Three fibre-filled recipes for ultimate weeknight nutrition

Thinking about upping your fibre intake? These are the recipes to start with.

Between Living 360’s savvy trend report back in January and Gemma Collin’s shocking weight loss hack reveal, we’re getting the gist: fibre is a nutrient powerhouse.

Experts like Steve Bennett (author of several health and nutrition books, such as The Primal Cure and The Fibre First Diet) say getting fibre into our diet is one of the most important things we can do for our bodies. Fibre plays a key role in everything from immune function to mental wellbeing, and can even help reduce the risk of chronic diseases.

So, if you’re trying to incorporate more fibre into your diet (and we think you should be), we’ve made it easy for you. Here are our three favourite fibre-filled recipes that are not only good for you but they’re delicious, too.

Pasta Evangelists’ vegan lentil ragu

Pasta isn’t usually the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of high-fibre foods (unless it’s wholegrain), but when combined with grains and lentils, it can be a surprisingly good source. The pasta experts at Pasta Evangelists have created a dish that’s as delicious as it is nutritious, packed with fibre and full of flavour.

Malloreddus or orecchiette are particularly good at capturing robust ragus, but the fresh vegan pasta dough recipe can be adapted to any shape you desire.

Serves: 6-8

Takes: 2 hrs 20 mins

INGREDIENTS

• 500g dried lentils (green or brown)
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 80g carrot, finely chopped
• 4 sprigs rosemary, finely chopped
• 1 celery stem, finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• ¾ glass dry vegan white wine
• 800g passata
• 800ml water
• ½ chilli, finely chopped
• 4 basil leaves

METHOD

1. Fill a large bowl with water and add the lentils. Leave them to soak for 1 hr, then rinse with cold water and strain.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over a high heat. Add the onion, carrots, rosemary and celery, and fry until slightly softened. Then, add the garlic and continue to saute until fragrant.
3. Add the lentils and white wine, cooking on high for a further 5 mins.
4. Once the alcohol has cooked off, add the passata, water, chilli, basil and a pinch of salt. Cover and simmer for around 50 mins on low heat.
5. Remove the lid and increase the heat, cooking for around 10 mins. Once the lentils are soft and the sauce thickens, remove from the heat.
6. Blend a third of the mixture and stir to combine. Be sure to keep some texture, as it’s meant to be a rustic ragu. Serve with your favourite vegan pasta (or normal, if you’d prefer).

Read more: 10 foods that naturally mimic Ozempic for weight loss

Ginger harissa and roasted vegetable pilaf

This fibre-filled recipe from Discover Great Veg packs in 24g of fibre per portion — almost your recommended daily intake. This is a great way to use up leftover cooked rice. You can even stir in cooked prawns at the end.

Serves: 4

Takes: 45 mins

INGREDIENTS

• 2 parsnips, diced
• 2 carrots, diced
• 1 onion, diced
• 2” root ginger, grated
• 1 tbsp harissa paste
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 200g sliced cavolo nero
• 250g super seeds with quinoa and chia
• 200g brown basmati rice
• 1 lime, juiced
• Yoghurt, to serve

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 200C, fan 180C.
2. Toss the parsnips, carrot, onion, ginger, harissa and 1 tbsp of the olive oil in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper, and roast for 20 mins. Add the cavolo nero and super seeds, toss and roast for another 10 mins.
3. Cook rice in boiling water for 20-25 mins, until tender, and drain.
4. Stir the rice into the vegetable mixture with the lime juice, season to taste and serve with the yoghurt

Read more: Pasta Evangelists £6 recipe kit review: is it better than Deliveroo?

Steve Bennett’s portobello mushroom burger

Serves: 2
Takes: 30 mins

INGREDIENTS

For the portobello burger ‘bun’:

• 4 portobello mushrooms
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp sesame seeds

For the beef burger centre:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 shallot, diced
• 1 tsp lazy garlic
• 250g minced beef
• ⅓ cube low-salt beef stock
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp ground almonds
• 1 medium egg
• 20g cheddar

METHOD

1. Preheat your oven to 180C, fan 160C. Remove the stalk from your portobello mushrooms and trim the top to a flat bun shape.
2. Place the mushrooms top side down into a pan over high heat with a little olive oil. Brown off and flip over to cook the other side. Add the sesame seeds to toast alongside the mushroom burger ‘buns’.
3. For the beef burgers, heat the olive oil in a frying pan over a medium heat and sweat the shallots and garlic. Once soft, add them to a mixing bowl with the minced beef.
4. Add the beef stock, smoked paprika, cumin and ground almonds. Mix together.
5. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg. Add a little to the beef mixture to help bind it together.
6. Form firm patties and add the cheddar to the centre. Mould the burger around the cheese.
7. Fry the burgers in olive oil until browned on each side, then place in a greased baking dish and bake for 10-12 mins, until cooked through.
8. Construct your burger by placing one mushroom flatter side facing up, add the beef burger to the middle and place the other mushroom on top, bottom side down. Add sesame seeds and serve.

Feature image: Freepik