"Just add beans, pulses and lentils"

[Hagrod]

I am sick of hearing this advice given when food poverty is being discussed!

"Just add beans, pulses and lentils to all your meals, they will give you the protein you need to spread expensive meat and fish further [ad infinitum]."

Like many other people, I do not have packets of beans, pulses and lentils nestled at the back of my cupboards just waiting for the day I am so starving I need to add them to a bowl of soup. I would have to go out and buy them, I assume they are not given away for free.

I just think it's such a cliched piece of advice that has been meted out to 'the peasants' for decades now and I wish they'd stop it.

You might not find it helpful advice. But other people may.

...beans pulses and lentils all cost a LOT less than meat and stretch a lot further. It's good advice for people looking to eat well for less.

They are cheap store cupboard ingredients though. And healthy.
So ultimately decent enough advice.

But I don’t like beans, pulses and lentils…

Yabu. It’s good advice.

My DD started uni recently and I advised her to add a tin of chickpeas to dishes like bolognese as it does make it go further.

Beans and lentils are store cupboard basics and a little goes a very long way. They are super cheap compared with animal proteins.

Well no, they’re not given away for free but they are cheaper and last (pretty much) forever in a cupboard so can literally be chucked in a pot of soup/chilli/stew etc to bulk out the more expensive fresh meat and veg. I’m not sure what you don’t get about that so YABU

Adding them guarantees that none of my children will eat a meal, so I guess that's money-saving 😏

Of course you have to buy them but it's just that they cost less than meat.

Huh? Of course you have to go out and buy them! But presumably you also have to go out and buy the rest of your groceries? Or you can get them delivered. No they're not free but then most food isn't free?

They are cheap and it's really sensible advice , they can be added to meat dishes to bulk them out too.

Sometimes adding these things alter the time it takes to cook the dish or simply make it taste different.

I'm not a fan of the 'just add....'

This is ridiculous. You also will have to buy spices. That's how the world operates. I have no meat in my house for instance.

I do this all the time for health rather than cost really but it is cheaper. I’ve made a lamb curry today that I’ll add a tin of chickpeas to at the end to heat through so I’ve needed lots less meat. Obviously not free but a fraction of the cost of another lot of lamb.

It’s good advice if someone wants to cut down on their food bill.

It’s not the answer to the current cost of living crisis.

Obviously they're not free but they're much cheaper than meat and nutritionally useful so it's sound advice. Presumably it's part of advice about getting a balanced diet for less money rather than signposting towards free food.

I’d honestly rather just have a small portion of something nice.

It's good advice although cooking them from dried might be costly. I batch cook them and freeze, but also buy tins especially when they are in offer.

Everyone's store cupboard is different but I probably have three types of lentils and five or six types of beans at any one time.

You won’t have them at the back of your cupboard if you don’t buy them. If you ever buy cheese, meat or fish you could indeed choose to try some pulses, tinned or dry, which are cheaper, higher in protein, lower in fat and count as your 5 a day and give them a go.

It’s sensible advice that will be useful to a lot of people. Look down your nose at it if you want to but don’t assume everyone else will feel the same. If you don’t know much about pulses there’s plenty of info online.

I agree with you! I like all those things but in context, the thought of bulking out something like a pasta dish with them turns my stomach!

YABU you buy them instead of whatever you usually buy with whatever you usually spend on it, and they probably do get them at food banks to give away for free.

A 1kg bag of lentils is about £1-2 depending where you shop and lasts about 10 good meals, don’t forget to soak them to rehydrate before cooking.

please no more shocked posts like " You expect me to buy garam masala". Yes. Like people the world over.

Just like if I want to make pasta I have to buy oregano.

Well yes no point if you don’t like the finished dish. I can’t just say to my kids they can have a smaller portion though - I do need to get a certain amount of calories in and nutrition. Tins of beans and lentils are great for this. I cba soaking dried personally but I’m sure that works well too if you’re more organised.

Obviously not everyone likes beans and pulses, but if you do, they are a very cheap way of stretching out a meal and last ages. Dried beans are cheaper but use more energy to cook, tinned ones are easier to use and still pretty cheap (especially if you buy them from the Asian food aisle in the supermarket). Red lentils cook quickly and a bag will last ages.