Hello everybody! If you've been following my journey with food you now know that I am not only not eating sugar but also keeping my family away from it... In the past, when my only focus was "to lose weight" I stopped eating sugar but my pantry was still loaded with sugar, all purpose flour, shortening and all the "good stuff" (I do love baking with all those ingredients to be honest) ... but the more I read and learned about food I realized my way of thinking started to change and not only I wanted to avoid sugar but I wanted my family to avoid it as well... I am not trying to be preachy or anything... I am just sharing with you what *I* have changed for *my* family... not throwing stones or anything... trust me... in the journey with food we all kind of have to learn for ourselves and realize what works best for our families and lifestyles... Anyway... so... after I embraced this whole healthy eating/living thing I felt great but at the same time I felt "lost" when it came to baking... I must say I hate the culinary properties (if there are any) of stevia... although I do love the fact that if you find a good one (with no aftertaste) it's great to know that you can sweeten some things with it (like I do with my smoothies) ... Since nobody else here at home needs to lose weight I do use some other healthier sweeteners -than refined sugar- (with great caution and extreme moderation) for my girls and husband... so... today is 4th of July and I thought I would bake something for everyone to enjoy... I was amazed with the results and how easy it was to put together (I am actually regretting having made it so early... now I realize I could've made it right before serving tonight!!) But I guess it's ok... that way I can share with you "early enough" for you to try it and have a very Happy and Healthy 4th of July!!!
I love this recipe because you can pretty much adapt and personalize to your specific needs (dairy free/sugar free, grain free, etc.) and taste... (Trim Healthy Mama friends sweeten with stevia and omit the rolled oats for a perfect "S Dessert", Paleo friends avoid the oats as well and sweeten with honey, Strict Vegans use pure maple syrup instead of honey)
So... Here goes!
Berry Crisps
(Yield: 4-6 servings)
Ingredients
Filling:
3 cups of berries (blueberries or a mix of berries, they can be frozen or fresh, frozen works great!)
1 tbsp. of coconut palm sugar or a hint of pure stevia extract
1 tbsp. lemon or lime juice
Topping:
1 cup almond meal/flour
1/4 cup of rolled fashioned rolled oats (if you don't have any grain restrictions, omit for Paleo Diet)
1/4 cup of melted coconut oil (or butter)
2 tbsp. pure maple syrup (or a bit of liquid stevia to taste)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup of chopped walnuts (or pecans or hazelnuts)
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°F. (Lightly grease ramekins with coconut oil or butter)
Filling:
Mix berries, sugar, and lime (or lemon) juice in a large bowl.
Pour mixture into individual small ramekins.
Topping:
Combine almond meal/flour, coconut oil (or butter), maple syrup, oats (if using), cinnamon and nuts
in a medium sized bowl with a fork or your fingers. Sprinkle over top of berries.
Bake
for 35-45 minutes until fruit is bubbly and topping is browned. Serve warm by itself or topped with a scoop of healthy and plan appropriate ice-cream (coconut ice cream sweetened with stevia or erythritol is great!)
Enjoy!!! Happy 4th of July!
© Paloma K.
