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Aussie Meat Pie

| After School Snacks, Budget Friendly, Freezable Meals, Holidays & Entertaining, Make-ahead Meals, Members only, Red meat, Vegetarian

This Aussie Meat Pie is based on one my dear nan and I used to make when I was a kid. The iconic meat pie of Australia is a flavoursome mix of beef mince and gravy in a beautiful crisp pastry. Placed in a paper bag with a squirt of tomato sauce, it is a…

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Healthy Easy Fish Pie

| Fish & Seafood, Members only

This fresh, light and nourishing Healthy Easy Fish Pie is the perfect pie for this time of the year. It’s also super simple to make, just the way I like it! The title is a little deceptive, as it’s not just fish in there! This pie adds a heap of vegetables to add nutrition and…

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Chicken Shiitake Mushroom Pie

| Chicken, Make-ahead Meals, Members only, Vegetarian

This Chicken Shiitake Mushroom Pie is one of my family’s new favourites. Whenever we have a roast chicken for dinner, I throw in an extra chook and use the meat for school lunches and to make this simple pie for dinner one night.  The combination of protein with vegetables, shiitake and warming spices makes it…

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Breakfast Hash Pie

| Breakfast, Budget Friendly, Freezable Meals, Healthy Lunchbox, Make-ahead Meals, Pork

This Breakfast Hash Pie came about when my son was wanting me to make hash browns and I couldn’t be bothered frying them individually. So, I came up with this ‘lazy’ version of a brekkie hash.

We also have many mornings we have less than 20 minutes to eat and get out the door. So make ahead brekkie’s are an essential part of my ‘eating well’ routine. The best thing about my Breakfast Hash Pie, is I can make it the night before, portion and re-heat for the mornings when we are short on time.

Why everyone needs a proper brekkie

In my many years consulting as a naturopath and assessing patients diets, the one meal where many people struggled (nutritionally), was breakfast. I found that so many people were searching for more energy, productivity and better general health; spending large sums of money on supplements and searching for the ‘magic bullet,’ but also neglecting the one meal that could improve both their short and long-term health.

Those patients that took my advice and changed their ways reported at follow-up consults that since eating a nourishing breakfast, they snacked less and found it easier to make healthier food choices right throughout the day. They had better concentration, a happier mood and more energy to exercise. They also had the motivation to prepare a healthy dinner in the evening.

In my professional opinion, if you want to improve your overall health and wellbeing, start the day right with a nourishing breakfast. If you’re after more make ahead breakfast inspiration you can’t go past my ebook ‘Rise and Shine – A Well Nourished Breakfast’ – 25 delicious, easy and versatile recipes that each take 5-10 minutes to make – yes, in the real world! Find out more HERE.

Take a look at the variations (below the main recipe) for suggestions to alter the recipe to suit your specific dietary requirements (including vegetarian) and to bump up the veggies too.

This Breakfast Hash Pie is super versatile and makes for a healthy breakfast (or even a meal). It’s a great balance of plant based carbohydrate and protein and one of my go-to’s when I’m after a nourishing, easy to prepare meal.
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4.92 from 12 votes

Breakfast Hash Pie

This Breakfast Hash Pie is super versatile and makes for a healthy breakfast (or even a meal). It’s a great balance of plant based carbohydrate and protein and one of my go-to’s when I’m after a nourishing, easy to prepare meal.
Prep Time10 mins
Cook Time30 mins
Total Time40 mins
Course: Breakfast, Main Course
Servings: 6
Author: Georgia Harding

Ingredients

  • 3 potato/s (large) or sweet potatoes, peeled and grated
  • 1 tbsp butter or olive oil -for greasing dish
  • 1 red onion/s (small) finely diced
  • 10 free-range or organic egg/s
  • ½ tsp sea salt - or to taste
  • Ground black pepper -to taste
  • 4 rasher/s bacon -short cut
  • 30 g baby spinach -approx. (1 cup) or English spinach
  • 125 g mature cheddar cheese (1 cup) grated

Instructions

  • Preheat your oven to 180ºC /350ºF (fan-forced).
  • Grate the potato and wring it in a clean cloth to remove the moisture.
  • Grease a baking dish (26 x 18cm approx.) with butter or olive oil and place the grated potato and red onion in it, tossing to roughly combine.
  • In a jug or blender beat the eggs and seasoning. 
  • Pour over the potato onion mix to cover.
  • Place the bacon on top, followed by the baby spinach and cheese.
  • Bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until the egg is set.
  • Slice and serve.

