You know legumes are good for you. But many people don’t know how to choose, prepare and store dried chick peas. Here’s how you can always have some on hand to add to salads, soups and stews:

1. Purchase a pack of dried chick peas; either in a packet from the supermarket, or in bulk from a health food store. 
2. Rinse in a colander, and soak overnight in plenty of water (they will swell to twice their original size)
3. Rinse again, and transfer to a pot of cold water with a little salt.
4. Bring to the boil, simmer for an hour. Taste test: A cooked chick pea is still firm but not crunchy.
5. Drain and cool.
6. Fill ‘portion size’ containers and transfer to your freezer. About half a cup is an average portion size.
7. When you need chick peas just remove from the freezer and thaw.  I usually transfer a container from the freezer to the fridge the night before, when I’m planning the next day’s meals.

When you fire up your BBQ, why not throw on some extra meat for your packed salad lunch the next day? Here's what was served for lunch at Olwen's place today: It makes a colourful and very satisfying salad.

Ingredients: (for each person)

Cooked chickpeas, about 1/2 - 3/4 cup

Diced mixture of green capsicum and tomato - the same volume as the chick peas

One tablespoon finely chopped parsley

3 kalamata olives

lemon juice as dressing

one chicken thigh, rolled in a spice mix of 1/4 tsp tumeric, 1/4 tsp cumin and 1/8 tsp chili flakes before cooking.

Method:

Roll the chicken in the spice mixture then char-grill or BBQ.

While the chicken is cooking, make up the salad with the remaining ingredients. I bulk-cook chick peas and freeze in portion size containers. Toss.

Slice the chicken and sit on top of the salad mix. 

Squeeze over lemon juice to dress.

Here's a recipe that's a hit in Courtney's home - she says that no matter what quantity she makes up, it never lasts for more than a day in the fridge. Everyone helps themselves frequently!

Thanks Courtney for sharing this recipe with us.

Ingredients

500g cooked chick peas, chilled
8 roma tomatoes, de-seeded and diced
1/2 red onion, finely diced
1-2 cloves garlic, crushed
one bunch of coriander, chopped
drizzle of olive oil
Juice of one lemon
salt & pepper to taste

Mix all together and serve

If you’re suffering from pre-menstrual tension, or menopausal hot flushes, its good to know that there are foods easily available that can help balance your hormones. There’s two specific foods, linseed and legumes, that you can easily incorporate into your diet and reap the benefits.

Linseed (flaxseed) and legumes are both classed as phytoestrogens, containing lignans and isoflavones. They’re called phytoestrogens because their molecular structure closely resembles the molecular shape of oestrogen, so they can ‘latch on’ to oestrogen receptors on your cell membranes. Although they’re 100 times weaker than real estrogen, their action can help make up for insufficient oestrogen production, and help block the effects of excessive circulating oestrogen.

Too much oestrogen can lead to pre-menstrual tension, mood swings, and some other unpleasant symptoms like pre-period bloating. In women who are menopausal or peri-menopausal (the years just preceding menopause), this phytoestrogenic action of linseed and legumes can help balance hormones, minimising unpleasant symptoms like hot flushes. Research continues to try to confirm whether a good dietary intake of phytoestrogens can reduce the incidence of breast cancer.

Because phytoestrogens are converted to their active form by good bacteria in your intestine, and good bacteria need fibre to thrive, the best way to get your phytoestrogens is through whole unprocessed food that includes fibre – seed mixes, beans etc. Even better, by eating whole foods you’ll get lots of extra goodies – including fibre, plant oils, vitamins and minerals.

Here’s how you can easily incorporate linseed and legumes into your daily diet:

1. Make up a seed mix of two tablespoons linseed, one tablespoon each of walnuts, pepitas, sunflower seeds and sesame seeds. Grind and sprinkle on your high fibre cereal or stewed fruit. About two tablespoons of seed mix a day is a good ‘dose’. Keep the remainder in the fridge in a sealed container. I like to mix up 1/3 cup oats, 100g plain yoghurt, two tablespoons seed mix and one grated apple to create a sustaining afternoon snack.

2. Include legumes in your diet almost every day: Sprinkle chick peas on your lunch time salad, or use a lentil stew as a side dish with dinner, or enjoy baked beans for breakfast. Legumes are easily added to your slow cooker casserole too.

There are lots of other foods you can eat and actions you can take to help balance your hormones – but linseed and legumes are a particularly useful combination.

