Recipe: Flourless Apple Crisp

Baking dish of Flourless Apple Crisp (left)
Portioned individual containers (right)
These are ready for the fridge/freezer.

I am not sure if I am allergic to certain foods or whether I have food intolerances, so I am awaiting an appointment with an allergy specialist in... August. Yep, the wait is long but I really hope I get a call sooner. The IGG testing is confusing, not to mention ridiculously expensive and eliminating a lot of foods from different groups all at once can be very harmful. Some say there is some credibility to these tests to at least give an indication of what foods you may want to try to start eliminating to see if that helps with inflammation, digestion, while others say it's a total sham.

 IGE testing seems to have more validity, but not total accuracy either.  I've been given mixed reactions from numerous health care practitioners on both, so right now I am pretty much on the "flexitarian" side of things, just trying to eat a balanced diet, although I have pretty much cut out most dairy (I love my substitute of Silk almond milk which has high amounts of calcium and protein and other vitamins/minerals!) and have limited red meat to once/twice a week because I find this seems to be helping with digestion.

Anyhow, I really enjoy making healthy treats and even though it's easier to buy a pie from the store or grab cookies off the shelf, I rather make food at home, with the occasional treat out.  So, looking through many sites, I found a great version for a Flourless Apple Crisp that I was able to tweak that was so easy to make, didn't require any sugar (aside from the natural sugar found in apples) and absolutely no flour! To sweeten it up a little bit bit, I did use a little bit no-sugar added jam, but that's totally optional.  You can add any toppings you like before or after too. Of course, this is not going to taste like the usual decadent apple crisp that you'd find in a restaurant, but I've been making this now for a few weeks now and it's pretty delicious and packed with lots of great nutrients, especially fiber from the oats!

What you need:

• 4-6 medium sized apples of choice
• 2 cups of oats (quick oats will work best)
• unsweetened shredded coconut 
• 1/4 tbsp of butter or margarine 
• Sprinkle on as much cinnamon as you like
• 1-2 tsp of oil
• *optional for more sweetness: a spoonful of jam/syrup/honey

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Peel and dice apples. Place into your baking dish. This is the most consuming part with peeling the apples so it's always nice to have a helping hand in the kitchen, if possible!

Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine oats, unsweetened shredded coconut, cinnamon, oil and jam (or other alternative as listed above, if desired).

Microwave butter or margarine for about 20-25 seconds (depends on your microwave) or until melted and pour into mixture.

Give it all a good stir. Add more margarine/butter and/or oil if it's still too dry.
Once you like the consistency, pour over the apples, making sure to spread out everything as much as you can to cover all the apples.

Bake for approximately 35 minutes or until the oats have a nice golden brown look.

Serve on its own or add some fresh fruit on top or even some ice cream on the side. You can eat this warm or cold. Also perfect for freezing once cooled.

Serving size is 6-8 depending on how much you fill each container. I used the smaller Rubbermaid containers, so that seemed like an ideal portion size.

Enjoy and make sure to leave me comments or send me an e-mail of your own creations!