A healthy plant-based easy-to-prepare fruit crumble is sure to satisfy. A delightful dessert that is heavy on the fruit – apples and blueberries or apples and cherries – and heavy on nutritional value. When the blueberries or cherries are fresh, it makes a special treat but don’t stop there, make this sure-to-please dessert any time of the year with frozen fruit too. Just look at the beautiful colorful presentation, how much fun is that!
APPLE BLUEBERRY CRUMBLE: A Colorful, Yummy and Good for you Dessert!
Main Fruit Ingredients: 5 baking apples (5 cups), peeled and cored, thinly sliced 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries or cherries ( no need to thaw) 5 (3 inch) pieces crystallized ginger, minced 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/2 medium lemon (juice from lemon plus 1 teaspoon zest) 1 -2 tablespoon sweetener (maple syrup, date sugar or brown sugar), to taste 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg Topping Ingredients: 1 cup granola 1/4 cup walnut pieces or slices almonds
Directions: Preheat oven 350 degrees F. Prepare apples then place into a non-stick or parchment paper lined ovenware. Add remaining main ingredients into the ovenware; gently combine. Crumble the granola over the top of the fruit and add nuts on top. Bake for 25 minutes. Serve warm or cold.
ENJOY THIS DELICIOUS PLANT-BASED FRUIT CRUMBLE -WE DO!!
Rows and rows, miles and miles of blooming apple trees are plentiful in our valley during the spring…so BEAUTIFUL! Just take a ride and soak in nature around the country side, enjoy the lovely pink buds opening up into gorgeous white flowers tipped in pale pink. The end of this journey will result in lovely various nutritious produce – delicious local PA apples. Eat the fruit raw or cooked, sweet or tart, red or gold – APPLES, APPLES, APPLES!
Beautiful APPLE BLOSSOMS after a spring rain in Franklin County PA
Rows and rows, miles and miles of fertile ground and blooming APPLE TREES
An apple crate awaiting the collection of delicious Franklin County APPLES later in the year
Below are two recipes using apples:
Homemade Applesauce: Directions to cook applesauce in a crock pot:
Scrub, quarter and core apples (I do not peel to retain more nutritional value and I don’t mind if the applesauce is not totally smooth; but, if you wish, peel to make silky smooth applesauce.)
Cut into similar sized chunks, place in the pot, do not add water (add spices is you wish)
Cook for 4 or more hours on low. (To make apple butter, it takes 10 hours or longer.)
When the apples are breaking up and have a mushy texture, it’s time to blend with an immersion blender to make applesauce
Watch the video to see how easy it is to make applesauce to have fresh eating all year round. ENJOY!
Apple Cherry Crumble: Apples and Cherries together make this a wonderful dessert. The difficulty is trying not to eat the fruit before you make the crumble. The colorful beautiful presentation is a bonus for this healthy crumble delight!
Serves: 6 || Prep Time: 20 minutes || Cook Time: 25 minutes 5 baking apples (5 cups), peeled and cored, thinly sliced 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/2 medium lemon (juice and 1 teaspoon zest) 3/4 cup fresh or frozen cherries (no need to thaw) 1-2 tablespoon date sugar or maple syrup (to taste) 5 (3-inch) pieces crystallized ginger, minced 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1 cup granola
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Preheat oven 350°F. Prepare apples then place into a non-stick ovenware dish. Add remaining ingredients (except granola); gently combine. Crumble the granola over the top, bake for 25-30 minutes. Serve warm or cold.
Nutrition Facts Calories 154 Cal from Fat 9, Total Fat 1g, Saturated Fat 0g, Cholesterol 0mg, Sodium 8mg, Total Carbohydrate 35g, Fiber 4g, Total Sugars 23g (includes 11g added sugars), Protein 2g
Grab a bar for a whole food, plant-based snack. These delicious Date Walnut Cranberry Bars are filled with natural sweetener for a scrumptious healthy dessert. When you combine dates, dried cranberries and walnuts you get terrific flavors, a satisfying taste and plenty of nutritional value! Let’s get started.