Wow. After making a super-successful batch of baked beans this weekend, I'm releasing a new recipe. Try it out and let me know what you think!

This quantity makes just over 2kg of baked beans, which you can freeze in portion-sized containers.

Ingredients
McKenzies four-bean mix of dried beans, 375g (the whole packet). You can buy them at the supermarket. Rinse well before soaking.
2 red capsicums, finely diced (or use one red and one yellow for extra colour)

1 green capsicum, finely diced (total capsicum weight, red and green - 500g)

1 brown onion, peeled and finely diced

3 large carrots, peeled and finely diced (about 500g)

60mls olive oil
3 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1 bay leaf
800g fresh tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon smoked paprika

Method
1. Soak the beans overnight, then simmer them for 30 minutes only. Drain
2. Heat oil in a heavy pot and saute onion, garlic, bay leaf and carrot for 10 minutes
3. Add capsicum and saute a further 3 minutes
4. Add the tomatoes and the beans. Stir to mix.
5. Transfer to a 180C (350F) oven and bake for two hours, checking at the one hour mark that the mixture hasn't dried out (it usually won't)
6. Stir in paprika, and return to the oven for 30 minutes.

7. Enjoy! I love them for breakfast topped with a poached egg, or poached fillet of salmon.

Note:
The more finely you dice the vegetables, the thicker your stew will be. Its worth the effort.
Per 200g serve: 202 calories, 7g fat, 9g protein,23g carbohydrate, 12g fibre. Lots of vitamins and minerals too.

This is one of those really-handy-to-freeze recipes that you can make in bulk on the weekend and use on a weeknight.

Its a great base for BBQ'd meat (I like it under kangaroo fillets or char-grilled chicken). 

A nice addition is some freshly steamed greens (e.g asparagus, broccoli, snow peas) to make a complete healthy meal real fast. Actually, its a good idea to add some brightly coloured elements to the plate as the lentil stew itself can appear a little grey without them - not very appetising!

Here's the recipe for the whole batch, which will make 5-6 serves

Ingredients: 
1/2 brown onion, finely diced
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 large carrots, diced
2 stalks celery, sliced finely
one litre of chicken stock
1 bay leaf
375g packet of green lentils.  You can use standard green lentils with their enticing peppery scent, or the french-style smaller green lentils that have a brighter colour. Both types hold their shape well in cooking.

Method: 
1. Saute the onion and garlic in a little olive oil until softened, not browned
2. Add the carrots, celery, lentils, chicken stock and bay leaf
3. Bring to a simmer and leave simmering for 20-30 minutes. The lentils will become soft but not mushy, and will soak up all the chicken stock. Keep an eye on the pot as it cooks to make sure it doesn't dry out.
4. You're ready. Enjoy!

Did you try the recipe? Got any variations you'd like to share with us? Leave your comment below!

You don't have to settle for the tinned version of baked beans. Here is a recipe for a much tastier version. http://gourmettraveller.com.au/baked_beans.htm and below is the picture of the completed dish when I'd cooked it. The extra flavour and texture is well worth the effort!

Its a relaxing Sunday yet again. One of the daily food checks I do with myself is "have you had your legumes today?" Today was no different, and when I opened the pantry door to ponder 'which legume today', the jar of black-eyed beans winked at me. But it was already 10am, and I wanted to eat these with lunch. Would I have time?

This is a great way to use legumes with your main meal.Although the recipe stipulates hard boiled eggs as the protein source, I prefer to use steamed fish or char-grilled chicken instead. Just use thechickpea dish as a ‘base’ for the protein to sit on. Add a refreshing salad andyou have a complete and very healthy meal. [Note: Does not freeze well.]

Ingredients: (enoughfor two people as a main meal)

125g dry chick peas

200g pumpkin in onepiece, peeled

2 garlic cloves, chopped

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

125g fresh tomatoes

1 egg, hard boiled and chopped

Salt, black pepper

2 tablespoons finely chopped parsely

 

Method:

Soak the chickpeas for 8 hours or overnight.

Drain chickpeas, place in saucepan with the pumpkin and 1.2litres of water. Cook, covered, over low heat 1-2 hours until chick peas aresoft (Cooking time will vary with freshness of dried chick peas. Take one outafter an hour and check to see if the texture is cooked)

Remove the pumpkin and mash

Drain the chick peas

Fry the garlic gently in olive oil until brown. Add tomatoesand soften.

Stir in chick peas, pumpkin and parsely

Check for seasoning.

Sprinkle over hard boiled egg when served.