Easy Ham and Cannellini Bean Soup (Gluten and Dairy Free)

A tasty, healthy soup that you can throw together for a nutritious light meal

Well, this was going to be ham and lentil soup, until I realised that my dried red lentils weren't actually gluten free (my daughter can't eat gluten) and I had to think of a quick substitute as things were already cooking away and I didn't want to waste my precious ham stock from cooking the Christmas ham (Knorr stock cubes are good too if you don't happen to have your own ham stock lying around)!

Luckily there are always various tins of beans in the cupboard here, so I substituted some cannellini beans in part of the broth so she could eat it, and put the lentils in the remainder (next blog!) for the rest of the family. You don't have to use cannellini beans, you could use butter beans, haricot or any other mild and creamy tasting white bean. It turned out really tasty, so I thought I'd share the recipe!

Serves four to six, from 93 calories per serving for a smaller portion (six smaller portions at around 250g each, or four larger portions at around 400g each - exact weight depends on how much liquid has evaporated overall) or 139 calories for a larger portion.

Coconut and Lemon Magic Bean Cake (includes Thermomix method)

So, travelling beyond the original dark and decadent chocolate 'Magic Bean Cake', here is a more summery version...

Moist and zingy, with little crunches from the coconut and a slightly crumbly texture - if you love lemon cakes, you will love this and you'll have fun getting people trying to guess what the 'secret ingredient is'! (They won't).

Another great bonus of this cake, is that it's gluten free, grain free and nut free (coconuts are seeds, see here for more information regarding allergies and make sure you check with anyone with a nut allergy), and you can also make it dairy free if you want, by using coconut oil (the solid white variety, preferably extra virgin) instead of butter!

I find that because the cake is so rich and moist, you don't need much - between four of us, we only managed to demolish a quarter at the first sitting, having a couple of modest slices each. It's gorgeous served with fresh raspberries, blackberries or strawberries and a dollop of Greek yoghurt, whipped cream or creme fraiche - maybe with a little lemon curd swirled in if you're being naughty!

I'd say this serves 16, if you cook in a ring tin and cut into slices about 1.5 to 2cm (as in photo) and have a couple or so per serving. 188 calories for a 16th of the cake serving on this basis. Or if you just want a little treat, have the one small slice instead of two, for 94 calories! Alternatively, bake as individual little cupcakes / muffins and reduce the cooking time to around 20 minutes - you could even push a few raspberries into each muffin before baking, and sprinkle with a little extra dessicated coconut. [Calories in square brackets below]