[Riley stands behind a kitchen island. There is a large, blue casserole pot on the stove in front of her, and a range of ingredients are sitting on the bench. She demonstrates how to cook the lentil bolognaise as she speaks. All of the ingredients and steps for this recipe can be found on the page below.]
Riley Kusuma: Hello, I'm Riley, I'm a Bupa dietitian and I love cooking delicious, nutritious meals for my friends and family.
Today I am making a healthy twist on a classic recipe: The lentil bolognaise.
It's really important that all of us are mindful of our red meat intake, but particularly those of us who may need a little bit more help in looking after our heart.
By swapping out mincemeat for legumes like lentils and kidney beans, we can boost our soluble fibre intake, which helps to reduce our cholesterol levels, but still make sure we get in a good hit of protein.
[A list of ingredients appears on the side of the video.]
And most importantly, it tastes delicious.
Let's get started.
So first of all, pour in a tablespoon of your extra virgin olive oil, and then we're going to sauté our onion and garlic.
I'm using extra virgin olive oil as it's high in the monounsaturated fats, which help to maintain healthy cholesterol levels.
Unsaturated fats are mostly found in oily fish, nuts, seeds and other vegetable oils.
Next, we're going to add in our vibrant veggies: Some grated zucchini, some capsicum, grated carrot and some finely chopped celery.
Veggies are full of fibre and it's the soluble fibre that we find in fruit, vegetables and whole grains that is great for our heart.
Soluble fibre helps to keep us fuller for longer, which is great if we are watching our weight, but also helps to reduce our cholesterol levels by reducing the amount that we can absorb and instead helping to remove it from the body.
We're now going to add in our rich flavours: Canned tomatoes, tomato paste, your lentils, rinsed kidney beans.
Legumes like these are a great source of soluble fibre and also a very cheap source of protein, so I always recommend keeping a few cans in your pantry to help you bulk out your meals.
Now give everything a good stir together and bring it to a boil.
If it's looking a little bit thick, just add a small amount of water to thin it out slightly.
Try to give it a stir every so often so nothing is sticking to the bottom of the pan.
This is looking great.
So to finish it off, I'm going to add in my finely chopped parsley and basil, and also I'll season with some pepper.
Try to avoid adding salt to your meals, whether it's when you're cooking or at the table.
That's because salt can increase our blood pressure by holding on to water.
Instead, flavour your meals with herbs and spices.
And you might be surprised to learn that our taste buds regenerate every few weeks. So after a short period of time, you will adjust and be used to that lower salt taste.
And here we have it, our healthy lentil bolognaise.
I'm choosing to serve it over some pasta today, but you can also have it on its own as a hearty stew.
This recipe also freezes really well, so you might want to consider doubling the recipe when you cook it and popping half in an airtight container to save for another day.
I'll top this with some fresh basil and parsley, and enjoy!
