Supercharged Applesauce

Who doesn't love applesauce?  It can be consumed on its own or added into baked goods.  Summer time is a great time to eat cold foods and I made this several years ago when I had dental work done.  I thought I would make some more as a healthy snack.

This recipe is so easy, fast and easy cleanup and nothing but fruit sugar and has added iron and other benefits from spinach.   Yum!

Start off with your apple of choice.  I used 4 organic fuji apples.  I dewaxed mine with a knife and then a vegetable spray.  You can certainly skip this step or just rinse with some vinegar and water solution.  I deseeded and chopped them up.  I assume you can use any blender (just blend it longer) but I have a high speed Blendtec.

I added two dashes of cinnamon and a large handful of organic spinach to supercharge it! 

I added about 2/3 cup of water to help it go and gave it a good blend until it mixed together beautifully.  

It should look like this but you can certainly leave it chunkier if you have a preference. 

I like to make enough for me to snack on for a few days so I usually store mine in a large jar but try to consume it within the next 2 to 3 days while it is fresh.  You may need to give it a little stir if the water starts to separate.  

Ingredients

-4 apples of your choice, preferably organic

-large handful or spinach, preferably organic

-2 dashes of cinnamon

-2/3 cups water

Instructions

Blend it all together 

Wash, deseed and chopped up the apples and place in a blender or food processor.   I assume you can use any blender or food processor (just blend or processes until you get the desired texture) but I used a high speed Blendtec.  I used the sauce setting on my blender.

Sprinkle with 2-3 dashes of cinnamon.  You can skip this step but I think the cinnamon gives it extra sweetness.

Wash and add a large handful of spinach.  The spinach flavor is very clean so you shouldn't be able to taste it.  You can certainly start by adding a small handful and gradually working up to more. 

This gives you a good amount of fiber and iron.  You can certainly blend in Greek Yogurt or vanilla protein powder for extra protein or a more filling snack.

Number of servings (yield): 4-5 

Perfect Peach Crisp

I am now a little obsessed with fruit crisps because it is like a pie but without all the fat, sugar and carbs. I made my berry crisp over the weekend and have been dreaming of making more. It is peach season so here we go! 

This recipe is so easy, fast and easy cleanup as well as vegan, gluten free and low in sugar.  This of course can be paired with vanilla frozen yogurt for an extra treat. The almond flour gave it a perfect nutty flavor. Yum!

Ingredients

-4 cups
 fresh or frozen peaches, preferably organic

-1 teaspoon maple syrup

-1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

For the Crisp Topping:

-1/2 cup almond flour

-dash of salt

-1 teaspoon cinnamon

-1/4 cup maple syrup 

-1 1/2 cups gluten free oats

-1/2 cup coconut oil (I used extra virgin coconut oil)

sprinkle of brown sugar on the top

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine the almond  flour, salt, cinnamon, maple syrup, oats and coconut oil. Using a pastry cutter, fork or your hands, mix the Coconut oil into the dry ingredients until you have a coarse crumb.

Sprinkle the peaches with the maple syrup and ½ teaspoon of cinnamon and mix well.

Grease a 4X4” baking dish and fill with the fruit mixture. Sprinkle the crisp topping over the top of the fruit and lightly dust with brown sugar. 

Bake the crisp for about 45-50 minutes or until the fruit is hot and bubbly and the crispy is golden brown. Let cool slightly before serving.

Number of servings (yield): 6

Ripe peaches

Almond flour and oats topping 

Final product is delicious!

Berrylicious Berry Crisp

I found a recipe off of Pinterest but have modified it to a healthier version to fit my needs.  We were going to have friends over for dinner and I'm a chocoholic but was surrounded by beautiful summer berries.  I wanted something refreshing and not too heavy.  A coworker bought in a gluten free apple pie the other day and it spurred this recipe.  

Ingredients

-4 cups
 fresh or frozen berries, preferably organic

-1 teaspoon sugar, honey, or maple syrup

-1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

For the Crisp Topping:

-1/2 cup gluten free flour 

-1/2 teaspoon baking soda

-1/2 teaspoon salt

-1 teaspoon cinnamon

-1/4 cup brown sugar, honey or maple syrup 

-1 1/2 cups gluten free oats

-1/2 cup coconut oil (I used extra virgin coconut oil)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine the GF flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, sugar, oats and coconut oil. Using a pastry cutter, fork or your hands, mix the Coconut oil into the dry ingredients until you have a coarse crumb.

Sprinkle the berries with the sugar and ½ teaspoon of cinnamon and mix well.

