Eating well is one of the foundation stones for good health, especially in later life. If you can stick to a wholesome balanced diet, with a variety of foods in the right proportions, you’ll have more energy, find it easier to maintain a healthy weight and generally feel better all round.
One of the best ways to know exactly what you’re eating, and avoid many of the artificial additives and preservatives in pre-prepared foods, is to cook plenty of your own meals at home. Older people are generally better at home cooking than younger ones, not having grown up in the ‘fast food’ and ‘ready meals’ era, but some people still shy away from the stove. There’s really no reason to, as many healthy and nutritious meals are quick and simple to prepare, and taste delicious.
This quick and easy recipe for beans, mushrooms and tomatoes on toast is from the NHS’s Change 4 Life website, which has lots of ideas for healthy and nutritious meals. This recipe is for a single serving of a filling and veg-packed lunch, but to serve more people just multiply the ingredients by however much you need.
It takes just five minutes to prepare and 10 minutes’ cooking time and is simplicity itself. Baked beans are also a great source of fibre, and using the ones with reduced sugar and salt is a good idea.
Ingredients:
- 3 or 4 closed cup mushrooms
- ½ tsp oil
- Half a 410g tin of reduced salt and sugar baked beans
- 4 cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 slice wholemeal bread
- 1 tsp lower fat spread
Method:
- Put the mushrooms in a saucepan with the oil and cook for 3 to 4 minutes over a low heat
- Add the beans and tomatoes to the saucepan and heat gently for another 3 or 4 minutes, stirring often, until the beans are piping hot.
- While the beans mixture is warming, toast the wholemeal bread and spread it with the lower fat spread.
- Put the toast onto a plate and spoon the beans, mushrooms and tomatoes mixture on top of it to serve. Enjoy!
Tips: Remember, for more servings just multiply the ingredients… double up for two people and so on. You could sprinkle some grated cheese on top and melt it under the grill for a couple of minutes for an extra tasty touch, but remember it will increase the calorie count slightly.