members recipes

This nutritious and scrummy salad is just as delicious the day after prepared, so a great idea for a packed lunch or lunch \'on the go\'.

Ingredients
Ingredients
• 200g mixed lentils
• 1 can mixed beans
• 1 onion
• 1 clove garlic
• 5 cherry tomatoes
• 1 packet feta cheese
• 1 tbsp fresh chopped coriander
• 1 tbsp fresh chopped basil
• 1 tbsp fresh chopped chives
• 1 tsp fresh chopped mint
• 1 vegetable stock cube
• 1 tbsp Olive oil
• 1 tsp Lemon Juice
• Dressing
• 2 tbsp Olive oil
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 1 tsp honey
• Salt and pepper to taste

Method
1. In a pan of boiling water, add the stock cube, lemon juice, dash of olive oil and lentils. Cook on a medium to low heat for approximately 20-25 mins until lentils are still firm but cooked through.
2. Add the beans to the hot water and stir through for a further 2 mins and then drain. Meanwhile, finely chop the onion and garlic and transfer to a bowl. Tip the lentil and bean mixture into the bowl and cover with foil for 3 mins just until the onions start to soften.
3. Add the feta cheese, tomatoes, fresh herbs and leave under the foil for a further few minutes while preparing the dressing. Combine the remaining oil, vinegar, honey and lemon juice and whisk with a fork and season. Dress the salad and serve immediately with crisp breads
Health benefits: Beans & Pulses
Beans and Pulses, or the umbrella term of legumes are often associated with cardio vascular health. As such they are an LDL bad cholesterol depressant. They may also be effective in managing blood pressure.
Legumes are also potent carriers of enzymes called protease inhibitors . Nutritionists and scientists have long hailed the health giving qualities of beans as a high-fibre foodstuff containing enzymes thought to offer protection against the damage caused to cells by free radicals, which can lead to cancer.