My easy gluten-free apple and fig crumble

July 22, 2014 · 6 Comments

Who doesn’t love an apple crumble???

It’s one of the first dishes I learnt to cook and a standard recipe to learn in Home Ec!

The old-fashioned wheat and sugar one doesn’t work for me anymore, so I modified it and make this gluten-free version. It’s still tasty and delicious.

The beauty of this recipe is that it’s so adaptable. Use whatever fruit needs eating up! A favourite of ours is pear and blueberry. For some reason the pears are the most unpopular fruit in the house and I am often left with a couple that are going soft. I don’t even stew the pear as it’s such a soft fruit, just slice thinly. Rhubarb and strawberry is also a great combination.

We scored a heap of reduced price organic apples at the supermarket so I set my gorgeous boy to work prepping them for me. We just stew them in a little water and then freeze the excess. I added in figs this time because the ones I bought at the market were not ripening up properly (I don’t think it’s even fig season, is it?)

You can also adapt the topping – add in whatever nuts you like! If you are dairy free, simply use coconut oil or macadamia oil instead of the butter. Use honey or rapadura or coconut sugar instead of maple syrup if you like – I just love the gorgeous caramel flavour of maple syrup in this recipe.

My easy gluten-free apple and fig crumble

Vital Stats: Gluten free, grain free, egg free, refined sugar free, vegetarian

Okay so this is what you need:

1 cup stewed organic apples

1 cup figs, thinly sliced

1 tablespoon organic cinnamon

1 cup organic almonds (or use almond meal)

1 vanilla bean or 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 tablespoons organic butter (about 40g)

3 tablespoons organic maple syrup

1 tablespoon organic coconut flour

Okay, so this is how you do it:

Whack the fruit into a nice ovenproof dish.

Sprinkle the cinnamon liberally over the top of the fruit.

Chuck the almonds, flour, syrup, vanilla and butter into your thermomix and mix at speed 6 for about 20 seconds, scraping down until you get a nice consistency. If you don’t have a thermomix, throw it into your food processor and pulse until the mixture comes together.

Get little blobs of the mix and sprinkle it on top of the fruit.

Fling it in a moderate oven and cook for about 20 mins until the top is nice and brown.

Serve with lots of fresh organic cream or custard.

This recipes serves four.

Do you love crumble? What’s your favourite?

Gluten-Free, Nut-Free Muesli Bars

January 21, 2014 · 50 Comments

This is such an easy and tasty recipe that is perfect for lunch boxes.

I guess they aren’t really ‘muesli’ bars as they don’t contain oats! But you can certainly use oats instead of quinoa if you like.

Quinoa (pronounced KeenWah) is incredibly nutritious – it’s very high in protein. Combined with all the seeds and eggs, these bars will have you fuelled up and ready to go!

HOT TIP: You can use any combination of dried fruits,nuts and seeds – as long as the mixture you add to the eggs equals 5 cups.

Gluten-Free, Nut-Free Muesli Bars

Vital Stats: gluten free, grain free, dairy free, nut free, refined sugar free

Okay, so this is what you need:

1/2 cup organic quinoa, dry

1 cup dried apple

1 cup organic sultanas

1/2 cup dried organic figs

1/2 cup organic sunflower seeds

1/2 cup organic pumpkin seeds (pepitas)

1/2 cup organic shredded coconut

1/4 cup organic chia seeds

1/4 cup organic sesame seeds

3 organic, free range eggs

2 tablespoons organic maple syrup or honey (optional)

2 teaspoons organic ceylon cinnamon

2 teaspoons organic vanilla extract

Hot tip: choose organic dried fruit where you can, as it doesn’t contain preservatives.

Okay, so this is how you do it:

Preheat the oven to 160° celsius. Line a slice tray with a non-toxic baking paper.

Rinse the quinoa really well (I soak for a bit and then rinse). This is really important as quinoa has a bitter saponins that coat it and need to be removed.

Cook the quinoa in a saucepan with 1 cup of filtered water. It will take about ten minutes. You will know it’s cooked because it becomes translucent.

HOT TIP: Make extra quinoa and store it in the fridge or freezer. It’s fantastic added to a salad or used instead of rice.

Cool the quinoa right down (you don’t want scrambled eggs)!

Chop the apple and figs. You can use the food processor or thermomix to do this.

Mix all the ingredients together well. I like to get my hands in and give it a good massage!

Press it firmly down into the slice tin and bake for 25-30 minutes or until cooked.

I cover the slice halfway through the cooking time with some baking paper so it doesn’t burn on top.

Cool on a wire rack before slicing with a bread knife into bars.

These freeze really well, so make a double batch and you will always have some on hand!

Makes about 12 large bars.

Want more?

Check out my 10 Healthy Muesli Bar recipes.

Blueberry Breakfast Slice

October 23, 2012 · 125 Comments

I was so thrilled that the Australian Healthy Food Guide magazine featured my recipe as a ‘reader recipe’ a few years ago. It really is a cracker and I am finally sharing it with you!

I have updated it a little since then to make it even more healthy. The beauty of this recipe is that you can totally make it to suit your own tastes and change it around each time. We eat it for breakfast but the kids and hubby also pack it in their lunch boxes. I have been known to have it for lunch and an afternoon snack too! I usually make a double batch, portion and freeze half and refrigerate the other half.

Blueberry Breakfast Slice

Vital stats: vegetarian, dairy-free, nut free, wheat free

Okay, so this is what you need:

3 cups of organic oats

2 organic eggs

2 organic green apples

2 large ripe organic bananas

1 cup organic blueberries (I use frozen ones)

3 tablespoons virgin, organic coconut oil

2 tablespoons organic chia seeds (or use any other seeds or chopped nuts)

1 tablespoon organic cinnamon

Okay, so this is how you do it:

Smush up the banana and whisk in the eggs and coconut oil in a large mixing bowl.

Chuck in the oats, mix it up really well and let it sit for a bit while you keep going.

Grate the apple as chunky as you can. I like to do it on the julienne setting of my mandolin. Leave the skin on !

Add the apple, cinnamon, chia and blueberries. This is where I like to get messy and use my hands to mix it all in really well.

Chuck it all in a slice tin that you have lined with non-toxic baking paper.

Fling into the oven and cook for about 30 minutes at 180 degrees celsius (a medium oven).

Cool down on a wire rack. Slice with a bread knife.

It is nice served warm with some yoghurt on top (or for the dairy-free, use cashew cream or coconut yoghurt) and more blueberries.

It will keep in the fridge, in a sealed container for about three days.

Eat. Enjoy.

Thermomix Friendly: Chop the apple in the thermy and set aside (don’t make it mushy or the texture of the slice will be weird). Whizz up the bananas, egg and coconut oil all together – about speed 4 for a few seconds. Add remaining ingredients and mix in, reverse, speed soft, until it’s well combined. Be very gentle, you want nice texture, not baby food! 😀

You might also like to see some other things we eat for breakfast. Go here.

What do you have for breakfast? I would love you to share some more ideas.