DATES- 10 ounces for healthy DATE WALNUT CRANBERRY BARS
Preparing the Dates: Today we are using 10 ounces of pitted whole dates as the main sweetener for the DATE WALNUT CRANBERRY BARS. To keep them fresh, I freeze a bag of pitted dates until I’m ready to use. They are easy to pull apart and thaw in a microwave in about 30 seconds.
CHOPPING DATES (10 ounces) to make DATE WALNUT CRANBERRY BARS
Chop the thawed dates with a knife and when the knife becomes sticky just run it under cool water and continue chopping. The 10 ounces of chopped dates make about 2 cups.
10 ounces pitted dates or 2 cups chopped 3/4 cup water (to cover chopped dates to soften) 1 cup (5.45 ounces) white whole wheat flour 1/2 cup (2.20 ounces) whole wheat pastry flour 1 cup (3.30 ounces) oats 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 tablespoon concentrate orange juice 3 tablespoons aquafaba (brine from chick peas) 2 tablespoons peanut butter 3/4 cup (3.00 ounces) chopped walnuts 1/2 cup (2.10 ounces) dried cranberries Optional: If the dough is too stiff to spread, add additional water tablespoon by tablespoon Optional: Use dried cherries in place of dried cranberries
Preparing the dates: Preheat oven 350 degrees F. Chop pitted dates and place in a small microwaveable bowl along with 3/4 cup water. Microwave the dates for 3-4 minutes or until they break down to your liking; stir and set aside.
Preparing the dough: In a medium bowl, stir together the flours, oats, baking soda, baking powder and salt. To the dates add vanilla, aquafaba, peanut butter and orange juice concentrate; mix until combined. Place wet ingredients into dry ingredients, mix until combined. At this time, if needed, add tablespoons of water. Combine walnuts and cranberries. Either (1) fold in walnut/cranberry mix or (2) place walnut/cranberry mix on top of dough and press into dough.
Baking the bars: Spoon and even out the dough in a non-stick 9 inch by 13 inch pan or line a bake ware pan with parchment paper. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool before cutting into 24 servings.
Sugar cookies with icing is a perennial Christmas favorite. The whole family can join in the activity to decorate Christmas cookies and especially sugar cookies. Last year during Holiday season my friend, Dr. Liz, asked if I had a favorite sugar cookie recipe but I didn’t, in fact, it had been years since I had a sugar cookie or similar; even in the days before I became vegan, sugar cookies with icing were too sweet tasting for me. I don’t often tackle old recipes calling for lots of unhealthy ingredients such as butter, eggs, oil and sugar. Understatement – to make this recipe healthier was a challenge but I was up for it.
Of course since our taste buds on a whole foods, plant-based life-style makes us hypersensitive to sugar, my first task was to cut down on the sugar, which I handily did. I borrowed Sarah’s, my neighbor’s, Christmas cookie cutters and off to my test kitchen – now I was all in. Testing. Tasting. And I am happy to report that I, as well as, those who were tasting and testing the cookies were pleased with the results! I had fun creating, baking and eating, I hope you have as much fun as I did! SEE CoachBJ’s Sugar Cookie recipe below.
SUGAR COOKIES – Whole foods, Plant-Based sugar cookies. I did use a glaze to icing the cookies, a little extra for Christmas celebrations. You can’t just eat one!
