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13 February 2023
How did you celebrate World Pulses Day? In Leicestershire, six skilful school cooks and a sack of regeneratively grown beans got together for the next stage of the fork to farm BeanMeals project which is introducing UK-grown beans to children at Leicestershire and Leicester City schools.
In these sessions, cooks from six schools trialled various Food for Life bean-based recipes. The cooks’ tasty standouts include Heinz-style baked beans, bean ball burgers and bean chilli, which will go on to be taste-tested on their pupils throughout March.
As BeanMeals’ Lisa Didier explained on World Pulse Day – an annual salute to haricots, navies, and suchlike – the beans aren’t a meat replacement; their nutritional content and adaptability makes them stars in their own right. “It’s about the beans’ carbohydrate and protein mix – you don’t get the energy drop after lunch,” she says. “Beans are also high in fibre, which is lacking in modern diets yet absolutely essential for good health.”
Beans and pulses are also a great alternative to ultra-processed foods high in fat, sugar and salt.
“The caterers at Leicestershire Traded Services and City Catering have risen to the challenge,” adds Lisa, “and the schools and teachers have been linking the beans to curricular activities in history, geography and sustainability.”
The BeanMeals project is led by the University of Oxford and involves many organisations, including Leicestershire County Council and the Soil Association.