Healthy-ish grain/legume side dishes?

Bean soup

Roasted Ratatouille served with oven baked polenta or couscous (the couscous or polenta soaks up the juices) Left over ratatouille makes a great base for a pasta sauce for another meal.

Baked beans, omit bacon or salt pork if you want.

Lentil soup

Baked polenta with saute'd mushrooms and fontina cheese on top.

Stuffed peppers or stuffed cabbage. (shred some of the cabbage to use in the filling along with the rice) Or turn either of these meals into a soup, what would serve 4 now serves 6 or 8

It's easy to make a vegetable soup just with water, an onion, two courgettes (zucchini), a couple of carrots and a tin of tomatoes. Just chop up the veg, boil for 15 minutes in a pint or more of water, blend, and there you are. Or adapt it to use any other veg you like, maybe throwing some spinach in for the last minute. Add herbs/seasoning to taste. If you have some of that in the fridge you can also use it as a sauce for chicken or fish, or add it into almost anything.