COACH BJ’S SUGAR COOKIES Serves: 20 – 24 medium size cookies || Prep Time: 45 minutes || Cook Time: 9-10 minutes
Sugar Cookies Ingredients: 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour (2.20 ounces) 2/3 cup white whole wheat flour (2.90 ounces) 2 tablespoons arrowroot 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons peanut butter 2 tablespoons aquafaba (chick pea brine) 1/3 cup maple syrup 3 – 5 tablespoons non-dairy unsweetened milk, as needed
Cooking Directions: Preheat oven 350 degree F. Combine the first 6 dry ingredients in a medium bowl. In a small bowl add peanut butter, aquafaba, maple syrup and non-dairy milk; whisk until smooth. Combine wet ingredients with dry ingredients to form a moist dough ball. Sprinkle a non-stick surface with flour, knead the dough and form into a disk shape. Place the disk on the floured surface, place a piece of wax paper over the disk and roll to 1/4 inch thickness with a rolling pin. Use cookie cutters to make various shapes. Place shapes on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a Silpat. Bake for 9-10 minutes. Cool the cookies before adding icing and decorating. Lay out decorated cookies to dry.
Have FUN decorating the cookies with icing, sprinkles and chocolate, that is, if you don’t eat them all first.
Icing Ingredients (make several containers for various colors, try mixing colors)
For WHITE ICING: 1/4 cup confectioners sugar (powdered) 1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/2- 1 teaspoon non-dairy unsweetened milk or as needed For COLORED ICING using natural liquids as delineated below: 1/4 cup confectioners sugar (powdered) 1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract To make ORANGE/GOLD: 1/2- 1 teaspoon orange concentrate produces a pale yellow, add a pinch of turmeric to change to golden or To make PINK/REDDISH hue: 1/2 – 1 teaspoon squeezed blueberries juice or cranberry juice or Melt CHOCOLATE pieces or chips mixed with a little non-dairy milk
SUGAR COOKIES: Vegan sugar cookies. The colored icing was made by adding blueberry juice, orange concentrate, melted chocolate and mixing…it was fun decorating and eating them.
HAVE FUN BAKING AND EATING HEALTHY SUGAR COOKIES!!
SUGAR COOKIES MADE EASY: I like to call this process efficient. Just roll out the dough, cut in squares with a knife, bake, cool, then spread various colored icing with a brush over the cookies. Plant-based sugar cookies made QUICK and EASY!
‘Tis the season for wonderful, healthy Cranberries – fresh from Maine. The raw berries are bitter-tasting but full of powerful antioxidants. I will add some unprocessed sugar and orange flavoring to make a tasty syrup to use in healthy plant-based baking. The cranberries will gel from their natural pectin, causing the sauce to thicken. The color and texture of the cranberry syrup is stunning, the translucent berries are especially captivating for a photographer.
CITRUS: Oranges, lemons and cranberries.
SIMPLE CRANBERRY SAUCE RECIPE (to be used in desserts):
Quantity: After cooking, makes about 1 cup sauce.
2 cups raw cranberries, wash and sort
1/3 cup sugar-in-the-raw type sweetener (or to taste)
1/3 cup orange juice (fresh squeezed or 100% juice)
1 Tablespoon Grand Marnier (orange-flavored liqueur)
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So easy to make Cranberry Sauce: Add sugar, orange juice and Grand Marnier to a small skillet. Stir and heat until sugar dissolves. Add raw cranberries, stir gently, bring to a boil. Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Some of the berries will pop. Don’t over stir or over cook, leave some berries whole.
CRANBERRY SYRUP: This syrup is made from fresh cranberries and can be used in cakes or other baked goods.
ORANGE – CRANBERRY FLAVORED CAKE: Fresh cranberries add a seasonal touch to this orange flavored moist cake.
ORANGE – CRANBERRY CAKE: My Orange Cake with fresh cranberry sauce turns into a delightful holiday dessert.
Yummy gems for a special chocolate chip cookie treat! Who doesn’t love a soft chewy chocolate chip cookie with a low calorie count, natural sweetener and no oil. It’s hard not to eat them all right out of the oven…save a few for later!
Coconut Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Serves: 24 (2” cookies); Bake 12-14 minutes.
1/4 cup date syrup or maple syrup
1 medium banana, mashed
3 T. aquafaba (chickpea brine)
1 t. vanilla extract
1/2 lemon (juice and 1 T. grated peel)
1/2 cup water plus 1 T.
