Did you know?

Lentils can replace half of your meat in a casserole, stew or pie?

It's great for producers because lentils are dirt cheap so you'll really be helping push their profits up.

You'll also consume about half the amount of meat that you would have done, which could theoretically help prevent an attack of gout.

You'll get up to 100% more lentil flavour than you would have done if you hadn't adulterated your meat with lentils.

And finally we'll all be able to wonder at a sight not seen in the UK since the end of the last ice age: Elderly sheep seeing out their days happily grazing o'er hill and dale in this green and pleasant land.

Bit woke for you this isn't it?

Some of us have been doing this for a while, and one thing I will say straight away, you won't notice it UNTIL you have a full meat meal, and then you will

But its still a really good way of eating healthier and its a lot better for the planet and the shopping budget

Except lentils are a well-known contributor to gout attacks

Todays special

12oz rib eye (comes with 6oz of lentils and 6oz of steak) enjoy

Rowls wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 19, 2021 1:50 pm

Elderly sheep seeing out their days happily grazing o'er hill and dale in this green and pleasant land.

The only reason you will see elderly sheep grazing o'er hill and dale is because they aren't being farmed. Very few farmers will spend their days looking after barren old ewes.

So as well as seeing elderly sheep happily grazing, you will also see elderly sheep (with very uncomfortable straggly fleeces) dying of starvation because they are too ill or lame to move. And if you're really unlucky, you might see foxes or badgers eating them alive. It's no bed of roses being an elderly sheep - no welfare state, no pension, no NHS.

Lancasterclaret wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 19, 2021 1:55 pm

Bit woke for you this isn't it?

Some of us have been doing this for a while, and one thing I will say straight away, you won't notice it UNTIL you have a full meat meal, and then you will

But its still a really good way of eating healthier and its a lot better for the planet and the shopping budget

I've been eating lentils well before this vegan fad hit. Not just the supermarket tins but the old fashioned giant packets of dried lentils. I soak them, ferment them and can cook them in plenty of different styles.

Back when I was last unemployed I could feed myself for a week (very healthily) for about £5.

dsr wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 19, 2021 2:07 pm

The only reason you will see elderly sheep grazing o'er hill and dale is because they aren't being farmed. Very few farmers will spend their days looking after barren old ewes.

So as well as seeing elderly sheep happily grazing, you will also see elderly sheep (with very uncomfortable straggly fleeces) dying of starvation because they are too ill or lame to move. And if you're really unlucky, you might see foxes or badgers eating them alive. It's no bed of roses being an elderly sheep - no welfare state, no pension, no NHS.

This is a myth set about by horrid farmers to justify their trade in flesh and blood.

If a farmer saw a lovely field with a family having a picnic, and there's a nice pond in it, they'd fill in the pond with concrete, plough the family into the field, blow up the tree, and use the leaves to make a dress for their wife who's also their brother.

Great Band

dsr wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 19, 2021 2:07 pm

Very few farmers will spend their days looking after barren old ewes.

Too busy getting stuck balls deep into those ewes not nimble enough to get out the way. Most farmers I mean...not all of them.

Rowls wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 19, 2021 2:20 pm

Back when I was last unemployed I could feed myself for a week (very healthily) for about £5.

Why have you been keeping that to yourself?
Now the temporary £20 benefit increase has been withdrawn, people are literally dying in the street now the handouts are as low as £1,000 pcm.

All the while there is the possibility of a family of 4 eating a healthy lifestyle for as little as £20 a week, never mind the £50 per week some had previously said was possible!

Well, it didn't take long for this thread to become political.

Cheese and lentil pie was my favourite school dinner, partly because there were always seconds - but I'd rather not have read this thread while "nil by mouth"

MACCA wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 19, 2021 2:34 pm

Why have you been keeping that to yourself?
Now the temporary £20 benefit increase has been withdrawn, people are literally dying in the street now the handouts are as low as £1,000 pcm.

All the while there is the possibility of a family of 4 eating a healthy lifestyle for as little as £20 a week, never mind the £50 per week some had previously said was possible!

A sack of lentils cost a little over £1 and could last over a month.

If you're prepared to eat lentils, vegetables and very little meat you can get to around £5/week.

You need to cut out meat generally speaking because meat is expensive. I treated myself to some heart back then because it gave me meat in my diet for relatively little.

Eggs are a great cheap source of protein.

You need to be cooking your own food though. The second you start buying ready meals, prepared food or -god forbid- takeaways, you blow your budget.

Billy Balfour wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 19, 2021 2:39 pm

Well, it didn't take long for this thread to become political.

Yes, the OP if you know what to look out for.

I've been making shepherds pie this way for a few years. 500 gm decent minced lamb (probs 50%+ of the cost of this) + equivalent lentils + 3/4 carrots/small swede/a few onions/(bit of celery maybe if you've got some) cheap can of chopped tomatoes/low salt veg stock-cubes + cheap mashing spuds. (Bit of rosemary from the garden & some pepper maybe).
Makes about 8/9 portions @ less than a quid a pop.

Decent balance of protein/pulses/veg/carbos (bit of cheese on top for some dairy maybe) and very tasty I think. Going to make one later this week; I'll eat one after cooking, freeze the rest in 1 litre containers, they defrost & re-heat very nicely.
Quite a lot of peeling/chopping/stirring/mashing/washing up involved but that's 8/9 evening meals for me.

To be seriuos about the lentils for a moment - I rarely touch them these days because I can afford to eat meat once again.

I've nothing against them but I wouldn't willingly adulterate a shepherds pie (or similar) with lentils.

If I want lentils, I'll eat lentils.

They're very good for you though. Great source of protein, fibre, vitamins etc and cheap as chips. Especially if you're prepared to buy a sack of them dried and soak them yourself.

