Recipe | Healthy Apple Blueberry Crisp

Today is an exciting day over here! Joe's working from home as we're in the middle of a Snowpocalypse on the East coast. We have over 12 inches of snow, and it's still coming down...as soon as Zoe wakes up from her nap we're going on a winter wonderland exploration. I made an apple blueberry crisp that we ate for lunch, and we'll probably have it for dinner, too. It's just that tasty. And, I documented the baking process with my new camera. It was the first time I used my new camera for a recipe shoot, and it was fun! I still know very little about my new-ish fancy camera, but decided to just tackle it (and not let myself mess with too many settings...not yet, at least). I know I need a lot of practice and just experimenting, and I'm thrilled that I'm past the I-don't-know-how-to-turn-on-my-camera-so-I'll-just-keep-it-in-the-closet phase. I think I need a new lens (I have a 50mm). This one's just lovely, but I'm having trouble focusing on more than one object in my photos. Any photographer friends who want to throw little tidbits of advice my way would be most welcomed. :)

This first little recipe is for an apple blueberry crisp that I've made probably 10 times this winter. It's simple, delicious, and is actually healthy (and if you use gluten free oats, it's also GF). Simple, delicious and healthy are prerequisites for most of the recipes I make. This recipe has no sugar (and no sweetener mixed in with the apples) so it might not be sweet enough for you sweet-tooths out there. You could always mix some maple syrup into the apples before placing them in the pie plate. But I argue it's tasty enough without the added sweetener.

So here we go...collect these ingredients:

- granny smith apples (I used 4 large for a 9" pie plate)
- blueberries (any berry would be delicious; I used a pint, minus the few small handfuls I snacked on)
- 2 1/4 cups old fashioned oats
- 1/2 cup coconut oil
- 1/2 cup real maple syrup
- pinch sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Then follow these steps:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Peel, remove any spots, and slice apples. Place in bottom of pie plate. Wash & gently dry blueberries, then carefully place them on top of apples. In a small saucepan on a low-medium heat, melt the coconut oil. Then add oats, syrup, salt and cinnamon. Stir to compltely mix these ingredients. Taste, and adjust salt/syrup ratio according to your own preference. I prefer a slightly salty mix. Carefully place oats mixture on top of fruit, gently pressing the oats into the apples and blueberries. I usually have a little extra of the oat mixture, which I either snack on, or if I'm feeling generous, I'll share with Joe. Bake for about 50 minutes until oats are browned and crispy, and apples are just tender.