Low Fat Healthy Mince Pies (not just for Christmas!)

I have a confession. I LOVE mince pies. I used to be able to eat an entire 6 pie box and it wasn't even christmas! These days I am much healthier and no longer stuff my gullet with refined sugar, white flour and suet (yuk!) but I still like to make 'treats' for myself and I get a kick out of re-inventing old favourites into healthy versions that will actually feed my skin and make me vibrantly healthy.

Traditional mince pies are far too high in empty calories, fat and gluten for me to offer them as a 'facelift food', luckily it is possible to make a super-healthy-just-as-tasty version. It's not quite an enclosed pie but its a delicious substitute made with almost identical ingredients (dried fruit, apple and citrus). I call it the Mince Pie Pudding and here is the recipe for you:

Mince Pie Pudding

Ingredients

10 dates soaked overnight in enough water to cover
8 small apples peeled, cored and sliced
3 oranges juiced with a citrus juicer/lemon squeezer
Ground almonds (1-2 tsp per person)
Cinnamon powder - about 2-3 tsps
Nutmegs
200g raisins/sultanas

How to make

1. First make a sweet n spicy citrus sauce by processing together the soaked dates, orange juice and cinnamon. It should be the consistancy of a creamy salad dressing - of too thick add more juice, if too thin add another soaked date or two. Add as much spice as you like!

2. Once the sauce is nice and smooth, add your apple chunks, raisins and grate about a third of a nutmeg into the processor, now gently pulse the machine until your have a chunky blend with visible pieces of apple (albeit rather small pieces).

3. Next get as many ramekin dishes as you need and place 1-2tsp of the ground almonds in each ramekin. Tamp down firmly the ground almonds so that it forms a kind of 'pastry' on the bottom and is firmly held together. Now pile on your 'mincemeat' and fill the ramekin.

4. Place the ramekins in the fridge to firm up for at least an hour, remove from the fridge once firm and chilled and enjoy. As a certified mince pie fan I guarantee you will love these healthy festive puddings.