My Nana Susie was the light of my life. She was an incredible woman – an amazing artist, accomplished in the kitchen, and the most loving person I’ve ever known. We had such a special relationship, having many afternoon adventures together and sleepovers in her chilly house. She and my beloved Mom (Hi Mom!) had a business together, called the Heart of Byfield. I grew up watching these two driven, creative and hard working women build and run a business from nothing. Inspired by them, I’ve always want to have something of my own, something I could build, work hard at and inspire others…just like them. I’m proud to call this blog my own! Although she didn’t eat very much (!), Nana had a knack for writing recipes and cooking up tasty food. She hand-wrote a cookbook, Susie’s Kitchen Window, which I plan to showcase here from time to time. The cookbook was written in the late 70s, so she calls for margarine and shortening, however, the woman made every single thing from scratch – down to her mayonnaise and ketchup!

It may seem funny that the first recipe I post on my blog is a meatloaf recipe with optional liver. You may be thinking, this girl is a Nutritionist? This recipe is a favorite among the majority of my friends, I grew up eating it, and I’ve struggled to find a meatloaf recipe as good as this one! I’ve adapted it to make it grain and dairy free, but it’s just as delicious as the original! The apple makes it moist and slightly sweet, with the molasses adding richness and depth. The first ten or so recipes I post may seem random, but I’m sharing our family staples that are – nutrient dense, freeze well, produce leftovers, are yummy and pretty easy to make! I hope you like it as much as we do!

Nana’s Apple Dapple Meatloaf (grain free & dairy free option)
Ingredients
For the meatloaf:
- 2 lbs grass-fed ground beef - see note below on adding optional liver
- 1 cup almond flour or almond meal - instead of breadcrumbs
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 large apple, shredded
- 1/4 cup molasses - preferably blackstrap and unsulfured
- 1/4 cup milk - whole cow’s milk or almond milk
- 1/3 cup minced celery
- 1/3 cup minced onion
- 1 tsp celtic sea salt
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
For the glaze:
- 2 TBSP molasses - preferably blackstrap and unsulfured
- 2 TBSP organic ketchup
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large bowl, mix (with your hands) all ingredients for the meatloaf together. Don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty – the more it’s mixed, the better.
- Place in a 9” x 5 “ loaf pan and bake for 1 hour. (It’s best to use a 2 part loaf pan, one with a perforated insert for the fat to drip through.)
- At one hour, remove from oven to spread glaze over the top of the meatloaf.
- Place the meatloaf (now with glaze on top) back in the oven for 15 more minutes.
- Let the meatloaf cool for 10 minutes.
- Slice and enjoy.