Cheap and Easy Vegetarian Recipe with Chickpeas

Chickpeas and Roasted Vegetables in Low-Fat Cheese Sauce

bean chart from freedigitalphotos.net

Healthy Chickpea Vegatarian Recipe

Beans and pulses are cheap and healthy. This is a tasty vegetarian recipe using chickpeas and roasted vegetables in a cheese sauce. This recipe uses low fat ingredients to make a low calorie dish. It is really tasty, full of healthy nutrients and really cheap to make. It is ideal for a lunch or supper and you will find non-veggies clamouring for it as a side dish.
Not only do chickpeas add a delicious nutty flavour and texture to this dish, they are full of protein, dietary fibre, vitamins and minerals which make them the ideal for vegetarian health. They are thought to help lower cholesterol and they are a slow-release food which makes them ideal for weight management.

Why eating beans is good for you

Anyone on a vegetarian diet is generally healthy but one thing they need to consider is how to get protein into their diet - carnivores get their protein in meat and fish. Protein is needed every day to help build and renew every cell in the body. Chickpeas are part of the beans and pulses family, and they are rich in protein as is the cheese in this recipe. Beans are low in saturated fats, those bad fats that cause high blood pressure, strokes and heart disease. They are also high in fiber to maintain a healthy digestive system. Beans are also considered to be antioxidants which fight free radicals, those things that cause premature aging and some cancers. Beans are also very rich in minerals and vitamin including Vit B complex, Vit C and K, iron and copper.
Beans are a slow release food, they release their energy over a period of time which keeps blood sugar at steady levels - this helps to reduce those cravings that make you break your weight loss diet. Beans make you feel fuller for longer. Include 2-3 cups of beans or pulses in your diet every week for optimum health.

legumes from pixabay.com

How to prepare dried beans for cooking

Dried beans and chickpeas are very cheap to buy and are much healthier than tinned ones. The only tinned beans I use are red kidney beans because they need extra preparations to ensure the removal of toxins. Red lentils don't need preparation for cooking but everything else does. You need to soak beans and hard lentils, usually overnight, then cook for 30 minutes before they can be added to your recipes. They do freeze well though so prepare a whole bag at once and freeze in small portions so they can just be taken out and added to any dish.

Instructions

• Empty a whole bag of dried beans into a large bowl or saucepan.
• Cover completely with cold water.
• Leave to soak overnight.
• Drain the beans and rinse under clean running water.
• Put them in a large pot with loads of water.
• Bring to the boil, and boil fast for 10 minutes. You may have to skim a little scum from the top of the water.
• Reduce the heat and simmer for 25 minutes.
• Drain the beans in a collander.
• When they are cold, divide into 2-4 ounce portion bags and freeze. They don't need to be defrosted before use.

Courgette or Zucchini

my home grown courgettes

Cook Time

Prep time: 15 min

Cook time: 1 hour

Ready in: 1 hour 15 min

Yields: Serves 1

chickpeas and veggies in cheese sauce

How to Make Chickpeas and Roasted Vegetables in Cheese Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 courgette, diced
• 1 carrot, diced
• handful sweetcorn kernals
• handful cooked chickpeas
• 1 teaspoon dried mixed herbs
• FOR THE SAUCE FOR THE SAUCE
• 1 oz low fat butter
• 1 oz flour
• 1 pint skimmed milk
• 1oz mature cheese, grated

Instructions for roasted vegetables

1. pre heat oven to 220 degrees
2. prepare vegetables and cut into cubes or circles
3. place on a baking tray, sprinkle with herbs and spray with olive oil
4. roast in oven for about 40 minutes turning at least once

To complete the dish

Remove vegetables from oven and place in oven-proof dish or divide between three individual dishes.
Add chickpeas to the dish
Pour the sauce over veggie, chick pea mix
Top with grated cheese
Cook in moderately hot oven 200 degrees until the top is golden brown
Serve with baby-leaf green salad
Add garlic bread if you are not on a diet.

cheese board from pixabay.com

To make the sauce

Melt butter in a small saucepan

Add flour, mix without lumps
Cook for one minute
Remove from heat
Slowly, stirring all the time, add milk ensuring a smooth mix without lumps
Return to the heat and bring to the boil
Boil for 1 minute
Remove from heat
Add 1 ounces of grated cheese to your own taste - if you use a mature cheese you need to use less in volumn
Season with salt and pepper

Nutrition Values and Costs

ingredients	calories	fat	protein	cost
Courgette x1	80	1.6g	8.2g	50p
100g chickpeas	105	1.5g	5.5g	20p
handful sweetcorn kernals	66	0.5g	2.1g	25p
carrot	25	0	0.5g	8p
wholemeal flour x 1oz	100	0.54g	4g	5p
low fat butter x 1oz	180	20g	0.2g	21p
skimmed milk x 1pt	200	0	8g	70p
mature cheese x 1oz	100	4.5g	8.6g	6p
DISH FOR 3 SERVING	856			£2.05
DISH FOR SINGLE SERVING	285			68P

If you want to lower the calorie count, do not add the cheese to the sauce, the plain white sauce goes well with roasted vegetables and chickpeas.

