Dinner · Lunch
Marry Me
Creamy Butter Beans.
Butter beans, sweet leek, peas and greens folded through a silky lemon cashew and hemp cream. Whole food, plant based, higher protein and lower carb than it looks. This recipe serves two and is on the table in 25 minutes.
- Energy
- 2,090 kJ (500 kcal)
- Protein
- 23 g
- Fat
- 27 g, mostly monounsaturated and omega 3
- Carbohydrate
- 40 g
- Fibre
- 13 g
- Net carbs
- 27 g
How to make it.
- 01
Cover the cashews with just boiled water and set aside while you prep the vegetables. Ten minutes is enough. If you have a high speed blender you can skip the soak.
- 02
Warm 1 tbsp of olive oil in a wide pan over medium heat. Add the leek with a pinch of salt and cook for 4 to 5 minutes until tender and sweet. Add the garlic, oregano and chilli flakes and cook for 1 minute more.
- 03
Add the zucchini and cook for 3 to 4 minutes until just tender.
- 04
While the pan works, drain the cashews and blend them with the hemp seeds, nutritional yeast, lemon juice and 3/4 cup of fresh water until completely smooth. This is your cream.
- 05
Add the butter beans, peas and stock to the pan and simmer for 3 minutes so the beans warm through.
- 06
Pour in the cream and stir it through slowly. Simmer for 2 to 3 minutes until it thickens and turns glossy. Add the spinach and let it wilt into the sauce. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
- 07
Divide between two bowls. Finish each with lemon zest, fresh herbs, a teaspoon of olive oil and a good crack of pepper. Serve as is, or over a bed of steamed greens or cauliflower rice.
Why this meal works.
Most creamy bean dishes lean on cream, butter or a mountain of pasta. This one gets its richness from cashews, hemp seeds and olive oil, so every spoonful is doing something useful for your body. It is the kind of dinner I want you eating when the goal is fat loss, because it keeps you full, steady and nourished rather than hungry and reaching for something at 9 pm.
Protein first. Butter beans, hemp seeds and cashews bring around 23 grams of protein per serve, which is high for a plant based meal with no protein powder in sight. When you are losing weight, protein is what tells your body to hold on to muscle and burn fat instead. Muscle is what keeps your metabolism working for you, protects your bones and keeps you strong for decades, so we never trade it away for a lower number on the scale.
Fibre and fat slow everything down. Thirteen grams of fibre and healthy fats from olive oil, cashews and hemp mean the carbohydrate in this meal is released slowly. Your blood sugar rises and falls in a steady curve instead of a spike and crash, and that matters because a crash is read by the body as stress. Steady blood sugar keeps you in rest and digest mode, where fat loss, digestion and hormone repair actually happen.
Lower carb, not no carb. The beans give you about 27 grams of net carbs per serve, which is enough to fuel your day and feed your gut bacteria without tipping you into the heavy, sluggish feeling that comes with a big bowl of pasta. The zucchini, leek, peas and spinach add volume and micronutrients for very few calories, so the bowl is generous and you finish it satisfied.
Micronutrients on the plate.
- Magnesium from hemp seeds, cashews and beans, which your nervous system and muscles rely on and which most of the women I see are low in.
- Folate and potassium from the beans, leek, peas and spinach, supporting energy, blood pressure and healthy cells.
- Iron from the beans, hemp and spinach, and the lemon juice supplies the vitamin C your body needs to absorb it.
- Omega 3 fats from hemp seeds and the polyphenols in extra virgin olive oil, both of which help calm inflammation.
- B vitamins including B12 if your nutritional yeast is fortified, which matters on plant based days.
- Vitamin K and zinc from the greens and seeds, for bone health, immunity and skin.
Make it yours.
- Cooking for a family? Double everything and it serves four. Anyone who eats fish or chicken can add a piece of grilled salmon or chicken on top and everyone eats the same base.
- No zucchini? Use broccoli florets, green beans or chopped asparagus.
- Make the cream ahead. It keeps in a jar in the fridge for three days and freezes well, so a second dinner is ten minutes away.
- Leftovers keep for three days in the fridge. Add a splash of water when reheating.
- Keep it lower carb by serving over steamed greens or cauliflower rice. If you are training hard or feeding growing kids, a slice of sourdough or a scoop of quinoa on the side is a good addition for them.
Real food, one pan, two bowls. This is what nourishing yourself looks like on a busy Tuesday. Buon appetito.
Enjoy!
With love, Serena ×