1/3 cup Almond Butter or Peanut Butter
1 1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup coconut reduced-fat shredded flakes
2 T. flaxseed meal
1/2 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
1/4- 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Preheat oven 350F. Prepare and combine all liquid ingredients. Place dry ingredients in mixing bowl (except choc chips), mix. Pour liquid ingredients into dry, blend. Fold in chips. Cover a baking sheet with Silpat or parchment paper, spoon batter onto it. Bake 12-14 minutes.
Nutritional Facts: Amount per Serving, Calories 103, Calories From Fat 40, Total Fat 6g, Sodium 51mg, Total Carbs 13g, Dietary Fiber 2g, Sugars 6g, Protein 2g
Apple Cherry Crumble: Apples and Cherries together make this a wonderful dessert. The difficulty is trying not to eat the fruit before you make the crumble. The colorful beautiful presentation is a bonus for this healthy crumble delight!
Coach BJ’s Cherry Apple Crisp
Serves: 6 || Prep Time: 20 minutes || Cook Time: 25 minutes5 baking apples (5 cups), peeled and cored, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 medium lemon (juice and 1 teaspoon zest)
3/4 cup fresh or frozen cherries (no need to thaw)
1-2 tablespoon date sugar or maple syrup (to taste)
5 (3-inch) pieces crystallized ginger, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup granola
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Preheat oven 350°F. Prepare apples then place into a non-stick ovenware dish. Add remaining ingredients (except granola); gently combine. Crumble the granola over the top, bake for 25-30 minutes. Serve warm or cold.
Nutrition Facts Calories 154 Cal from Fat 9, Total Fat 1g, Saturated Fat 0g, Cholesterol 0mg, Sodium 8mg, Total Carbohydrate 35g, Fiber 4g, Total Sugars 23g (includes 11g added sugars), Protein 2g
1/3 cup pure pumpkin, drained
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger powder ground
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1-2 tablespoons maple syrup (to taste)
Optional: Add unsweetened non-dairy milk by spoonfuls as needed for consistency For Gingerbread:
3/4 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk
1/2 lemon (juice and zest)
3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup white whole wheat flour
1/4 cup oat flour
1 tablespoon arrowroot
2 tablespoons flax seed meal
2 1/2 teaspoons ginger powder ground or more if you want it extra spicy
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon gum xanthan
9 pieces (1/2 cup minced) crystallized ginger, minced
1/3 cup water (or cool coffee)
3 tablespoons aquafaba (chick pea brine)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup molasses
Prepare Pumpkin Whip Cream Topping before preparing the Gingerbread. To Make Pumpkin Whipped Cream Topping. Press excess liquid from tofu. In a blender, blend all listed pumpkin topping ingredients until smooth. Refrigerate as least an hour before serving. To Make Gingerbread. Preheat oven 350°F. In small bowl, add lemon (juice/zest) to non-dairy milk, set aside. In large bowl mix dry ingredients including flours, arrowroot, flaxseed, ginger powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, gum xanthan and minced crystallized ginger. To the non-dairy milk/lemon, mix in water or coffee, aquafaba, vanilla and molasses; add these liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients. Blend all ingredients together. Pour batter into non-stick cake pan or one lined with parchment paper. Bake for approximately 40 minutes or until a toothpick pierced into the cake top comes out clean. Cool before removing from pan, then frost with Pumpkin Whipped Cream Topping.
Nutrition Facts Calories 149 Cal from Fat 14, Total Fat 3g, Saturated Fat 0g, Cholesterol 0mg, Sodium 125mg, Total Carbohydrate 29g, Fiber 3g, Total Sugars 12g (includes 8g added sugars), Protein 5g
SUGAR COOKIES – Whole foods, Plant-Based sugar cookies. I did use a glaze to icing the cookies, a little extra for Christmas celebrations. You can’t just eat one!
SUGAR COOKIES: Vegan sugar cookies. The colored icing was made by adding blueberry juice, orange concentrate, melted chocolate and mixing…it was fun decorating and eating them.