Thermomix

  • Preheat your oven to 180ºC /350ºF.
  • Grease your baking dish. 
  • Grate the cheese, 20 seconds, speed 6. Set aside.
  • Now roughly chop and then grate the potato, taking care not to over process it. 3 seconds, speed 8. Check the consistency and wring well (you can use the steamer basket for this). 
  • Chop the onion, 3 seconds, speed 6. 
  • Add the potato and onion to the baking dish and toss to mix.
  • Blend the eggs and seasoning 20 second, speed 4.
  • Assemble from point 5 in the regular method.

Serve

  • Serve with a leafy green salad and a nice tomato chutney.

Make-ahead

  • Re-heat in a low oven until just hot.

Store

  • Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge. Can also be frozen.

Notes

Dairy-free

Replace the cheese with ¼ cup macadamia nuts ground up with ¼ cup nutritional yeast and a good pinch sea salt. Grease dish with olive oil.

Vegetarian

Simply omit the bacon. I like layering strips of red capsicum and a sprinkle of smoked paprika...it adds a lovely 'smokey' flavour.

Add more veggies

You can also add in florets of broccoli or grated carrot or zucchini (wring out the moisture) in with the egg/ potato layer.

Onion-free

Replace the onion with a small bulb of finely diced fennel.

Lunchbox slice

Leftovers are great in the lunchbox.

I'd love to hear how you enjoy this brekkie pie...post a comment and rate the recipe below.

Sticky Pecan and Hazelnut Tart

| Baked Sweets, Desserts

This amazingly delicious dessert is thanks to Alexx Stuart from Low Tox Life. I’ve taken it from Alexx’s ebook ‘Celebrate – Your Comprehensive Guide to Low Tox Entertaining.’ It’s a standout recipe in this years ‘Ultimate Healthy Living Bundle’ and I’m so thrilled that Alexx has been generous enough to allow me to share it with you today. My hubby and kids are even more thankful to Alexx, they devoured it, loved it and have requested more!

Take a look at the variations (below the main recipe) for suggestions to alter the recipe to suit your specific dietary requirements.

If you’re looking to save money across pantry items such as nuts, seeds, flours and more, I personally shop at The Wholefood Collective – great whole foods at heavily discounted prices (all home delivered), click HERE to check them out.

This Sticky Pecan and Hazelnut Tart is a devine dessert thanks to the wonderful Alexx Stuart from Low Tox Life. It's intollerance friendly & you'll love it!
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4.67 from 3 votes

Sticky Pecan and Hazelnut Tart

This gluten free, fructose free, casein and lactose free beauty is an adaptation of that classic, uber sweet sticky pecan tart that we’ve all surely enjoyed in the past? Being gluten free isn’t an affliction and there’s no way we’re missing out on the smell of pastry in an oven or the caramelisation of nuts bubbling away in a tart like this. No siree!
Prep Time45 mins
Cook Time45 mins
Total Time1 hr 30 mins
Course: Dessert
Author: Georgia Harding

Ingredients

  • 170 g pecan nuts (1 cup)
  • 120 g hazelnuts (1½ cups)
  • 6 whole egg yolks
  • 120 g coconut oil -or ghee or butter if not intolerant
  • 100 g coconut cream
  • 170 g rice malt syrup (1 cup) or honey or maple syrup
  • Pinch ground cloves
  • Pinch ground nutmeg
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon

For the Pastry

  • 120 g tapioca flour (1¼ cup)
  • 30 g almond meal (⅓ cup)
  • 20 g coconut flour (2 heaped tsp)
  • 45g g buckwheat flour (½ cup) plus a little more for dusting your hands when pressing out the pastry into the tart shell
  • 140g butter (chilled), sliced into cubes (ghee is the best dairy-free)
  • 1 free-range or organic egg/s whole egg whisked with the vanilla in it
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 vanilla -or 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 tbsp rice malt syrup - fructose free OR maple syrup OR honey

