Why shepards pie is a brilliant dish for the whole family.

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Jul 11, 2017
4 min read

Healthy Sweet Potato Shepherd's Pie.

There are so many ways to top a pie

A food processor is a great way too munch down a multitude of vegetables so you hardly recognise them!

Ensure you cook the mince down well first, especially if you have picking little ones that do not like vegetables the more you cook it the less they will recognise the vegetables!

For split homes who cannot have dairy for some you can just put the cheese on a part of the top.

What veggies would you hide in your mash!?

So as a predominant vegetable eater, why do I think shepherd's pie is amazing for myself and my clients? It's quite simple really, there are so many benefits behind a shepherd's pie. Even though it is predominantly a meat dish when you have equipment like a food processor it is a phenomenal way of hiding vegetables on adults and children. It’s actually surprising the quantity of nourishment you can hide in a dish like this I normally aim to hide 9 for more vegetables in each dish. Not only do I hide that in the base you can actually managed to hide 4 or more vegetables in the mash. I will quite often used sweetpotato, potato, pumpkin and cauliflower just in the mash alone you could even throw in zucchini turnip parsnip if you're feeling extra frisky. Then the best magic part is creating a beautiful textured finish. Quite often we attempt to “go healthy” and through some fear of going without or quite often you feel your are going to struggle due to lacking in your food choices. We fail to fully jump with both feet and have faith in the abundance of natural flavors and textures of whole foods. So if you can ensure there is a depth of flavour, texture and Colour this can be an easy transition. I find adding a mixture of shredded coconut, almond meal, seeds and nuts over the top of the mash is a great way to achieve such a beautiful contrast. If you are dairy free you can obviously avoid using any cheese! There are substitute cheeses you can definitely use or simply just go without the choice is yours. I'm sorry for those traditionalists... as I prefer to go with nourishing rather than a traditional dish. I tend to bastardise most labeled dishes, the loose label enables clients to get a grasp on what to expect. View every meal as a wonderful opportunity to stick as much good nutrition into the body as possible!! One of many variations Healthy Shepherd's Pie Serves 6-10 INGREDIENTS 1 kg extra trim beef mince 1 small onion finely diced 2 tbsp oil 1 clove garlic crushed 1 leek thinly sliced 1 carrot peeled and finely diced 1 stick of celery finely diced 2 cups salt-reduced beef stock 3/4 cup mushrooms diced 2 tbsp salt reduced tomato paste Jar or can of your favourite tomato mix 2 tbsp soy or tamari ½ tsp cumin, paprika, chili 2 tbsp worcestershire Sauce 1 tbsp honey For the mash All veg cut into rough chunks ¼ cauliflower 2 medium sized sweet potatoes ¼ pumpkin 1-2 lg potatoes 1 tsp cinnamon Salt and pepper 1 tsp dijon mustard INSTRUCTIONS Preheat oven to 170C Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large saucepan over a medium/high heat. Add garlic, onion, celery and leek to the pan and fry, stirring constantly, until the onion is transparent. Add remaining veg to the pan and continue to stir mixture until vegetables have softened. Add mince to the pan and break up with a wooden spoon to remove any lumps. Cook, stirring regularly, until mince has changed colour and is cooked through. Add chopped mash veg to a med pot and cover with water and bring to the boil. Poke occasionally until tender. Keep cooking your mince, but once tender remove, strain and allow to cool a little. Pour beef stock, worcestershire sauce and tomato paste into the pan and bring the mixture to the boil. Add the can/ jar of tomato mix and reduce to medium/low heat and allow to simmer and thicken for 10-15 minutes. While beef mixture is simmering, take mash veg and either use a food processor or hand masher to annihilate the mash (optional add dairy now- 1 tblsp butter and ¼ cup milk) Pour beef mixture into a large baking dish and top with mashed veg. Optional - add sprinkling or desired topping- cheese, almond meal. Seeds, shredded coconut, salt & pepper. Place in still hot oven for 15min to the top golden and thicken the meat mixture further, then serve. Tips – Perfect for Sunday supper or an easy weeknight dinner. There will even be leftovers for the next day’s lunch. To make preparation even easier, buy a packet of pre-diced casserole veggies. These usually contains a mixture of carrot, celery and other seasonal vegetables and can be used instead of the individual vegetables listed above.