Oat & Apple Crumble

Here is my favorite recipe for an easy Oat & Apple Crumble...

Topped with a scoop of Nada Moo

6 Cups apples, peeled, cored & sliced, I used cooked apples

1 Cup Regular (Organic) Oats

1/2 Cup Whole Wheat Flour

1/2 Cup All-purpose Flour, I use non-bleached

1 Cup Brown Sugar

1 1/2 teaspoon ground Cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 Cup apple juice 

2 Tablespoons Oil, I use melted coconut oil or olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spread oats on a baking sheet and bake, stirring occasionally, for 15 to 18 minutes, until lightly browned and fragrant.  Cool.

In a lightly oiled 2-quart baking dish, arrange sliced apple in a single layer,  In a bowl combine dry ingredients, oil and apple juice.  Sprinkle over fruit and bake at 30 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes, or until browned.

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Since I don't consume dairy, I like to top my Apple Crumble with a scoop of Nada Moo Frozen coconut milk.  Their products are also Gluten Free.  There are many delicious flavors but I stick to the Vanilla....ahh for this luscious desert.   I love them all but the Lotta Mint Chip is my favorite.....

For more information on Nada Moo, go to their website @ http://www.nadamoo.com/

ENJOY... and Remember YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT.... 

 Beci :)

An Apple A Day......

Many of the houses on my street have apples trees... how I wish there was one on my property.  But the next best thing was when my neighbor, Bob, told me to help myself to the apples on the tree just across the bridge. Even better, the apples are organic and have not been sprayed with anything. I have spent two mornings in the last week picking apples, coring, peeling and cooking them. So far I have turned them into Applesauce, Oat & Apple Crumble and Apple-Cinnamon muffins (recipe listed in previous blog).  Other than the time spent peeling the apples, cooking them was an easy process.

All I did was rinse them off, core & peel them, cut them up in small chunks and bring them to a boil in a pan of water with a couple of teaspoons of cinnamon and a teaspoon of allspice added. You can also add sugar, if you want sweetened applesauce. Since I use most of my applesauce in recipes (including my dogs treats) I wanted it unsweetened.  Watch them carefully, as it only takes the apples a few minutes to cook.

For Applesauce, I placed the drained apples in my blender and pureed to the desired consistency.  If it is too thick, you can add some of the apple juice from the pot into this mixture.  I also bottle and save the juice to be used in other recipes.

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Nutritional Information & Factz

 We have all heard the saying "An apple a day keeps the doctor away" but most have no idea that the apple was one of the First "Powerfoods".  The nutritional values of this beautiful & amazing fruit are limitless.  Here is a list of the top ten Health benefits, according to www.care2.com

Health Benefitz:

1. Apples are filled with soluble fiber (5 grams). This fiber has been shown to reduce intestinal disorders, including diverticulitis, hemorrhoids and possibly some types of cancer. It helps control insulin levels by releasing sugar slowly into the bloodstream. It cleanses and detoxifies, which helps eliminate heavy metals, such as lead and mercury.
2. Apple pectin helps reduce cholesterol levels by lowering insulin secretion.
3. In two studies researchers found that eating five apples a week lowered the risk for respiratory diseases like asthma.
4. According to Chinese Medicine: Apples strengthen the heart, quench thirst, lubricate the lungs, decrease mucous and increase body fluids.
5. Apple cider vinegar can help prevent the formation of kidney stones.  (And recently helped cure me of my nasal infection.)
6. Studies indicate that eating apples daily can reduce skin diseases.
7. According to a Brazilian study, eating an apple before a meal helped women lose 33 percent more weight than those who didn't.
8. An apple has only 50-80 calories and has no fat or sodium.
9. Apples are packed with vitamins C, A, and flavonoids and with smaller amounts of phosphorus, iron and calcium.
10. Apples provide a source of potassium which may promote heart health.

I would like to add to the above list, The Anti-Cancer Properties of APPLES:

Over the last decade, a host of studies have been done on the anti-cancer properties of apples. Many of these studies have made headlines by producing surprising and favorable results.

Although most of the studies done thus far have focused on specific chemical compounds or nutrients in apples, when we look at the nutrients studied together we get a clearer picture of apples as anti-cancer powerhouses.

Due to the weight of mounting evidence for apples’ anti-cancer properties, they have been added to the American Institute of Cancer Research’s “Foods That fight Cancer” list.

Read more: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/anti-cancer-apples.html#ixzz2ikbO2vGX

Aspects of apples studied in relationship to anti-cancer properties and other disease prevention:

•  Vitamin C (antioxidant)
•  Fiber/Pectin (cleansing, lowering cholesterol)
•  Flavonoids, such as quercetin (which slow development of cancers of the colon, lung and  breast.)
• Triterpenoids, found in the peels of (ORGANIC) apples (which inhibit or kill cancer cells)

Interesting Apple Factz:

~ There are more than 7,500 varieties of apples.
~ The apple tree is a member of the rose family.
~ When you eat an apple you are consuming a lot of air; 25 percent of their volume is air!
~ Apples have 5 percent protein.
~ Apple trees can live to be 100 years old!
~ The largest apple weighed three pounds.
~ In ancient Greece when a man proposed to a woman he would toss her an apple and if she decided to catch it, it meant she accepted.
~ The original proverb about eating an apple a day, which came about in 1866, was: "Eat an apple on going to bed, and you'll keep the doctor from earning his bread."
~It takes the energy from 50 leaves to produce one apple.

To get the most from eating power food apples:
~ Eat apples with skin to get the nutrients; many of the nutrients are in the skin or just under the skin (most of the vitamin C and vitamin A are in the skin).
~ Apples have been found to be the most heavily pesticide-contaminated produce products according to The Environmental Working Group. The most common pesticides found on apples are Permethrin and DDT. Non organic apples are often waxed which is not digestible. So...Try to buy organic apples or if you cannot, wash them thoroughly before use preferably with a fruit and vegetable wash or peel them.

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I have also read, and believe through experience that Apples are better at giving you energy and mental clarity than caffeine.... even first thing in the morning.

So take advantage of any opportunity you have to pick or purchase local, organic Apples right NOW.... before the winter comes.

Happy Eating....   Beci