I've been doing a decent amount of kitchen experimentation lately, and fortunately the results have been pretty decent. But I only want to share the recipes after I've experimented even further, so I can give you various substitution suggestions...So in the meantime, I have this very easy snack idea/recipe to share with you.
It is the hugest hit in my house.
What's best about it is that its totally healthy! Vegan, gluten free, grain free, refined sugar free without using any expensive or hard to find sweeteners, GAPS/SCD diet legal, Paleo/Primal, and much else. There's not many recipes that you can say fits most diets, but this fits right in there.
Along with homemade Larabars, of course.
Oh, and did I mention cheap too? And incredibly delicious? And easy too?
So what you do is cut your apples, red, green, yellow, it doesn't matter what type, in half, and cut out the seeds. You could use bruised or soft apples for this, no need to cut out the bruises. I actually do this when I get a bunch of past prime apples (reduced rack quality) that need to be used up.
Take some date paste (chopped, seeded dates that comes prepackaged) or deseed some dates yourself and chop them in the food processor.
Grind up some nuts in the good processor, almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, cashews, doesn't matter what. Or if you want to be cheaper, grind up some seeds. I used sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds. You want a coarse meal.
Mix your nuts with your date paste and form a little ball.
Squish this ball into the center of the apples, into the place where you'd cut out the seeds.
Lay the apples cut side up on a baking tray, and sprinkle with cinnamon.
Bake for 20-40 minutes, depending on how soft you like your apples, at 350 degrees. I like my apples really soft and with their juices starting to caramelize, so I wait a little longer, but as soon as they're soft you can remove them from the oven.
As soon as they're cool enough, eat! I just pop the entire thing into my mouth, trying to eat as many as I can before my kids discover they're ready and finish them off for me. Its always a race with these- who can get more!
You can never make too many of these!
Ever make baked apple bites or similar before? Does this look like a recipe you'd try?
Tags
dairy free
desserts
frugal recipes
frugal strategies
fruit
fruits
GAPS
gluten free
grain free
nuts and seeds
paleo/primal
produce
recipes
refined sugar free
snacks
The only time I have eaten cooked unsweetened apples I was reeeeally unimpressed. Do you think it's the filling that makes them sweet enough to be delicious, or do you not mind the taste of plain cooked apples?
ReplyDeleteWe drizzle ours with a little honey and a pat of butter then sprinkle with cinnamon or apple pie spice and they are delish. I haven't found dates at a reasonable price in forever!
ReplyDelete