4 February 2014

GUEST BLOG: Saturday's swap shop!

By guest blogger CORIN BELL

We took the roadshow to Partington in Trafford on Saturday for another energising Love Food Hate Waste session. This time around it was myself and Maz cooking up a veg and bean chilli storm, with rice to make sure even the biggest appetites were satisfied by this veggie delight. 

We’ve been asked at a number of the LFHW sessions why we’ve chosen to demonstrate meals that are vegetarian, as a lot of traditional British diets are based around meat. It’s a really good question, and there are a lot of people who still feel that it’s not really a main course unless it’s meaty, but the combination of beans, vegetables and grains in the meal contains a plenty of protein so you don't go hungry, plus our tasty veggie version contains less than half the fat of the meat option, and just about halves the cost per portion of making the dish, AND the veggie option is kinder to the environment too… so we’re pretty convinced that switching at least some of your meals over to these super-tasty, one pot, veggie wonders is good all round. 


As ever with a Cracking Good Food session, no one gets to just sit and watch. It’s hands washed, aprons on, and learning some safe and speedy chopping skills from Maz. We used carrots, parsnips and other UK seasonal veg for this recipe, but Maz stressed that the great thing about these dishes is that you can add any veg you like, making them great for using what’s in season, and also using up your leftovers!

Once the pan was bubbling away we got down to an activity with our lovely participants around using up your leftovers and saving some cash. It never ceases to amaze me, no matter how many of these sessions we do, how the conversation always goes differently, and we learn something new every time. My favourite tip to come out of this session was very simply… give it away! What a great idea! If you’ve bought a jar of this or a bottle of that, tried it once and really aren’t inspired by it, it can be difficult to coax yourself to think of things to do with it. So why not swap it with a friend? That way the ingredient won’t go to waste, and you might just end up with something really tasty… I love it when a plan comes together! 

See the CGF website for details on upcoming FREE sessions. The next is on 9 February in Wythenshawe. Click here for more.

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