Instructions

For the Pastry

  • Pop all your flours in your food processor or thermomix and pulse to combine and aerate.
  • Add your super chilled butter and blitz until crumble and combined.
  • Whisk your egg, vanilla, cinnamon and syrup together.
  • Add about ⅔ of this mixture slowly over 3-4 seconds into the processor. Has it gone to clumps? You’re done. Has it not? Add a tiny bit more.
  • Save the leftovers of this mixture for a batch of French toast!
  • Spatula out onto unbleached parchment paper and shape into a ball and pop in fridge for 30 minutes to make it more workable.
  • Preheat oven to 180℃ / 350℉ fan forced OR 200℃ / 400℉ non fan forced oven.
  • While the pastry is resting, pop all the nuts onto a baking tray and roast for 8 minutes in the oven (watch they don’t burn!). If you’re using activated nuts, no need to do this step, but if they’re plain, raw nuts, this is crucial. Take out and let cool as you work on other things.
  • Now, line your quiche / tart tin with coconut oil or butter and then dust with buckwheat flour and shake o excess. This will help you when it comes to dislodging the tart later on!
  • Plop your pastry blob into the tin and dust your hands with buckwheat to avoid sticking and start working the pastry to all the corners evenly to about ½ cm thick all round. Any excess – make a couple of short bread cookies out of it while you’re blind baking the base!
  • Now, place parchment on top and weigh it down with raw beans, rice grains or pastry weights and blind bake in the oven for 10 minutes with the weights in, and a further 5 minutes without – this will mean your base isn’t soggy for the finished product later.
  • Now, take the pastry shell out when you’ve just noticed a little bit of light golden action around the edges – This will mean you won’t have burnt ones later.

For the Filling

  • Warm the syrup / honey, butter / ghee / coconut oil, cream and spices until all well combined.
  • Whisk egg yolks and pour very slowly your liquid mix (step 1) into the yolks, while continuing to whisk to avoid the yolk cooking. 
  • Place the hazelnuts into the pastry shell, naked (pop them in a tea towel and shake until most of the skins fall away).
  • Then pour your liquid over the top, leaving back 100ml liquid to go over the pecans afterwards.
  • Now, layer your pecans over the top in whatever pretty pattern you fancy.
  • Now drizzle the rest of the mixture over the pecans (keep a little back if it’s going to overflow. We don’t want that, and everyone’s quiche / tart tins are going to vary a little here)
  • OPTIONAL: Sprinkle a little coconut sugar over the top of your tart. Not necessary, but will create a nice crust over the top. So.. why wouldn’t you?
  • Now bake everything together in the oven for 30 minutes until well caramelised and pastry is a deep golden brown.
  • Remove from the oven and cool.
  • Then, to dislodge safely without ruining the corner bits of the tart slide the knife to the corners of the underside of the base (if you have a removable base) and apply a little pressure up, and do that to all 4 corners before pressing from the centre.
  • Serve with double cream or coconut cream. Heaven.

Store

  • In an airtight container or covered in the fridge.

Notes

Make biscuits

This pastry doubles as a delicious shortbread biscuit – just roll little balls once chilled and press down onto parchment paper with a fork to flatten and bake for 15-20 minutes on 200C / 400F or until golden. Delicious with a cup of tea!

Dairy-free

Choose the dairy-free options.

Fructose friendly

Choose rice malt as your sweetener and omit the coconut sugar. 
 

I'd love to hear how you enjoy this decadent dessert. Post a comment below or even better rate this recipe!

Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie

| Budget Friendly, Freezable Meals, Make-ahead Meals, Vegetarian

I was a vegetarian for a good chunk of my life. This was a staple meal for me back then and still features regularly now, 20 years on. It is a cost effective, easy to prepare vegetarian meal and one of my go-to meals when time and supplies are low.

Health benefits

Lentils are a great source of fibre, vitamins, minerals and a vegetarian source of protein. Combined with the assortment of vegetables, spices and stock,  this a complete, nourishing meal.

 Take a look at the variations below for all the details as well as suggestions to alter the recipe to suit your specific dietary requirements.

If you’re looking to save money across pantry items such as nuts, seeds, flours, lentils and more, I personally shop at The Wholefood Collective – great whole foods at heavily discounted prices (all home delivered), click HERE to check them out.

Vegetarian sheperds pie - This Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie is a hearty, nourishing and nutritious meal. It is gluten, dairy, egg and grain free with lots of variations too.
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4.8 from 5 votes

Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie

A delicious, warming vegetarian dish, this Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie is one of my all time favourite meatless Monday meals. 
Prep Time20 mins
Cook Time45 mins
Total Time1 hr 5 mins
Course: Main Course
Servings: 4

Ingredients

  • 1 onion/s (large) finely diced
  • 2 clove/s garlic -finely diced
  • 2 carrot/s -diced
  • 1 zucchini/s -diced
  • 2 stick/s celery -sliced
  • 130 g mushrooms (approx. 1 cup) diced
  • 2 cups cooked brown lentils (or 2 cans, drained and rinsed)
  • 425 g diced tinned tomatoes
  • 250 ml vegetable stock (1 cup)
  • 1 tbsp fresh rosemary leaves -roughly chopped
  • ½ tsp smoked paprika
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 tbsp hot water
  • 1 tbsp cornflour
  • 5-6 potato/s -peeled and diced into 1-2cm cubes
  • 20 g parmesan cheese -grated (optional) (¼ cup)
  • 30 g sunflower and/or pumpkin seeds  (optional)
Metric - US Customary