They work well in chilli con carne as well

Course, Lentils are as cheap as chips, but need cooking

Which requires heating and energy, and water

All which cost, and all which cost more and more each day

Green lentils go well with the chicken curry I batch cook from time to time.

It's no great thing to me as I've eaten absolutely no meat or fish in 2 years and have severely curtailed my dairy intake until it's pretty negligible and I feel absolutely brilliant for doing it. Regarding lentils specifically they are one of the 15 foods everyone should be eating plenty of in order to stay healthy and live longer. They are tasty versatile and cheap as. Chickpeas are another.

Billy Balfour wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 19, 2021 3:08 pm

Green lentils go well with the chicken curry I batch cook from time to time.

We couldn't stand the green lentils

Only can get away with it with red with the kids really

Chick peas are fantastic with chicken curries though

Lancasterclaret wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 19, 2021 3:01 pm

They work well in chilli con carne as well

Course, Lentils are as cheap as chips, but need cooking

Which requires heating and energy, and water

All which cost, and all which cost more and more each day

We're talking fractions of what you save by cooking instead buying ready-made though. And if you're temporarily between jobs you can simply offset this when you get your next job.

Lancasterclaret wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 19, 2021 3:13 pm

We couldn't stand the green lentils

Only can get away with it with red with the kids really

Chick peas are fantastic with chicken curries though

Great way to bulk food out. Any pulses like this work a treat.

Another vote here for chickpeas. I always bang a tin of them into my spicy Moroccan lamb meal. They can be served as a side dish when cooked with a stock cube or smoked paprika and garlic. So versatile.

We try to get lentils, beans (broad, cannelloni?) or chick peas in to our main meal at night

Not all the time, and occasionally we just have crap (half a pizza with homemade toppings, a side order of veg and a piece of fish, or a take away)

But we are a pretty healthy bunch thankfully

Another vote for lentils. Got into making a big vat of lentil masala with spinach last winter. Lasts all week for lunches if you're working from home, for next to no cost.

Lentils, grains and pulses with everything!

A portion of bulgar wheat
Tin of green lentils
Handful chopped mint
20 cherry tomatoes (halved)
One third cucumber (diced)
10 dried apricots (quartered)
Small handful lightly roasted flaked almonds
Crumbled feta on top
Mix all of the above together.

Dress with houmous mixed with lemon juice.

Can be eaten on its own or as a side… Bob’s your proverbial

Rowls wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 19, 2021 2:20 pm

I've been eating lentils well before this vegan fad hit. Not just the supermarket tins but the old fashioned giant packets of dried lentils. I soak them, ferment them and can cook them in plenty of different styles.

Back when I was last unemployed I could feed myself for a week (very healthily) for about £5.



This is a myth set about by horrid farmers to justify their trade in flesh and blood.

If a farmer saw a lovely field with a family having a picnic, and there's a nice pond in it, they'd fill in the pond with concrete, plough the family into the field, blow up the tree, and use the leaves to make a dress for their wife who's also their brother.

That you Alan?

bobinho wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 19, 2021 4:11 pm

That you Alan?

Don't know what you're on about. This is a serious thread for serious people.

I like lentils and I like Pearl barley… how’s that for serious?

File lentils alongside brussel sprouts.

Probably one of the least flavoursome items one can eat - hence the low price !

I think we can all agree that fried lentils are the best constituent part of a Bombay mix, which makes a delightful entrée to a very lamby curry.

Is half lentils/half meat a tribute band of Half Man / Half Biscuit?

I had lobster last night and steak tonight...

How will Lentils make them any better?

Edit: Can't I just eat poppadum's ?

As it happens this evening I’m cooking up a lentil and potato dahl for my tea.
Lentils are so convenient, cheap and simple to cook. One of my favourite foods.

Half lentils and half meat is like being half pregnant.
Ditch the meat, lentils are brilliant

796 lentils, 12 bits of meat 56ml of jooose.
Easy win for Burnley.

I use lentils a lot because they are healthy and do a job. However, If I was on death row waiting for my last meal, I'd be gutted if a lentil dish turned up... Even if it was just half.

Problem being lentils are fecking orrible and ruin pretty
much any meal . They’re the thing you’d eat JUST before starting on the passengers …

I like Dahl.

Probably because you can't taste the Lentils.

Lancasterclaret wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 19, 2021 3:01 pm

Course, Lentils are as cheap as chips, but need cooking

For the same price I'll take the chips every time.

chekhov wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 19, 2021 6:35 pm

As it happens this evening I’m cooking up a lentil and potato dahl for my tea.
Lentils are so convenient, cheap and simple to cook. One of my favourite foods.

Lentil dal. Absolutely gorgeous in a pressure cooker.

What about a sack of lentil count ?

BTW, I too like Rowl Dal.

Reading this thread made me realise just how much I miss the tinned food count.

Chickpeas are fantastic. Make great curries, falafel, humous. Try roasting with a few herbs and spices and keep in a bowl for snacks instead of sweets/crisps etc. Fantastic. Cannelloni beans also make fantastic humous. Black beans for great burgers.

Meat is overrated.

I don’t dislike lentils but they play havoc with my digestive system., especially those ghastly Puy Lentils.
However all my family are vegetarians and other kinds of lentils do make wonderful Shepherds Pies, or Dhal.

Do you know the difference between a lentil and a chickpea?

I've never paid good money to have a lentil on my face.

With all this lentil munching going on, has no-one realised that the extra methane produced will increase global warming?

Embrace it and smell the future.

It'll be the end for jacousies

Volvoclaret wrote: ↑

Thu Oct 21, 2021 3:24 pm

It'll be the end for jacousies

Wrong!

It's the only carbon neutral way to power a jacuzzi.