Change4Life Supermeals Challenge Day 9

On Day 9 of my Supermeals Challenge, I cooked the sausage and bean stew.

This recipe (below) was quick, easy and inexpensive to make; in line with the aims of this Change4Life health-promotion campaign. The result was a nutritious and satisfying meal.

I used a tin of tomatoes rather than the passata. When I added the potatoes (and they were large medium-sized ones) the mixture needed more liquid, so I added a splash of stock (made from the chicken carcass from the sunday roast for use in tomorrow’s dish). I used cannellini rather than the butter beans, thinking the smaller beans would work best in this dish.

I served the stew with plenty of freshly-made crusty bread (from our breadmaker).

The meals in the Change4Life booklet have a similar feel to them, as they use a lot of the same ingredients (e.g., tinned tomatoes, tomato puree, onions, stock) and are low on spice. However, once you’ve done them the way the book suggests, they could be repeatedly cooked with slight variations to prevent them becoming too monotonous.

To spice the sausage and bean stew, for instance, you could do a variation with spicy chorizo sausage (fry thin slices with the onions). I like adding bay leaves when I cook dishes like this – cheap if you have a bay tree in the garden or in a large pot outside. Substituting mint for the basil would give the dish a whole different complexion. Indeed, the booklet’s tip for this recipe is to try adding chopped courgettes or other vegetables with the potato (and thereby getting more of your 5 a day). Get creative!

sausage and bean stew
The ingredients: 2 reduced-fat sausages, 2 tsp olive oil, 1 large onion, 2 cloves garlic, 400g passata or a 400g tin chopped tomatoes, 410g tin of cannellini beans or butter beans, 2 medium potatoes (peeled and cut into small cubes), 2 tsp dried basil or mixed herbs, ground black pepper.

The method: preheat grill and grill sausages. Heat olive oil and fry onion and garlic. Add passata/tomatoes, beans, potatoes and herbs. Simmer 20 mins. Slice sausages and add.

229 kcals per portion.

Change4Life:
www.wales.gov.uk/change4life

You still have time to register with Change4Life online, before this Friday (10 February), to get a copy of the Supermeals booklet. The booklet is bilingual (English and Welsh).