Eco-Chick · The modern girl's guide to living green & fabulous.

Ani Phyo’s Healthfully Decadent Raw Coconut Kream Recipe

Dessert has always been my favorite part of any meal (though I do love apps!) and while I’ve managed to tame my sweet tooth in the last few years, I’ve by no means eliminated it. (By tame I mean I can get my sweet-happys from maple syrup, honey, and desserts made with fruit and less sugar.) Frankly, I’d rather carry around an extra five pounds than skip desserts, in all their toothsome glory. But I try to concoct or uncover desserts that are healthy as well as tasty. Just because it’s dessert doesn’t mean that it has to be a nutrition wasteland!

So stumbling upon Ani Phyo’s wonderful raw dessert cookbook (with 85 recipes!) was a coup. As you may already know, raw foods retain all sorts of wonderful enzymes, vitamins and minerals, plus are less ‘predigested’ (I know it’s a bit gross, but that’s basically what cooking is; partial digestion of food before you eat it). That means your body has to work a bit harder to digest, which makes you feel full longer and is actually really good for your gut. All of which means you get more nutrition and eat less when you go raw. While I’m not a raw foodist by any means, I’m going on my 19th year of vegetarianism and love the way whole foods that are minimally processed taste and make me feel. And the more I’ve read about the benefits of raw, the more I try to incorporate it into my diet.
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The Homesteader’s Kitchen Recipe: Apple-Raspberry Crisp for Autumn’s Bounty

I’m totally in love with The Homesteader’s Kitchen, and I was lucky enough to secure a fun-to-try (ad supereasy) recipe from the book. I love that the ingredients for the filling for this crisp are so simple, relying on the fresh sweetness of the apples and raspberries for flavor rather than a bunch of add-ins. Ditto for the crisp topping; I have all these ingredients in my pantry already. This is a great recipe for children or new bakers as it will be very tough to screw up!

Choose organic apples and raspberries (or pick your own) where you can, and remember, a dessert this healthy also makes a wonderful breakfast (try sheep’s milk yogurt instead of a la mode to add a shot of AM protein to the dish).

Apple-Raspberry Crisp

Serves 6-8
Topping:
½ cup unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 –inch pieces
1 cup sucanat or brown sugar
½ cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup rolled oats
1 tablespoon cinnamon, optional

8 cups sliced firm apples (8 to 10 whole apples or 2 to 3 pounds)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons whole wheat pastry flour or tapioca powder
4 cups fresh raspberries
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