Vegan food can get a bad rep, but there’s plenty of vegan meals out there that taste amazing and provide all the nutrition you need for a well-rounded diet. Take our chickpea, spinach, and lentil curry for example – this vegan dish is full of fiber, protein, and iron.

Getting enough iron in your diet is crucial for vegans and non-vegans alike, particularly for women with monthly menstrual cycles and teenage girls, who are more at risk of iron deficiency than other populations. This mineral helps the body to produce red blood cells and ensure enough oxygen is carried around the body, which helps with everything from reducing fatigue to improving the immune system and supporting cognitive and physical performance.

Beans, nuts, fruit, and veg are a great source of non-haem iron, however this type of iron can be affected by different foods. Vitamin C helps to improve the absorption of this type of iron, so we've paired our chickpea and spinach with vitamin C rich tomatoes. The entire recipe has over half of a woman's daily iron requirement, and almost the full amount of a man's daily requirement.

While curries are notorious for being long, complicated recipes, this takes just 15 minutes to prep and 20 minutes to cook, so it’s easy to whip together for a family dinner. It also stores well in the fridge and freezer if you prefer to make meal prep ahead of time.

Ingredients (Serves 4)

• Low calorie oil spray

• 1 onion, diced

• 2 cloves garlic, diced

• 160g red pepper, chopped

• 1 tbsp paprika

• 1tbsp curry powder

• 1 tsp cumin

• 400 can chopped tomatoes

• 400g canned green lentils

• 400g chickpeas

• 400g wholegrain brown rice

• 200g spinach

• 40g pine nuts

Serve with (optional):

• Handful of fresh chopped cilantro

• 2 tbsp of coconut yogurt/cream to run through at the end to make it creamier

Method:

1. Heat a frying pan to a high heat and spray generously with low calorie oil spray.

2. Add your chopped onion and garlic and cook until soft, around 3-4 minutes.

3. Add the red pepper, herbs and spices and cook for 2 minutes, making sure to stir.

4. Turn the heat down to a medium heat and add the chopped tomatoes, green lentils, chickpeas, and 50ml of water. Stir until completely mixed.

5. Simmer for 10 minutes and while this is simmering, cook the wholegrain brown rice as instructed on packet.

6. Stir the spinach into the curry and once wilted remove from heat

7. Serve the curry with rice and top with pine nuts and optional cilantro, yogurt or cream and enjoy!