Slimming Cottage Pie

These dark and cold winter nights call for hearty stodgy dishes to warm you up from the inside out. Luckily slimming world allows you to enjoy all the usual classics with minimal tweaking, all the satisfaction without the syns!

Tonight only some tasty saucy mince could fill the gap so I decided to make a cottage pie. Veg packed and full of goodness it certainly hit the spot. That's why I love this diet, for all its weight loss magic it really is healthy eating. We may be shoehorning in all those extra veg because they're free but the real benefit is the whack of vitamins and goodies we're getting. So Sw meals won't just keep us looking fabulous this winter it will also help is feel fabulous too!

As I have 2 young children with their own particular eating likes and dislikes I made an individual portion of the pie in a bowl and gave the boys the component parts how they like them.

Cottage pie

Serves 2/3

Free EE

Ingredients

250g extra lean mince

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

2 celery stalk, diced

2 carrots, diced

5 mushrooms, sliced

1 knorr stock pot rich beef

Squidge tomato purée

sprinkle of Thyme

Dash of Worcestershire sauce

Dash balsamic vinegar

500g potatoes, diced

Fat free fromage frais

1. Brown the mince in fry light and put to one side.
2. Spray the pan with a bit more fry light and soften the onion for a couple of minutes. Add the garlic, celery and carrots and thyme. Cover and soften for 5 minutes. Add a splash of water if you think it's a bit dry.
3. Return the mince to the pan. Add the mushrooms, cover with boiling water and add the stock pot. Stir to combine.
4. Add the tomato purée, worcestershire sauce and balsamic vinegar. Stir and bring to a simmer for 20/30 minutes until the sauce is thicker and the veg is cooked.
5. Meanwhile boil the diced potatoes until soft enough to mash but still holding their shape. Drain and mash. Stir in some fat free fromage frais or Greek yogurt to get a thick creamy. Season to taste.
6. Preheat your grill to high. Spoon the mince mixture into your serving dish and top with mash a spoon at a time.
7. Rough up the top with a fork and place under the grill till golden brownAnd slightly crispy on top. (For extra luxury you could grate your hexA of cheese on too before grilling).
8. Serve with a big portion of 'fried' cabbage. Take that winter!