Did You Have Medicine For Dinner Last Night?
What was on your dinner plate last night? As Hippocrates (born 460 BC) once said “Let food be thy medicine and medicine thy food” but are we really aware of what this means and how it translates into our everyday living?
I was preparing dinner last night and was really pleased that my mashed potato now consists of 60% cauliflower and was going to post about it. I mean how great is cauliflower mash! It contains vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, phytochemicals, fights cancer, contains choline which improves learning and memory, its full of fiber, helps the body rid itself of toxins … and tastes pretty darn good. But then I started thinking about the actual dish that I was giving my children to eat. The humble Shepherds pie – some mince, veg and mash … but is that all it is?
Food is information for your body. When I make the base for Shepherds Pie I will sautee some leeks, onions and garlic. These 3 vegetables are pre-biotics which mean that they feed the good bacteria in your gut. Most people are aware of probiotics that they may take as a supplement - it gives your body new beneficial bacteria. What about the good bacteria that we already have? – To maintain them, keep them growing and alive we need to feed them and this is exactly what these vegetables do. Our good bacteria in our gut are the backbone of our immune system, and its our immune system that we need to be strong and functional to stay healthy especially now that its winter time -So isn’t that medicine?
After I have sautéed the vegetables I add the mince. If you are buying grass fed/ organic meat then you’re also providing your children with Omega 3. Good for brain health, memory and concentration in school.
I then add a batch of bone broth to this to loosen the mixture. It’s a great way for me to get all the goodness from a bone broth into my children. What is bone broth? Its is taking an organic or free range chicken carcass and simmering it in a slow cooker for 12-18 hours. The bones break done and you are left with liquid nutrients that your body sucks in: calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and many more all that growing children need. The amino acids (individual proteins that are broken down) that are produced from this broth reduce inflammation in the respiratory system, boost the immune system, aid digestion and help with allergies and asthma. Bone broth contains high amounts of glutamine that help heal leaky gut (that’s reducing any food allergies that they may have). It’s also cheap as chips. I buy a chicken carcasses for a quid each or you can use the bones left after a roast chicken.
So now that its winter time what better way to support your kids immunity – through the food you put on the table. The pre-biotics (leeks, onion & garlic) will feed the good bacteria helping their defenses. The bone broth rich in minerals that support their immune system and bone building nutrinets, omega 3 and liver supporting cruciferous vegetables. I haven’t even touched on the rosemary, peas and carrots yet…
Happy cooking …
SHEPHERDS PIE:
My recipe:
1 large onion finely chopped
2 leeks finely chopped
7 garlic cloves garlic cloves sliced thinly
3 whole garlic cloves
12-15 leaves from a rosemary stem chopped finely
1 carrot diced
1 celery stalk finely chopped
1 tablespoon tomato puree
500ml bone broth
500g mince meat
1 cauliflower head
500g potatoes
Cut the cauliflower into florets and place in a steamer with the 3 whole garlic cloves and 500g of chopped potatoes. You can add more/ less of the cauliflower and potatoes depending on how much mash you like on top. While this steams for 30 minutes you can get on with the rest.
Sautee 7 the chopped garlic cloves, onion, leek, carrots and celery a tablespoon of ghee (The cells in your colon love ghee!!) for 10-15 minutes or until softened.
Then add a tablespoon of tomato puree and the mince which you brown. Once browned add the bone broth and let it simmer on the stove for 20-25 minutes. You can add 1 tsp of corn flour (organic) if you want to thicken it up a little.
You can either keep it in this dish or transfer it to baking dish.
Once the mash ingredients are ready – mash it with a potato masher and put on top of the mince.
When ready to serve place itin the oven for 10/15 minutes or until warmed through and browned on top
Bone Broth
Take 1-2 Organic or free range Chicken carcuses and 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar and cover with 2 liters of water and let it simmer for 12-18 hours in a slow cooker. If you don’t have a slow cooker you can put the stove off when you leave the house (just don’t lift up the lid)and switch the stove off and put it back on when you get home again. The apple cider vinegar helps to leach all the nutrients out of the bone which need to be free range or organic or youre going to be leaching all the toxins out. 2 hours before you’re done add a roughly chopped celery, leek, onions, bulb of garlic, 2 carrots and 3 tomatoes.
Put through a strainer. Use or freeze in containers