Strawberry Oat-Almond Bars

 

You know what is cool? Besides being beautiful and delicious, these babies have no sugar. Zero. Well, of course unless you want to get all technical--they have no refined sugars, only the sugars found naturally in the ingredients. As nature intended sugar to be eaten I say.

Also, they are raw. No need to turn on a hot oven on a hot day.

The crust is made by pulsing dates, almonds, and oats in a food processor (I just used my Vita Mix). Then, you press that crust into a bread pan, spread some smashed-up strawberries on top and then top that with sliced strawberries. Easy peasy. And yummy. Here's the recipe.

 

Strawberry Oat-Almond Bars

1 1/2 to 2 c. pitted dates
1/4 c. raw almonds
2 Tbsp. old-fashioned rolled oats
1 lb. strawberries

1. Pulse the dates, nuts, oats, and a dash of salt in a food processor until combined.
2. Press teh date mixture inot the bottom of a bread loaf pan.
3. Mash about 1 c. of the strawberris adn spread on top of the date mixture.
4. Slice the remaining strawberries. Snich a few and add the rest to the top.
5. Slice and serve.

Dairy-free dessert: Blueberry Crisp

Not all together super-healthy, but I'm on a dairy-free diet since my breastfeeding baby is allergic. I've been looking for good desserts (dairy-free desserts are hard to come by!!)

This one was delicious though!

Ingredients:
4 c. blueberries
1/3 c. flour
1/3 c. oats
1/3 c. sugar
1/3 c. mayo
1/4 tsp. cinnamon (I shoot for 1/3 tsp. just for consistency sake.) :)

1. Wash the blueberries and place them in the bottom of a 9x9-in casserole dish.
2. Mix all the dry ingredients, add the mayo and mix to make coarse crumbs. (The mayo replaces butter that would be found in a regular recipe).
3. Top the berries w/ the oat mixture; bake at 350 for ~35 minues until the top is golden brown.

Note: Thanks Miranda!

Healthy Crust Recipes

Now I love a good pie crust, but there isn't anything healthy about it, so here are two good crust recipes that are also healthy.

Oatmeal “Cookie” Crust
This crust is particularly good with apple pie.

1 ½ c. raw rolled oats
½ c. whole wheat flour
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. cinnamon
¼ c. finely minced nuts
½ tsp vanilla extract
½ c. butter
3 Tbsp. honey
¼ c. sesame seeds (opt.)

Directions:
Melt butter and honey together. Combine with everything else, press into a 9- or 10- inch pie pan.

Note: This recipe is from the Moosewood Cookbook.

Almond Crust
1 ½ c. almond flour (2 c. almonds pulverized in a food processor)
Juice of 1 lemon or lime
1 c. dates

Directions:
Put in a food processor and pulse until well combined. Press into pan. (or just eat!)

Note: This recipe is from my friend Jenny Nielson.

Pineapple Coconut Pie

· 8 oz crushed pineapple, drained
· 3 oz pineapple gelatin powder
· 2/3 c. boiling water
· ½ c. cold water
· 8 oz Cool Whip, thawed
· ¼ c. flaked coconut

1. Completely dissolve gelatin powder in boiling water. Combine with cold water and ice cubes to make 1 ¼ c.
2. Add gelatin, stirring until slightly thickened. Remove any remaining ice. Fold in the whipped topping, pineapple and coconut. Blend until smooth. Chill until mixture mounds.
3. Spoon into crust. Chill two hours. Garnish with pineapple chunks and additional coconut.

Very Berry Strawberry Smoothie Pie

· 1 envelope (1/4 oz) unflavored gelatin
· 1/3 c. cranberry juice
· 3 c. sliced strawberries
· 1 8-oz carton raspberry yogurt
· 1 Pie Crust (pastry, graham, healthy, etc.)

1. In a small bowl sprinkle gelatin over the juice. Let stand 5 minutes to soften. Microwave juice and gelatin on high for 15 seconds; stir and repeat.
2. In a blender, puree strawberries, yogurt and gelatin mixture for 3 minutes or until smooth.
3. Pour into pie shell. Refrigerate 4 hours or until firm.