Veganuary has become an increasingly popular movement during the month of January. With so many people deciding to stick to a plant-based diet tells you that they want change, a healthier change. While sticking to a vegan diet isn’t for everyone, turning your attention to whole-food ingredients makes a lot of sense from a health perspective. No matter where you are in your health journey, one of the main steps to a healthy nutrition plan is to increase your vegetable intake. And to do that you need a few easy, and tasty, plant-powered recipes to get you going.

Eating simple foods with a few inexpensive ingredients will help keep you on track with your healthy eating goals. This Mediterranean black eye bean and spinach bowl is a perfect example. Beans are high in plant protein and fiber, black eye beans in particular are one of the easiest beans to cook because you don’t need to soak them overnight. All the ingredients in this photo were bought from my local fruit and vegetable wholesaler Kibsons, and you can easily find similar products in any supermarket. Here is my five ingredient shopping list:

• Dried black eye beans

• A bag of baby spinach: you can also use any other baby / small leafy greens like kale or chard.

• A few lemons: it’s always good to keep those handy

• Extra virgin olive oil

• Sourdough rye or wholemeal bread: you’ll need a slice to enjoy all that olive oil and lemon dressing!

This meal is even more delicious served with sourdough bread, extra lemon wedges, sliced salad veggies on the side (tomatoes, cucumbers, onion/ spring onion etc) or canned sardines in olive oil.

BLACK EYE BEANS & SPINACH BOWL

Serves 2-3

400g dried black eye beans

150g organic baby spinach

1 lemon

extra virgin olive oil

Sea salt

dried oregano (optional)

1. Rinse the beans and place into a casserole pot. Cover with water and bring to a boil. After 10 minutes, drain and repeat with fresh water. Reduce to medium heat and cook for about 30-40 minutes or until beans are cooked through.

2. Add the juice of half a lemon and the washed baby spinach. Gently stir and cover with a lid for a few minutes until the spinach has wilted. You can also steam the spinach separately, as I have done in the image above and assemble into a bowl.

3. Arrange beans and spinach into bowls. Drizzle generously with olive oil, lemon. Season with a little sea salt and oregano, if using. Serve warm.