The main health benefit to eating chickpeas

chickpeas from pixabay.com

Chickpeas are really high in fibre which is great for your digestive system plus it is slow-release which helps you to feel fuller longer. That is especially handy if you are health conscious. We all know by now that it is best to maintain a steady blood sugar level throughout the day without huge surges or sudden drops. A slow-release food like this keeps your blood sugar level up there till your next meal.
Of course for vegetarians it is an important source of protein. You need protein for cell building, for renewing cells and that applies to brain cells. People who have high levels of protein in their diet tend to be much more resilient, they can concentrate for longer and their energy levels keep constant.
It is thought foods like these help the body fight free radicals, those elements that are believed to cause cancers. They are full of anti-oxidants. They are also high in iron and manganese and a whole raft of vitamins.
There are lots of places you can learn more and I've included some links below that you might find interesting.

Some useful links

• Benefits of Chickpeas | LIVESTRONG.COM
  Whether you call it a chickpea or a garbanzo bean, there's no question that chickpeas are a healthy addition to any diet. Chickpeas are naturally low in fat, high in dietary fiber and rich in vitamins and minerals.
• 3 health benefits of chickpeas - Canadian Living
  From cutting cholesterol to warding off hunger cravings, chickpeas are a must-have on your next grocery list. Here are three health benefits of chickpeas.

Cooking for one: Broccoli, Cheese and Egg Bake

This is a delicious, filling, healthy and cheap vegetarian recipe for anyone who is cooking for one. The broccoli, cheese and egg dish is easy to prepare and is delicious hot or cold.

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Cheap and Healthy Vegetarian Egg Dish: Low Fat Recipe

If you like cheap and healthy, this tasty broccoli, cheese and egg bake is one for you. It is really easy to make, tastes delicious and is very filling. It is great served hot with crusty bread and a salad or cold with salad. It is a bit like quiche without the flan. You can cook it in advance if necessary - just cover the top with foil so it doesn't burn. This will freeze very well so you can cook several at at time and freeze them to provide tasty and healthy ready meals right from your freezer.

This version is a low-fat one but you can use full fat cheeses if you prefer. I've included some nutrition facts for you too. This might be of most interest to those of us who are watching our weight and watching our health.

When you are cooking for one it only takes a little effort to cook cheap and healthy dishes. You might need to do a little more advance planning but that is actually a good thing - it stops you making impulse buys that are costly and, as often as not, unhealthy. I like to know what is going into my food so cooking for scratch rather than buying expensive ready-made meals wins for me every time.

What you need for a broccoli cheese bake

Broccoli Cheese Bake

Broccoli Cheese Bake

Source: photography by annmackiemiller

Approximate Preparation and Cooking Time

Prep time: 10 min

Cook time: 40 min

Ready in: 50 min

Yields: serves one

Ingredients

• 125g Broccoli florets
• 2 spring onions, cleaned and diced finely
• 1 egg
• 1-2 tablespoon soft cheese, Philadelphia light is ideal
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 or 3 cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 oz grated cheese, use low fat cheese for topping

How to make Broccoli Bake

1. Clean and separate the broccoli spears. Steam lightly for around 10 minutes until the stems start to soften. If you steam the florets stem down will cook first. Drain and set to one side.
2. Pre-heat your oven to 220/gas mark 7
3. Place your broccoli with the spring onions and tomatoes in an oven-proof dish.
4. Whisk eggs together with garlic and soft cheese.
5. Pour over the broccoli.
6. Top with grated cheese.
7. Cook for 30 minutes until the egg is set.

Nutritional Values

	calories	Fat	Protein
broccoli cheese and egg bake	300	15.6g	21g
broccoli	54	0	3.8
1 egg	75	5g	6.3g
Philly light cheese per 30g	46	3.3g	2.2g
spring onions x 3	14	0	1g
cherry tomatoes x 3	15	0	0.5g
1 oz low-fat grated cheese	90	7g	7g

For me the three most important facts are calories, fat and protein. For other values check any good calorie counter.

A word about calorie counting

I've included a table with the three most important factors for me when I am watching my health, calories, fat content and protein. You'll see the highest calorie count is actually in the grated cheese you put on top of this dish. To further reduce the calories use breadcrumbs with a tiny sprinkle of parmesan. Parmesan also has 90 calories per 1 oz but you need much less of it for taste. Personally I don't think 300 calories is excessive for a meal and the fat and protein content are important for maintaining optimum health.

Mini casserole dish

single serving earthenware dish

Source: amazon.co.uk

Cooking with earthenware

I prefer cooking with earthenware or stoneware rather than anything else. I just feel it spreads the heat much more evenly than china or porcelain. For baking an egg dish like this, it is excellent as it ensures the egg bakes evenly and all the way through.

It is easy enough to find single-serving sizes that are great when you are cooking for one and the joy is you can freeze them and then reheat straight from freezer to oven.

Low Cost
The total cost of this dish was £1.88. I always look for the bargains in supermarket and I was lucky enough to get two gorgeous heads of broccoli for 39p in Aldi - that made this dish, a dish of penne with broccoli and mushroom and broccoli soup - not bad eh? You can see some of my ideas for frugal shopping on an article I published elsewhere - How to Cook For One on a Budget.