)
• And there you have it, a simple but exciting recipe to keep you going for days (OK, maybe just hours).

Complimentary tune: Love On Top - Beyoncé, I know you all know this song so please belt it out like the belter outer it is for maximum summery happiness.

Tip of the day: If you're cooking meat off the bone, make sure to use the leftover meaty bones as stock. Do this by placing leftovers in a large pan and cover with cold water. Bring this to a simmer and then turn down to a low heat for a couple of hours (between 2 and 6), the longer its left the better the flavour will be. Strain the mixture and store in the fridge for up to 4 days or freeze and use when needed. Make sure you label well though so no-one uses it as an ice cream sauce.

That colour variation though

---C

Post Workout Protein

As we both row, we both exercise nearly every day, whether that be a run, going to the gym or rowing itself. To do this and still keep up the energy we need to go about our (extremely busy) student lives, we have to make sure our diet is quite high in protein.

Quite a few of our friends resort to the good ol' powdered protein shake which, despite containing a very concentrated dosage of it, aren't all that great for your health and are also not too cheap to come by.

Here are 2 examples of protein-filled, healthier options that can be made for before or after exercise and work on a student budget easily. 


Tuna & Sweetcorn Pasta

This is a great energy booster for lunchtime when you've worked hard in the morning but want to stay fueled for the afternoon as the pasta provides a great slow-release energy (especially if wholewheat) and only needs a few core ingredients.

As both the tuna and sweetcorn are tinned, they will keep for a very long time and so can be bought in bulk and the beginning of term (especially if your parents are willing to do a big starter shop for you!) There are also some great salad options for tuna and the combination of the two can also be fuel-efficient when accompanied by a baked potato.

Ingredients (Serves 1)

100g Wholewheat pasta £0.95 for 500g
1 can of tuna £3.50 for 4
1 can of sweetcorn £2.45 for 4
3-4 tbsp of Mayonnaise (or plain yoghurt if you're fussy, it's all about the moisture) £0.40 for 500ml
A good helping of ground black pepper 

This recipe is pretty self-explanatory, especially as students where pasta is a staple to our easy-fix diet. My main point in this is showing the ease of which such a fueling meal can be created and with very basic ingredients.

I also can't emphasize enough the importance of ground pepper as a seasoning for nearly every meal you'll ever make. A small, glass black pepper grinder can be found in most supermarket spice aisles (I think it's about £2 from Tesco), and a couple of grinds of that can liven any meal (including a dodgy takeaway). 


Feta & Tomato Quinoa

Although at first glance this seems like just a light salad, for those in the know (myself included) quinoa is another fantastic source of protein, and is almost mince-like in both its texture and the way in which it fills you up.

Feta itself is quite pricey but if you instead look for 'Salad Cheese', you are likely to find a very similar flavour but for half the price. Neither of us are massive fans of strong cheeses and Feta is a great example of a mild cheese with a carrying flavour that really zings up a meal.

If you can, buy quinoa in bulk as it is slightly more pricey than pasta. If you have a local Costco or Bookers, head on down to there before the start of term and sweet talk your parents -using the endless merits of quinoa- into buying a large quantity of it. It may sound like a large amount, but the amount of easy salads and warm dishes that can be created using it are endless.

Any vegetables you have lying around in the back of the fridge can be whacked in this to add fibre for more longer lasting energy. This is optional if you want it to be a quick job, but perhaps for an evening meal would be an interesting variation.

Ingredients

100g/1 cup of quinoa £1.98 for 300g
75-100g of feta/salad cheese £0.75 for 200g
3-4 tbsp of sun dried tomato paste/pesto £2.20 for 190g
Any vegetable of your choice

Recipe

• Chop up the vegetables into small but relatively similar sizes, season them, and put them in the oven to grill for a maximum of 10 minutes at 180 degrees.

• Check them after about 5 minutes and shuffle them around as it is mainly the top that the heat is concentrated on and different vegetables tend to be done at different times (For a great guide on different vegetable cooking times click here).

• Cook the quinoa according to the instructions on the packet, make sure all the water has been absorbed and the grains are light and fluffy before lightly draining.

• Once cooked, cut up the feta into cubes and stir it in with the paste.

• Add vegetables and serve warm.

• Nom!

Complimentary tune: Happy Shiny People - R.E.M a great post- or pre- workout feelgood tune to match the feelgood food you'll soon be tucking into.


Tip of the day: Before you start a supermarket shop, go straight to the reduced or special offers area and see if you can plan your meals around that. Often if you go at the end of the day, there will be a lot more offers available to you as they want to get rid of the more perishable produce. Be flexible with your shopping.

---C