Healthy on a budget

Veggie pie

SERVES 4

So cheap and so good, this pie will become your go-to dish when money is tight.

YOU WILL NEED

150g red split lentils, added to a pan of salted water, covered and simmered for 20 mins 1.2kg potatoes, quartered 1tbsp rapeseed oil 1 onion, chopped 2 large carrots and 2 large parsnips, diced 3 sticks celery, chopped 2 garlic cloves, sliced 750ml vegetable stock 2tbsp tomato paste 5tbsp milk 2tbsp olive oil 3tbsp chives, chopped

1 Boil the potatoes for 15 mins until soft, drain. Heat the oven to 180C Fan/Gas 6.

2 Heat oil in a pan, cook the onion for 5 mins. Add the remaining veggies (not the lentils) and fry for 5 mins. Add the stock and tomato paste and simmer for 20 mins until the vegetables are tender.

3 Add milk and olive oil to the potatoes, then mash until smooth. Drain the lentils and stir into the veggies. Tip the veg into a large ovenproof dish.

4 Top with mash and bake for 20 mins until golden. Sprinkle with chives and serve.

TIP YOU COULD USE UP ANY VEGGIES IN THIS DISH, JUST BAKE ACCORDINGLY.

PREP: 20 MINS COOK: 1 HR 30 MINS CALS: 276 FAT: 7.5g SAT FAT: 1g CARBS: 62g

Cauliflower rice paella

SERVES 4

Finely-chopped cauliflower replaces the rice here. It’s lower in carbs and packs your plate with extra veg.

YOU WILL NEED

500g cauliflower florets,
whizzed in a food processor
to resemble grains of rice
1tbsp olive oil
2 small red onions, cut
into wedges
1 red and 1 green pepper,
cut into strips
100g green beans, trimmed
2tsp smoked paprika
½ chicken stock cube,
crumbled
3tbsp pale dry sherry
1tbsp tomato puree
150g cooked prawns
100g frozen peas

Juice 1 lemon
Small bunch parsley, chopped

1 Heat ½tbsp oil in a large frying pan. Add the cauliflower ‘rice’ and cook for 10 mins over a high heat, mixing regularly until starting to toast.

2 Heat the remaining oil in a second frying pan and cook the onions over a high heat for 5 mins. Add the peppers, beans, paprika and stock cube and season. Fry for 5 mins. Mix in the s