Supercharged bolognaise

Mandy Sacher

Mandy Sacher

Child nutrition expert and mother of two, Mandy Sacher, is a Paediatric Nutritionist and SOS Feeding Consultant. Her private practice focuses on prenatal and childhood nutrition, helping parents and mums-to-be feed their children healthy, nourishing foods right from the start. Mandy’s philosophy is simple: train children’s taste buds to enjoy nourishing, nutritionally beneficial foods early as possible to ensure optimal development and establishment of lifelong healthy eating behaviours. After the birth of her first child in 2010, Mandy became increasingly aware of the lack of nutritionally sound information available to first-time parents. She was alarmed at the amount of baby and toddler foods marketed as ‘healthy’ when the sugar, salt and preservative contents were overly high. Mandy realised the journey to junk food can begin with the squeezie yoghurts we are fed or the teething rusks given to us. Mandy’s career in children’s health spans more than a decade – in 2006, she, along with other paediatric experts, founded the MEND Programme, an independent, not-for-profit organisation established to research and prevent obesity in children. Mandy and her colleagues at MEND developed one of the world’s only proven weight-loss treatments for obese children, now based on ten years of research and clinical trials. For the past five years Mandy has consulted to daycares on implementing more nutritious whole food menu plans and also privately to parents with children of all ages. Wholesome Child’s nutritional workshops are held at preschools, mother’s groups, non-profit organisations and medical practices.
Updated on Jun 14, 2024 · 2 mins read
Supercharged bolognaise

Ingredients


  • 1-2 tbs coconut oil
  • 1 large brown onion, finely chopped
  • 2-4 cloves garlic, finely crushed
  • 1 kg beef or lamb mince
  • 2 tbs mixed Italian hers
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 700g tomato passata in a glass bottle (not canned)
  • 1 cup (250ml) vegetable stock or bone broth
  • ½ cup (125g) butternut pumpkin, steamed and pureed. (Do not throw away excess water)
  • ½ cup (125g) sweet potato, steamed and pureed
  • 2 dried apricots, sulphur-free, finely sliced
  • 1 cup (25g) spinach, finely chopped
  • Sea salt and pepper, to taste


Equipment


Hand Blender using a food processor attachment


Method


  1. In a medium to large pot, heat oil on medium heat and sauté onion and garlic until transparent.
  2. Add mince, then turn up the heat and brown.
  3. Add mixed herbs, cinnamon and salt. Keep stirring until mince is browned all the way through and no pink pieces can be seen.
  4. Add tomato passata and vegetable stock and simmer, covered on a low heat for 10 mins.
  5. Add butternut pumpkin, sweet potato and apricot, cover and simmer for 15 mins.
  6. Add spinach and check to make sure liquid level is not too low. If extra water is needed, add water from steamed vegetables to increase vitamin and mineral content. Simmer for 10 more mins.
  7. Add salt and pepper to taste.
  8. Turn off heat and leave to cool. Serve with wholegrain or gluten-free pasta, buckwheat noodles, brown rice or quinoa.
  9. Serve immediately.

Tip


Store in the fridge for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 4 months.

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