I don’t know about you but my childhood Christmas memories are packed full of way the house smelt, the food we ate and the moments spent together (over the food!). Get the picture, FOOD!

Some people are very anti changing traditional recipes, and I am sure there are some cases where if it ain’t broke don’t fix it applies.

But, we must remember many of the ingredients that once went in some of our favourite sweet recipes are not the same quality or made the same way anymore.

When my health took a turn for the worse, and I overhauled my entire diet in order to heal I stopped enjoying many of the foods I had come to hold memories in.

It wasn’t until last year that I adapted Mum’s Xmas mince pies to a gluten free, dairy free & grain free version so I could still enjoy them.

And I’ll tell you this right now - they might taste bit different to what I remember (but still delicious), but it is the memories they evoke that I love and they don’t change one bit.

I wanted to share my version of my old favourite with you this Christmas, and in doing so I reached out to some amazing NTP’s I know to see if they had an old adapted (or new) recipe to share with you too.

And guess what we have a whole collection, available in an easy to read downloadable PDF!!

Thank you to the amazing talented NTP’s who shared their recipes -

Katie (Empowered Nutrition) for her gut friendly & raw desserts;

Fran (Fran Dargaville) for adapting one of my all time fav recipes;

Sivan (Wellness Uncovered) for her Berry Crumble;

Shae (The Nourishing Collective) for her amazing rum & choc treats;

Georgia (Wellness Within) for changing up a classic;

Jess (Paradigm Shift Nutrition) for giving us something new;

Sarah (The Nourished Co.) for her indulgent truffles; and

Nat (Natalie Bertie Nutritional Therapy for Families) for creating a kid friendly hit!

MUM’S CHRISTMAS MINCE PIES (2.0)

Fruit Mince
1 cup each of raisins, sultanas & goji berries
1/2 cup medjool dates, chopped
1/2 cup raw macadamias
2 apples, skin on, chopped
grated rind of 1 lemon, 1 orange
1 tsp cinnamon & 1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp rum (can omit if want)

Tart Case
1 cup ground almonds**
1/2 almond flour (fine is best)
2 tbsp melted coconut oil
1 tbsp ground chia seeds
1 tbsp maple syrup (if wish)

**Swap almonds for hazelnut flour, and pecans if have almond issue

To make fruit mince
+ add all ingredients to processor and blend until you have a sticky mixture
+ Note: add 1 tbsp arrowroot flour if consistency is too wet

To make tart case
+ combine almonds & flour together then add the rest to form a dough
+ roll out to around 2-3mm thick & cut circles for the bottom, and shapes for the top (I use stars, cause Mum did!)
+ carefully press bottoms into pie trays, then fill with mince & place top on.
+ glaze with non dairy milk of your choice (I use coconut) & mixed spice if you like!
+ bake at 160 C for 10 minutes, watch closely as they can burn!