Hello!

I would love to include legumes and whole grains in our family diet but I haven’t tried because I’m worried no one will like it. I would love to hear some no fail main meal or side dish ideas that work in your family.


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  • I always add lentils to the pasta sauce, since I blend it it doesn’t go noticed.
    I regularly make an oven dish; fry onion garlic zucchini carrot and mushrooms together, to which I add a tin of beans and some cups of frozen peas. I then divide them in oven dishes and top them with a hat of puff pastry.
    Beans are good to add to taco’s and in chili con carne.
    I also make regularly a cauliflower oven dish which has fried onion, garlic chopped tomato’s and tomato paste to which I add cannellini beans. Spread that in the bottom of an oven dish. Then a layer of cauliflower divided, topped with grated cheese


  • I love adding legumes to slow cooker meals too.


  • Legumes are terrific in soups and stews.


  • Minestrone is worth a try to see if your family likes it.


  • I make chickpea and pumpkin cakes regularly and the family love them. Mash a can of drained chickpeas and mix with some cooked mashed pumpkin. Add lots of chopped parsley, chopped spring onions and some parmesan cheese. Form into patties and place on an oven tray and bake in oven… very easy and yummy!


  • Soups and stews! Really interesting reading the comments to this!


  • I add a can of four bean mix to salads. I love kidney beans in spaghetti bolognese. My kids eat both meals, even hubby does and he’s fussy, so you can’t taste the beans


  • Add chickpeas to salads, together with tomatoes, capsicums, feta cheese, cucumber…


  • Add lentils to soups and stews!


  • You can add lentils in lots of recipes, and I often add to soups. Perhaps start with half a can and increase as the family gets used to them. Also have you seen the lentil brownie recipe in recipes section. interesting. I’m going to try it.


  • there are some good comments here


  • I always put lentils and split peas in soup and the kids didn’t even notice.


  • Spaghetti bolognese with lentils is amazing, healthy and a cheap way to stretch out the meal. Saucy dishes are a great way to first add lentils as they aren’t so obviously there.


  • i need to cook with these more


  • We also do the red lentils in lasagne and bolognese sauces. A tin of brown lentils would be hard for the kids to even notice they are there.


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