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I’m always on the lookout for healthier recipes and at this time of year we love mince pies in our house so I found a much healthier version of the traditional filling of mince meat.
This recipe doesn’t just rely on dried fruit, there’s apples as well to add sweetness and moisture, as well as vanilla, spices and orange juice.
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Makes enough for 12 mince pies
• 2 apples, peeled, cored and chopped (or I used 140g of apples; can be cooking apples or eating apples)
• 3 teasp of vanilla extract
• 300g of dried fruit
• Juice of 2 oranges (or I have used apple juice)
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground ginger
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Place all of the ingredients in a saucepan and place on a medium heat.
Simmer for 30 minutes, until the fruit is nice and soft
This recipe is from Deliciously Ella’s Mince pies
Often recipes can have lots of sugar and taste very sweet so why not try reducing the added  sugar a little?
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Reducing the amount of sugar in cake recipes by up to one-quarter to one-third may have very  little effect on the overall result.
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I reduce the sugar by 50g
I use a little less coconut sugar instead of brown sugar (for a richer flavour)
I increased the fresh grated ginger (for a more ginger taste)
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Most baking recipes use white flour that has been refined so very little nutrition remains.
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One of the easiest ways to make baking more nutritious  is to use replace some of the white flour with wholemeal or whole-wheat flour. Start slowly if you haven’t tried this before and gradually build up to a third or  half the total amount of flour. Â
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 This is a lovely recipe for gingerbread cookies and I always use 50% wholemeal flour and 50% white flour.
· 1 cup flour (I use half plain white flour and half wholemeal flour)
· 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
· 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
· 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger (or more if you would like a stronger ginger taste, I use nearly 1/4 teaspoon)
· 1/8 teaspoon allspice or mixed spice
· 1/8 teaspoon salt
· 2 tablespoons maple syrup
· 1 tablespoon molasses
· 2 tablespoons milk
· 1/4 cup unsalted butter (softened at room temperature)
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Recipe courtesy of yummytoddlerfood