Instructions

  • Preheat your oven to 200°C/395°F.
  • In a medium sized pot, sauté your onion and garlic in a little oil for a few minutes until opaque.
  • Add the carrots, zucchini, celery, mushrooms, lentils, tomatoes, stock, rosemary, paprika, and seasoning.
  • Bring to a simmer for 10-15 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, mix the water and cornflour until combined and add to the pot to thicken for a few more minutes.
  • Pour into an oven proof dish and top with the diced potato (and optional cheese and seeds).  Stud with any extra rosemary sprigs if you like.
  • Bake for 20-30 minutes or until the potato is golden and cooked through.

Thermomix method

  • Preheat your oven to 200℃.
  • Chop your onions and garlic, 3 seconds, speed 5. Scrape down the sides and cook 5 minutes, temp 100, speed 1 in a little olive oil.
  • Add the carrots, zucchini, celery, and process 10 seconds, speed 4.
  • Now add the sliced mushrooms (I don't like to process them, but you can if you prefer), lentils, tomatoes, stock, rosemary, paprika and seasoning. Cook 10 minutes, temp 100, reverse speed 1.
  • Add the cornflour/water mixture and cook 5 minutes, temp 100, reverse speed 1. Pour into an oven proof dish and top with the diced potato (and optional cheese and seeds). Stud with any extra rosemary sprigs if you like.
  • Bake for 20-30 minutes or until the potato is golden and cooked through.
  • Note - you can top with traditional mashed potato if you like. I'm a lazy, time-poor cook and always looking for shortcuts in the kitchen (and ways to reduce washing up)! This is one saves time and washing, but I don't think alters the taste too much - in fact, I love the crispy baked spuds on top.

Make-ahead

  • Re-heat in a low oven until just hot.

Serve

  • With a leafy green salad.

Store

  • Store in an airtight container in the fridge.
  • Can also be frozen.

Cook the Lentils

  • To cook the lentils, soak in water and a tablespoon of natural yoghurt or apple cider vinegar to produce easily digestible legumes.  Soaked lentils can then be cooked by simmering for 15 minutes or until tender but not sloppy. Un-soaked lentils should be rinsed and cooked for 30-45 minutes. 1 cup of raw lentils yields approximately 2 cups cooked.

Notes

Different pie top

You can also top the pie with sweet potato, cauliflower pieces or cauliflower mash.

Dairy-free and vegan

Omit the cheese.

Onion-free

Replace the onion with a small bulb of fennel, finely diced.

Garlic-free

Replace the garlic with a teaspoon of cumin powder and a pinch of chilli flakes.

Gut repair

If you aren’t vegetarian and looking to include bone broth in your diet, substitute the vegetable stock with bone broth.

Add bacon

I think brown lentils and bacon is a match made in heaven. So if you please, add 4 rashers of nitrate free bacon with the onion.

Fussy eater tip

Grate the vegetables so they sit behind the lentil/tomatoes.
 

Like this recipe?  Let me know what you think, it really helps me to shape the content I produce here at Well Nourished.  Post a comment or question below, thanks.

 

Healthy Apple Pie – rustic style (with gluten, grain, dairy & egg free versions)

| Baked Sweets, Desserts

As the cooler months are upon us and apple season is in full swing, what better time to make a comforting, yet healthy apple pie?  Apple Pie is my husbands all time favourite dessert, even though he rarely eats sweet things. But let’s face it, it can be a bit time consuming to make.

My compromise is this easy to make galette or tart style ‘rustic pie’. It is much more forgiving if the art of pastry making is not up your alley, but the flavour is still divine. You can make one big pie (less fiddly) or lots of individual ones.

Take a look at the variations (below the main recipe) for suggestions to alter the recipe to suit your specific dietary requirements.

If you’re looking to save money across pantry items such as nuts, seeds, flours and more, I personally shop at The Wholefood Collective – great whole foods at heavily discounted prices (all home delivered), click HERE to check them out.

