As we head into the cooler months, most of us tend to reach out for warm comfort foods to heat our insides and make us feel a little brighter when the weather outside is dull and grizzly.
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Nothing beats coming in from a wintry day to a home-cooked, hearty meal complete with a warming dessert. It can really nurture the soul.
Trouble is, a lot of the time the comfort foods we turn to in winter are not always the best option for us from a nutritional point of view, and can result in many of us developing a common ailment I like to refer to as "dreaded winter weight gain".
It is a nasty little condition that creeps up on us stealthily over the winter months while we are happily indulging in rich and hearty comfort food with less outdoor time to work it off. Before we know it we are attempting to put our cossies on for the first swim of the summer and WHAM there it is, a perfect little muffin top! The realisation you have succumbed to "dreaded winter weight gain" dawns on you. Why are we so surprised every year?
It is so easy to fall victim to this insidious condition, with so many delicious winter warmer recipes printed in the media around this time.
Take the humble apple crumble, for example. I have seen four recipes in the past two days alone in the weekend paper and on the television for this classic winter warmer. So obviously I am not alone in my love of this winter classic.
There is not a dessert I love more on a cold wintry night than the combination of deliciously sweet soft baked apple wedges topped with a crisp, golden layer of buttery crunch which complements the apples so well.
I love, love, love traditional apple crumble from a taste point of view, but not so much from a digestion point of view. The butter, sugar, flour and oats contained in traditional crumble topping can play havoc with digestion and leave us feeling bloated and flat, rather than nourished and happy.
Having not been able to shake my cravings for this dessert since reading a number of pretty, tempting recipes, I took matters into my own hands and decided to try and tweak the good old-fashioned version for a more "new age, whole-food" version that would nurture my mind and soul on a cold winter's night, as well as nourishing my body with hearty, health-boosting ingredients.
Not one to be shy, I decided to trial this recipe for the very first time on some hard critics: my Mum and Dad. Mum is an old-school cook and Dad is an old-school eater who is constantly questioning why I feel the need to cook with "new fandangle" ingredients. So to offer them a "whole-food" apple crumble was probably asking for trouble.
Nevertheless, I served it up and what do you know, they loved it! Dad went back for seconds (as did the kidlets) and Mum even asked for the recipe. Winner!
So rather than sit on this little gem, I thought I would share it with all of you apple crumble lovers out there that may be in danger of succumbing to the "dreaded winter weight gain" by indulging in more than your fair share of the traditional humble crumble.
By reducing the refined sugar and saturated fat content significantly through swapping the brown sugar, oats, butter and flour with more nourishing ingredients of 100 per cent apple juice, coconut and nuts and using more natural sweeteners of cinnamon and maple syrup, you will achieve better bang for your buck on the health benefits from this dessert. But as always advised, be sure to share.
This recipe makes enough for six generous portions.
Ingredients
- 6 pink lady apples (I love Darkes Forest apples in this recipe)
- 1 cup 100per cent apple juice (I use cloudy apple juice)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract, paste or vanilla bean
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Crumble topping
- 1/2 cup walnuts
- 1/2 cup almonds
- 1/2 cup flaked coconut
- 2 x 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp vanilla extract, paste or bean
- 2 tablespoons of maple syrup (omit if avoiding sweeteners)
- 2 tablespoon of coconut oil
Method
Cut apples into wedges, leaving skin on for extra fibre, and removing the core.
Place the apples in a large saucepan with apple juice, vanilla and cinnamon.
Cook over medium heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Have the lid on for the first 10 minutes, then remove it for the last 10 minutes.
To make the crumble, combine the nuts, coconut, cinnamon, maple syrup and coconut oil and blitz for a few seconds.
Spoon the cooked apple into a suitably sized pie dish and scatter the crumble on top.
Pop in a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees and bake for 30 minutes until golden and crunchy.
Top with your choice of either yoghurt or whipped coconut cream or coconut ice-cream for an added touch of deliciousness. Enjoy!
■ Stephanie Meades is a wellness coach. For more recipes go to Flame Tree Co-Op, Thirroul or realfoodbites.wordpress.com.