Eating Healthily with Red Meat

In our house we try to eat healthily, I usually do vegetables and meat for dinner most nights, the meat aspect however does tend to usually be chicken or fish most nights and sometimes a couple of nights we have red meat normally in the form of beef mince (always 20% less fat) in a spag bol or pastor pie.  I never really pay attention to the media when they shout about such and such being bad for you, causes this that and the other etc etc.  I believe in ‘everything in moderation’ so we never tend to cut anything out particularly and try to have a bit of everything. 

Recently there has been a lot of bad press about red meats (lamb, pork, beef) and yes it does tend to have a bit more fat, however you can still enjoy it with less fat – Tesco sell both lamb and beef mince in a lower fat option.  We have enjoyed pork steaks recently with a marinade and I have cut the fat off – I don’t actually enjoy fat so I don’t miss it.

In light of this the Meat Advisory Panel (an independent group of health and nutrition experts) has partnering with BritMums to promote red meat in the diets of children.  So the #HealthyRedMeat challenge was born!  Red meat provides a range of important nutrients that are often low in toddlers and children – including iron, zinc, and B vitamins, selenium and potassium.  I really liked the sound of the challenge as I do try hard to provide us all with a healthy diet.

Our trouble is getting our 4 year old to eat red meat – she just doesn’t seem to enjoy it, perhaps we should have encouraged her more when she was weaned.  Dr Emma Derbyshire (a public health nutritionist and mother) says: “Including a small portion of red meat in the diet a few times a week after weaning can help to bridge nutrient gaps and so help to maintain good health through childhood and beyond.”  I think Macy is just lazy with chewing, the only red meat she will eat is in the form of mince!  So that leads nicely on to the recipe we used, it had to be fairly quick and easy as I have a house full at the moment and work as well, so I found "The ultimate makeover: Shepherd's pie" By Angela Nilsen on BBC Good Food.

For the filling
1 tbsp rapeseed oil
1 onion, chopped
3-4 thyme sprigs
2 carrots, diced (total weight 300g)
250g lean minced lamb (we used 10% fat)
1 tbsp plain flour
1 tsp vegetable bouillon powder, made up to 350ml/12fl oz stock with boiling water
227g can chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato purée
400g can green lentils with no added salt, drained
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
For the topping
650g Maris Piper or King Edward potato, roughly chopped
250g sweet potatoes Sweet potatoes , roughly chopped
2 tbsp half-fat crème fraîche
1 tbsp semi-skimmed milk


Method
Heat the oil in a large, deep sauté pan or saucepan. Tip in the onion and thyme sprigs and fry for 2-3 mins. Then add the carrots and fry together for 5-8 mins, stirring occasionally until the vegetables start to brown. Stir in the mince to break it down. Fry for 1-2 mins until no longer pink. Stir in the flour, scraping the bottom of the pan in case the meat sticks, then cook for another 1-2 mins. 

 Pour in the stock and stir until thickened. Stir in the tomatoes, tomato purée, lentils and Worcestershire sauce and season with pepper. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 45 mins, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, prepare the topping. Drop all the potatoes into a large pan of boiling water. Bring back to the boil, then simmer for 12-15 mins or until the potatoes are tender. Drain well in a colander then tip back into the pan. Mash with a masher or, briefly, with an electric hand mixer until smooth. Beat in the crème fraîche and milk with a wooden spoon until light and fluffy. Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6.

Spoon the meat into a 1.5 litre pie dish and remove the thyme sprigs. Top with the mash and smooth over with a knife. Use a fork to create a ridged pattern on top. Place the dish on a baking sheet and bake for about 20-25 mins until piping hot and the filling starts to bubble around the edges. If the top is not brown enough, pop it under the grill for 5 mins or so until the mash is crisp and golden. Let it sit for 5 mins then serve. 

I amended the recipe slightly as I didn't use Creme Fraiche (seemed wasteful to buy it and use 2tbsps and leave the rest) so I just used butter and milk. I also put in some garlic as I do believe it has good health benefits. What I also liked about the recipe was the fact that it made use of veggies such as tomatoes, carrots, sweet potato and lentils.

This post is an entry for the BritMums #HealthyRedMeat, sponsored by the Meat Advisory Panel.