Taste of Tuesday: Sugar Free, Dairy Free, Gluten Free Apple Crisp (and contemplations on food waste)

The average American wastes more than half a pound of food per day (source). 

This whole idea of food and waste has weighed on me for years. I shop with the intention of cooking up that bok choy only to find it rotting weeks later in the back of the fridge. I try to be a conscious consumer but I'm still guilty. I think I'm most especially effected when I see the food we have grown with our blood, sweat, and tears go to waste. But this year, I was trying my best to put all of our food to good use... and this is coming from someone who hasn't yet learned how to can. The basil got made into pesto which is now stored in cubes in the freezer. I picked all of the tomatoes (including the green ones) in the moonlight before the first frost. And the apples -- cortland and golden delicious -- harvested from our trees and sorted into two piles: apples for eating and apples for baking. In the past, I would have overlooked these worm laden, rotted spotted, mushy apples. Or I might have picked them all with the intention of using them, but watched as the fruit flies swarmed while they rotted in the garage or on the counter. Not this year!! I made applesauce and lots of it. But I still had apples left. And the kicker was that I was doing an intense nutritional program in which I cut out sugar, gluten, and dairy. So pies and crisps seemed out of the question. Until...

I saw this post from my friend Lisa over at Little Coffee Beans. She had concocted a crisp without sugar. Now, to go back a little, Apple Crisp... I grew up on it. Ate it for breakfast (alongside the fruity pebbles) topped with a huge blob of vanilla ice cream. I have monkeyed with the several crisp family recipes over the years and even created a gluten free version. Then a better gluten free version. It's probably the only thing that I can bake without a recipe. But I had yet to experiment with how to make this kid friendly - meaning without sugar. So Lisa inspired me to create my own crisp -- a crisp that I could enjoy even while doing this intense nutritional program and a crisp that I could share with Avi - a boy who eats his veggies and doesn't get sugar. 

So I took a bit of her concoction and tinkered with it to make it not only sugar free, but gluten free and dairy free as well! And because this isn't too sweet, it's actually great for breakfast... far greater than that sugar laden one I ate as a kid. 

Sugar Free, Gluten Free, Diary Free Apple Crisp

• Lots of Organic Apples. Cut into chunks, skins left on. (I used cortland and golden delicious).
• 1 Tbsp organic fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp arrow root powder
• 1-2 Tbsp of organic coconut oil
• 3/4 (or more) Tbsp organic cinnamon
• 2 drizzles of organic maple syrup
• 1 Cup gluten-free oats 
• 1/4 Cup brown rice flour (though I may try coconut flour next)
• Large handful of your favorite coarsely chopped nuts or seeds

Preheat oven to 375. 

In a glass baking dish (8x8 or larger if you have more apples) combine apples, lemon juice, arrow root and cinnamon together with a drizzle of maple syrup. In a separate pan melt coconut oil and stir in the oats, flour, and any nuts or seeds you are using and another drizzle of maple syrup. Once mixed together nicely (about 2 minutes), remove from heat. Spread mixture evenly over the apples. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes. If browning too much, cover with foil and then cook for another 15-20 minutes. Enjoy!!!

What are the favorites from your childhood that you have remade?

What are you doing to lessen the wasting of food?