Rustic healthy apple pie
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5 from 5 votes

Healthy Apple Pie - rustic style (with gluten, grain, dairy & egg free versions)

This recipe gives you two pastry options to suit your dietary requirements. It's super simple to make and my hubbies favourite dessert.
Prep Time20 mins
Cook Time20 mins
Total Time40 mins
Course: Dessert, Snack
Servings: 1 pie

Ingredients

Spelt shortcrust pastry

  • 300 g wholemeal spelt flour
  • 160 g butter chilled and diced
  • 3 tbsp coconut sugar or rapadura
  • 1 free-range or organic egg/s -yolk
  • 1 tsp vanilla -powder, extract or essence
  • 1-2 tbsp chilled water
  • OR

Gluten, grain, dairy and egg free pastry

  • 2 tsp chia seeds (ground is best, but can be unground)
  • Pinch xanthan gum (optional but does help to bind it more strongly)
  • 70 ml hot water
  • 200 g almond meal
  • 70 g true arrowroot flour (starch)
  • 3 tbsp coconut sugar or rapadura
  • ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • Pinch sea salt

Filling

  • 6 large Granny Smith apples -peeled
  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 2 tbsp rice malt syrup, honey or maple syrup
  • 2 tbsp hot water

Instructions

  • Preheat your oven to 180℃/350°F (fan forced).

Spelt Pastry

  • In a food processor mix the flour and sugar until combined. TMX 10 secs, speed 2.
  • Add the butter and process until it comes together in a coarse crumb  (you can also do this by hand by rubbing the butter into the flour mix). TMX 10 seconds, speed 4. 
  • Add the egg yolk, vanilla and 1 tablespoon of water. 
  • Process until the dough starts to come together, then gently knead it for a minute. TMX 10 seconds speed 4 then 30 seconds on the knead setting.
  • Add extra water if necessary teaspoon by teaspoon until it is the proper consistency (see the note about consistency below). TMX knead an extra 10 seconds.
  • Form a disc and wrap the dough in parchment (baking) paper and rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes whilst preparing your apple.

Gluten, grain, dairy and egg free pastry

  • In a small bowl, place the chia, xanthan and hot water and mix until well combined. Rest until a gel is formed (approx 10 minutes).
  • In a food processor or bowl mix the almond meal, arrowroot, sugar, bicarb and salt until very well combined. TMX 10 secs, speed 2.
  • Add the chia gel and process until it forms a ball. TMX 10 seconds speed 4
  • Add extra water if necessary, teaspoon by teaspoon until it is the proper consistency (see the note about consistency below).
  • Form a disc and roll as instructed below.
  • * Note this gluten free pastry will not brown the way the spelt will. Cooking it until it is brown will result in a really hard, not so nice pastry! Glaze it also with the cinnamon glaze to add a lovely bit of colour.

A note about pastry consistency

  • As all whole flours are slightly different in their consistency/texture, you will need to judge how much water is needed yourself for both types of pastry. The consistency you are after is that the dough should easily come together in a firm, slightly sticky ball (but not stick to your hands or the bowl).

For the filling

  • Take your peeled apples and cut them in half lengthways and remove the core.
  • Lay them flat side down and cut into 3-5mm slices (they need to be very thin, especially for a gluten free pie as the pastry can not be overcooked or it will toughen).
  • In a small bowl mix the cinnamon, sweetener and hot water until combined to form a glaze.

To assemble

  • Flatten the disc of (either) pastry between two sheets of parchment (baking) paper.
  • Roll into one large (rough) circle, about 3mm thick and peel off the top sheet of parchment paper. Place the parchment paper and rolled out pastry onto a baking tray.
  • Fan out the sliced apple and arrange to cover the centre of the pastry about an inch or so from the outer edge.
  • Fold in the edges roughly.
  • Brush with half of the cinnamon glaze.
  • Bake for about 20 minutes.
  • Remove from the oven and brush over the remaining glaze.
  • Return to the oven for about another 5 minutes (maximum for gluten free, remember it will not brown). For the spelt version, you can continue to cook  until the apple has softened and the pastry is golden brown.

Store

  • Store in an airtight container in the fridge.

Notes

Low-fructose

Apple pie is pretty much out if you are fructose intolerant. For a low fructose pie, omit the rapadura or coconut sugar in the pastry and replace with a pinch of stevia powder. Fill the pie with berries or rhubarb and choose the rice malt syrup to make the glaze.

Add berries or rhubarb

Feel free to add in some berries or diced rhubarb to the apple. A flavour match made in heaven!

A word about baking paper

THE best parchment paper I've come across is made by a company called "If you care".  Not only is it environmentally friendly, totally chlorine free and fully compostable, it is the best baking paper (and cupcake moulds) I have come across in a long shot.  It is so non-stick, you can even reuse it again and again if you like.  It is available at my favourite eco store Biome…check it out here
 

What do you think of this recipe?  I love to receive your feedback…please post a comment below.