Comfort Foods- Shepherds Pie

Contributed by: Michaela Scroggins, M.S., NSCA-CPT

I am a lover of comfort food, especially Shepherd’s pie! This is a dish that is usually loaded with mashed potatoes, corn, bread, and cheese! The problem is that these ingredients are loaded with fat and can cause an inflammatory response. Here’s a tasty recipe that replaces the mashed potatoes with cauliflower and adds more vegetables to eliminate the bread and most of the cheese. Now you can enjoy comfort food without the guilt.

Shepherds Pie Recipe
Prep time: 20 mins
Cook time: 30 mins
Total time: 50 mins
Serves: 6+

Ingredients
• 2 pounds of ground beef, turkey or other lean meat (i.e. bison or venison)
• 2-3 heads of cauliflower or 3-4 bags of frozen cauliflower
• 1 bag of frozen mixed veggies (do not add corn; this is an inflammatory veggie!)
• 1 onion
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon each of basil, garlic, salt, pepper, oregano and a little cayenne
• 3 Tablespoons of butter
• 4 ounces of light cream cheese (optional)
• Low fat cheese to top (optional)

Instructions
1. Brown meat in large skillet and season to taste when cooked. Set aside.
2. Sauté diced onion in skillet until somewhat soft. Set aside with meat.
3. Pour mixed veggies in the skillet to heat on low heat.
4. While mixed veggies sauté, in a large pot boil several cups of water. Add cauliflower, cover, and cook until soft enough to mash.
5. Remove the pot from the heat, pour off the water, and add butter and cream cheese to the pot.
6. Add spices and mash; use a hand blender to make it really smooth.
7. Mixed veggies should be cooked by now; mix the meat, onions mixed veggies, raw egg and any additional seasonings and put in bottom of 9 x 13 baking dish.
9. Spread mashed cauliflower mixture over it until smooth.
10. Bake at 350 for approximately 30 minutes.
11. Add cheese and bake 5 additional minutes (optional).
12. Serve warm (or reheat later).

Source: http://wellnessmama.com/1452/shepherds-pie/