Sunday, September 16, 2012

Healthy Apple Crisp

Ingredients for filling: 1 Fresh Orange Juiced 4 Medium Apples peeled and chopped (4 servings) 1 teaspoon of cinnamon 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract Ingredients for topping: 1/2 teaspoon of fresh orange zest 1/2 cup buckwheat flour 1/2 cup quick oats 3 tablespoons wheat germ 3 tablespoons ground flax 3 tablespoons agave nectar to help form crumb 3 teaspoons or more as needed of cold coconut oil to form crumbs Directions: Heat oven to 325 degrees. In a bowl whisk together orange juice, cinnamon, and vanilla extract. Place chopped apples in a medium size baking dish (too big of a baking dish will dry out apples! Make sure the apples pile at least 2 inches high) and pour liquid mixture over it. Stir the apples until they are well coated. In another bowl, place all the dry ingredients for the topping into a bowl. Pour in agave nectar. Spoon cold coconut oil over and stir until you get a crumbly mixture. Evenly, place crumb mixture onto the apples with a spoon. Place baking dish into the oven for 1 1/2 hours. Test to see if the apples underneath are soft. If so, take it out and let cool for 15 minutes. Enjoy with a scoop of your favorite vanilla icecream or alone! :)

Homemade Apple Butter

I haven't blogged in soo long! I am getting very experimental in the kitchen again trying to find ways to make new healthy dishes along with revamping the old ones using healthier and cleaner ingredients. So stay tuned! I am going to try my best to post recipes often again! I promise :)
Yesterday, My fiance and I took our nieces apple and pumpkin picking at Eastmont Orchards in Colts Neck, New Jersey. It was so much fun! I recommend taking children there. They are free to run everywhere & get to experience what it is like to pick apples straight from a branch. We all enjoyed the cool crisp weather and even some fresh Apple Cider. My three year old neice summed up the experience well when she said "This is the best Halloween ever!". LOL
So what to do with all these apples? Apple Butter and Apple Crisp! My next post will provide you with the recipe for my healthy version of Apple Crisp. For this recipe, you will need a crockpot.
Ingredients: 3 chopped medium sized apples (any red kind with a soft flesh. I used a mix of ida red apples & jonathan apples) 4 tablespoons of agave nectar 1 1/2 tablespoons of cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg 1 pinch of sea salt Directions: Mix all the ingredients in the crockpot and cook on low heat until apples begin to disintegrate. For me, it took a little over 2 hours so it depends on the heat of your crockpot. You def have to keep an eye on it every couple of minutes after the first hour. Once complete, place the mixture in a blender while hot and blend til smooth. Let it cool, and place into an airtight container in the fridge. Enjoy it on pancakes, toast, pork, or even dip your baked sweet potato fries into them! Whichever way, ENJOY your homemade Apple Butter!