Grease a 4X4” baking dish and fill with the fruit mixture. Sprinkle the crisp topping over the top of the fruit.

Bake the crisp for about 45-50 minutes or until the fruit is hot and bubbly and the crispy is golden brown. Let cool slightly before serving.

Number of servings (yield): 6

Start with beautiful fruit, preferably in season!  Organic tastes better and are just better for you!

I added frozen organic blue berries from Costco and fresh raspberries.

Before it goes into the oven with strawberries, blueberries and raspberries.

After it comes out of the oven and it looks and smells amazing!

A small scoop of ice cream or frozen yogurt really hits the spot!  The fruit will still be a little tart but the crisp and the ice cream will give it the perfect amount of sweetness.  I used frozen yogurt and was happy with my first attempt at this!  

My Moussaka (Greek Eggplant Casserole)

My version of Moussaka (Greek Eggplant Casserole) and it wasn't half bad considering I've never had it before since it's traditionally made with flour and either beef or lamb. This one was inspired by my latest trip made with ground turkey and completely gluten free. Not bad for a gal that never had it before!

It makes roughly 6 servings.  

Medium eggplant

Ground meat, I used ground turkey .5 to 1 lb depending on how much meat you like

3-4 potatoes, depending on the size

1 medium onion

2 gloves of garlic

Mix in the mixture of cinnamon, allspice, oregano, parsley, clove, salt, pepper and chili powder.  (I did this by taste but about 1/2 teaspoon of each.)

One 14oz can of diced tomatoes

2 tablespoons of tomato paste

1 tablespoon butter 

2 tablespoons of gluten free flour

1 cup of milk (low fat or unsweetened almond milk will work.) 

2 eggs

1/2 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt

1/3 cup feta cheese 

3 tablespoons of parmesan cheese

Dash of both nutmeg and salt

I sliced one medium eggplant into 1/2 and inch slices and sprinkled salt on them to drain for a least an hour.

I fried the potatoes on medium heat with olive oil and sprinkled them with a touch of sea salt.  The potatoes becomes the first layer.  

 Brown the chopped onion with half the garlic in olive oil.

Brown the ground turkey.

 Mix in the mixture of cinnamon, allspice, oregano, parsley, clove, salt, pepper and chili powder.

 One 14oz can of diced tomatoes and 2 tablespoons of tomato paste.

Let it cook and absorb the juice for about 15 minutes on medium heat. 

Once it thickens put this layer over the potatoes.  

Squeeze out the excess fluid from the eggplant and then fry both sides with olive oil on medium heat.  (About 8-10 minutes on each side.)

Add the eggplant layer to the casserole dish.  

The white sauce I added just a tablespoon of butter and two tablespoons of gluten free flour whisking it together to make a roux.  I then added a cup of milk (low fat or unsweetened almond milk will work.) I then whisked in 1 egg, 1/2 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt, 1/3 cup feta cheese and 3 tablespoons of parmesan cheese.  I gave it a sprinkle of both nutmeg and salt.

Evenly spread the white sauce over the eggplant and then sprinkle the top with feta cheese and any shredded cheese.  Pop it in the oven at 375 for 25 minutes.  Turn off the oven and let it sit for another 10.

I took mine out of the oven and let it sit for another 10 minutes before cutting into a 2 x 3 to give me six servings. 

I served it up with my version of a Greek salad and it was pretty darn tasty for someone that have never had it because of the gluten and red meat in it! 

Berrylicious Parfait

I just got back from Greece and am totally geeking out on Greek yogurt.  It is almost summer time so that means berries are less expensive, which means organic berries are more affordable!  Because I'm allergic to gluten, I mainly ate yogurt drizzled with honey for breakfast when I was in Greece.  Most of the hotels did not have too many fruits so that was disappointing.  My version is full of fruits and served in a wine glass to make it extra special.  

I love fresh organic strawberries so I started with a layer of sliced strawberries followed by a few spoons of plain Greek yogurt.  From there I drizzled some of the honey we brought back from Crete.   Of course any local honey would be fine.I only had crumbs of lightly frosted cereal flakes around so that was the next layer.

  Then repeat with the strawberries, yogurt and cereal.  I ended mine with more strawberries and you can top with either mint or basil.  

We had basil from the garden and it was delicious.  I may sprinkle some basils in throughout on the next one.   Enjoy!   

Of course any fruit will work and granola or other types of cereal would be fine.  Maple syrup or agave nectar would also work instead of honey. 

Ingredients:

Plain Greek Yogurt 

Strawberries

Honey

Cereal or granola

Mint or basil (optional)