Christmas dinner pie! (gluten-free)

This is an easy peasy, gluten free pie which has a chickpea flour crust. This idea struck me after struggling to use a shop-bought GF flour to make biscuits. I thought about what was in my cupboard and this sprung to mind…was worth a try right? I was surprised what a lovely, crisp pastry it produced; I was half expecting it to be a bit ‘falafel’ like. But it was more like a really light, crisp water crust type pastry. Yum! So, here is my recipe for Christmas dinner pies – perfect for leftovers on boxing day and it’s something the whole family can share and enjoy!

19 Awesome, Easy and Healthy Christmas Recipes

It is Christmas! Officially. We’ve had our festive tag-a-long and I’ve got all the healthy Christmas ideas I could wish for. These recipes, once again span the globe and cover sweet and savory, there are dairy-free, gluten-free and vegan options and there is just a ton of lovely, gorgeous Christmassy cuteness. Rachel from @whole.family.food does the most wonderful job of orchestrating this logistically. She is a star! I’ll link all the @ to the accounts you’ll need to find all the yummy recipes so all you will need to do is click.

Roasted butter bean bake

This butter bean bake is a quick and easy one pot recipe that I love to use for leftovers the next day! This also gets frozen in batches for when we need to pull a lunch out of the bag quickly. Butter beans are a great vegetarian ingredient because they are filling and hearty but not too heavy. I eat lots of very ‘carby’ veggie meals and so often I’m podged after! I’ve also put some leftover ideas at the bottom of this recipe because, well, who doesn’t love leftovers?

Cauliflower cheese grills

I love cauliflower. It kind of absorbs the flavour of anything around it and goes with anything. On busy days, when I’ve had no time or energy to think about dinner, Dex loves these cauliflower cheese grills from the freezer section at Tesco. There is a special place reserved for them in my freezer (is it too dramatic to say and my heart?) And there will be for the foreseeable future I imagine.

But because he loves them so much and because this was a day where I had a bit of time and energy, I thought I’d recreate a more veggie dense, homemade version.

These babies took around 20 minutes to make and this recipe makes around 12 little grills.

You will need:

3/4 cup of grated potato (I used 1/2 and 1/2 sweet potato and regular but whatever floats your boat).

1/4 cup grated cheese

1/2 cup finely chopped or grated cauliflower

2 eggs

Method:

Basically combine everything in a bowl and divide equally between a well greased muffin tray. Add a bit more cheese if you like.

Bake at 170°c fan for around 20 minutes or until golden and crispy.

These store in an airtight container for a few days, alternatively you could freeze for another day.

There you have it. Quick and easy and a bit healthier than the shop bought version. Winner.

Faye

Like this? Why not try…

Why a little meal planning goes a really long way…

I am rubbish at meal planning. There. I said it!! We haven’t really planned what were were going to eat from day to day since we had the little chap.

Below are some reasons that this is rubbish:

• We waste stuff (particularly veg)
• We eat out more than we should
• We lack inspiration and make the same meals over and over

Mr FMM’s Satay pork and egg fried rice

This is my entry in to the Kid Food Collective Blog Hop. The idea is that the members all create a dish and we vote for our favourite creation. The winner gets to choose the next challenge! I’m proud to be a part of the Kid Food Collective. If you are a kid-foodie-blogger or IGrammer then you can join – follow @kid.food.collective to find out more!

Leftovers…eating safely

I eat leftovers ALL THE TIME! I hate waste, so I’m always thinking of ways to re-purpose food. Then this morning I had a bit of a panic wondering if I was doing the right thing giving them to Dexter. I regularly freeze all kinds of food and defrost for a later date. But what is the safest way to do it and what should we freeze, or not freeze? For instance I got thinking about fish…I use frozen fish to make my easy-freezy fish pie then re-freeze and defrost it. Am I being a total muppet and risking making my child ill?

Aubergine and kale risotto-ish.

I’ve said risotto-ish so as not to offend any purists out there. This is a fuss free, cheese free, veg-ful version that I made for the whole family. It’s easily made vegetarian, vegan and it’s dairy free.

The five best things in my freezer

 

So, this week is my first week back at work and it helps with the anxiousness to be prepared. I’m sharing the five best things in my freezer. Stuff I can give at the drop of a hat. For quick breakfasts, I put in the time a few weeks back and made fruit buns. Lunches I have carrot and courgette flapjacks with cheese and quinoa (I love these as they have carbs, protein, fibre, veg, dairy all in one). For sweet but refined sugar-free snacks, I have pear and cinnamon blondies and baby biscuit dough. Finally, for a quick tea, my easy-freezy fish pie. Five recipes, one post. Ready, steady…