Who else loves a mince pie? Here are some of my ways to get that taste in a lower calorie and low fat way

Nothing shouts Christmas to me more than a mince pie!  My mum (who was an excellent baker) would make her own from scratch at the start of December and the mince pie tin was a magical one which constantly filled itself all the way through to Christmas.  All Christmasey events would be accompanied by a mince pie: visits to friends and family, special shopping days, the Christmas party my dad's work hosted for all the kids each year, carol concerts etc etc.  From the start of December, I think my body composition used to be 33% mince pie!

When I started learning about healthy eating, one of the first things I realised was quite how unhealthy pastry was (as well as quite how dependent I was on it!) so for a long time, I simply avoided anything that traditionally came in a pastry casing / shell so the mince pie just vanished from my radar completely.  Also, as I began to understand my emotional eating more and more, having a pack of shop bought mince pies in the house was just too much of a trigger for me too so I chose to just not have them at all.

As I began to experiment with cooking more and became more confident in the kitchen, I started thinking of ways I could still enjoy the mince pie tradition throughout December but in a way that was healthier for my body as well as not triggering old emotional eating ways so as its the start of December, I thought I'd share a few of my favourites!

I've gone back through my social media accounts and found lots of ideas to share - so if, like me, you're a mince pie fan, maybe have a try of some of these!

Firstly, buy a jar of mincemeat!  All supermarkets sell it - you'll normally find it all year round in the baking aisle, at Christmas, a few bring out some speciality flavours!  I love it (and could just eat it from the jar with a spoon!) so I normally wait until 1st of December to crack them open!  These are my three jars for this year:

2 from Sainsburys from their Christmas range and good old standard from Asda.

Mince Pie carrot cake porridge

• 40g of plain porridge oats
• a small grated carrot
• a sprinkle of cinnamon
• a tsp of vanilla essence
• a satsuma
• 1 level tablespoon of mincemeat

Simply put the oats, grated carrot, vanilla essence into a microwaveable bowl, cover with water (I usually add enough to be 1cm above the top of the contents of the bowl).  Microwave on medium for 8 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes.  You may need to add more water part way through if its too thick.
To serve: add satsuma segments, the tbsp of mincemeat and sprinkle with cinnamon.

Christmas Baked Oats

• 40g of plain porridge oats
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp of vanilla essence
• 1 dollop (heaped tablespoon of natural fat free yoghurt)
• 1 level tablespoon of mincemeat
• (you can add grated carrot if you wish, if you do, you may need to add an extra egg)

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl, pour into a silicone mould and bake in the oven on 190°C / gas mark 5 for about 20-25 minutes or until golden and firm to touch.

For a festive and very filling breakfast, serve with fresh fruit of your choice and some fat free yoghurt.

Enjoy on their own as a mid afternoon snack

Festive cookies

• 40g of grape nuts cereal
• 1 egg
• 1 heaped tablespoon of natural fat free yoghurt
• 1 tsp of vanilla essence
• 1 level tablespoon of mincemeat

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl.  Line a baking tray with baking paper.  Put dollops of the mixture onto the baking paper and flatten with the back of a spoon.  (I use a fried egg silicone ring to make neat circles) and bake in the oven on 190°C / gas mark 5 for about 15-20 minutes until firm to touch.
Serve with yoghurt and fresh fruit or just eat them on their own!

Festive Eton Mess

• A large meringue nest (I buy mine in a box of 8 from Asda)
• Natural fat free yoghurt sweetened with either a tablespoon of powdered sweetener or a tsp of vanilla essence
• Fresh fruit (satsuma or sharon fruit are my favourites for this dish)
• 1 tablespoon of mincemeat

In a serving glass, layer up the meringue (crushed into pieces), the yoghurt and the fruit and top with the tablespoon of mincemeat.  (This could be one of my favourite desserts!)

You could leave out the meringue nest and just serve with yoghurt and fruit:

Filo Mince Pies

• 2 large sheets of filo pasty (I buy it in Tesco)
• 8 tsp of mincemeat

Carefully cut your filo pasty into 8 squares per sheet
Place one filo square into a fairy cake cooking tin and spray with frylight and then place another square on top at an angle.
Put 1 level tsp of mincemeat into the centre and gently fold over the pastry corners.
Repeat until you have 8 little filo parcels
Spray with low calorie spray oil and then place in the oven on 180°C / gas mark 4 for 10-15 minutes until the filo pastry has crisped up

Festive baked apple - another firm favourite of mine!

• A cooking apple with the core removed
• A level tablespoon of mincemeat

Place the cored apple into a microwaveable bowl and add the tablespoon of mincemeat to the middle.
Place in the microwave and heat on medium, 2 minutes at a time - I don't have a precise cooking time as every time I've done it, it takes a different amount of time but I check every 2 minutes until the apple starts to soften and the mincemeat is bubbling.

I serve with sweetened quark or fat free natural yoghurt and a tsp of sweet freedom syrup.

And for a final, quick and easy dessert - simply add a tsp of mincemeat to a yoghurt - last year, muller light brought out a mince pie limited edition flavour and this was my absolute favourite (I've been stalking the supermarkets this year but sadly no sign of it yet!)

All of these options are a lot healthier than a standard shop bought mince pie and though I'm not saying I won't have one or two of those this December, I'll be managing my mince pie addiction with a lot of my own recipes so that I don't feel like I'm missing out on a firm favourite but I'm not overloading on fats and sugar.  Life is about balance after all!

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