Clean Apple Pie with Gluten Free Crust by Oxygen Magazine

One of my favorite fitness magazines of all time is Robert Kennedy Publishing's Oxygen Magazine. It's always loaded with great workouts, useful tips and delicious recipes. When the December 2012 issue showed up in my mailbox, I was excited to see what was inside. This month I found a recipe for Apple Pie developed by Tosca Reno. Since I was planning to make a big dinner for Hanukkah, I thought an apple pie would be the perfect dessert. The last time I made an apple pie from scratch was when I was in college. There was a food prep class I had to take and one of our projects was to make something for the class that was cultural. My partner and I chose apple pie with vanilla ice cream to represent American culture. It was a big hit! However, it was also double or triple the calories of Tosca's apple pie.

It took me about 30 minutes to prep the pie between peeling, coring and slicing all of the apples, making the pie crust and pressing it in to the pan. I ended up doubling the pie crust because it seemed to be not enough dough for my pan and I wanted the crusty edge that was shown in the magazine photo. I also decided to add a crumble to the top of my pie using Cinnamon Oat Clusters with Flaxseeds KIND Granola. For the apples, I used McIntosh apples because that was the best baking apple I could find in the store on that day. Since I used McIntosh apples I decided to cut the apple slices a bit thicker to keep them from turning to mush.

The pie was amazing to say the least. It tasted just like apple pie and the crust, surprisingly tasted just like a pie crust even though it was made with absolutely no grains (only Almond flour). It was warm and satisfying, perfect for a holiday celebration on a cool winter night.

Clean Eating Apple Pie

makes 8 servings - prep time: 30 minutes - cook time: 45 min.

Ingredients:

• Pie Crust
• 2 cups almond four
• 1/2 teaspoon unrefined sea salt
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
• 1 whole egg
• Zest of 1 lemon
   
• Pie Filling
• 3 lb tart, crisp baking apples
• 3 tablespoons almond flour
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon each ground cloves, nutmeg, allspice
• 2 tablespoons light, unsalted butter, chilled and diced
• 1/2 cup honey

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place almond flour and sea salt in a food processor, pulse to combine (can also use a hand mixer or blender), then add wet ingredients and zest, and blend until a ball of dough is formed.
2. Press into a 9" pie plate, cover with a damp cloth and set aside.
3. Fill a large bowl with cold water and add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice.
4. Peel, core and slice apples one at a time, and drop them into the lemon water. This will keep them from turning brown.
5. Once apples are soaking, drain water from the bowl and pat dry with a clean cloth.
6. Add remaining ingredients, including remaining tablespoons of lemon juice, to apples and toss well to combine.
7. Pour mixture into pie crust and bake 45 to 55 minutes, until the crust is golden and the mixture is bubbling on top.
8. Remove and let cool for 1 hour before serving.
9. Optional: top with granola 35 to 40 minutes into the baking process.

Double Chocolate Mint Protein Balls

What's better than chocolate balls? Mint chocolate balls. Then again, that's only true if you like mint more than you like chocolate. I'm not sure which I like better but I do know one thing, these are amazing balls...or AMAZEBALLS! (Finally! A use for that word!)

Moving on. TGIF! That's right, it's Friday! Today is a rainy day here in NY but I'm not going to let the rain rain on my parade. I wish I could say that my Friday is going to be loaded with fun, relaxation and joy, but instead I get to say that my Friday is going to be spent at work, like the rest of the world. After work is a whole different story. Gonna grab a quick CrossFit workout, then straight home to catch new episodes of Say Yes to the Dress (yes, I'm one of those girls). And for dessert, a couple of Double Chocolate Mint Protein Balls!

Question of the day: What's your favorite thing about Fridays?

What's even more cool? These balls are grain-free, gluten-free, sugar-free and dairy free. You could call them Paleo if you want, I would.

Be careful making these balls, use only 1 teaspoon of mint extract, or else you may end up with a breath freshener instead of decadent treat.

Double Chocolate Mint Protein Balls

prep time: 15 minutes - cook time: none - makes 9 servings

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Almond Meal 1/4 cup Flaxseed meal 1 cup chocolate protein powder 1/4 cup extra dark unsweetened cocoa powder 1/4 teaspoon sea salt 1 teaspoon mint extract 1/4 cup cacao nibs 1/4 cup raw honey 1/4 cup water

Directions:

In a large bowl combine almond meal, flaxseed meal, 3/4 cup of the protein powder, sea salt, cocoa powder and cacao nibs. Stir with a large spoon until all ingredients are well dispersed.

In a microwave safe bowl, heat the honey for 15-20 seconds. Add extract to warm honey and stir. Then pour the honey mixture in to the dry ingredients; mix with a large spoon. Slowly add water and stir until batter gets sticky. Be careful not to add too much water. If batter is too sticky simply add a bit more protein powder.

Line a plate or cookie sheet with parchment. Place remaining protein powder in bowl. Scoop batter in to small 1-1.5 tablespoon size portions. Roll in to a ball in your hand, then roll in the protein powder for a nice chocolate dusting. Place balls on lined cookie sheet and allow to set in fridge for 20 minutes before serving.

Nutrition facts provided by nutritiondata.com Nutrition per serving: Calories: 119, Total Fats: 3 g, Saturated Fat: 1 g, Trans Fat: 0 g, Cholesterol: 0 mg, Sodium: 107 mg, Total Carbohydrates: 14 g, Dietary Fiber: 2 g, Sugars: 10 g, Protein: 11 g, Iron: 1.0 mg

Paleo Banana Nut Protein Bars

Sometimes you just want a nostalgic treat without the calories.  When I was a kid my mother made the most amazing Banana Nut Bread that I'll never forget.  There's nothing like slicing a piece of fresh Banana Bread straight out of the oven and topping it with creamy Vanilla Bean Ice Cream.  Nowadays tasty treats like the ones my mom made as a kid are found less than occasionally in my house.  Rich and I are both super nutty (you see what I did there, haha) about nutrition and eat the same clean foods every single day.

But after seeing a recipe online for Banana Nut Bread, I was inspired.  Why not make a healthy version that Rich and I can eat without feeling guilty.  Enter Paleo Banana Nut Protein Bars.

These things were awesome.  Of course they weren't as moist as Mom's original, but they were just as tasty.  We kept them in the fridge for a quick snack.  I kept finding Rich red-handed grabbing a taste with Trader Joe's Almond Butter.  What makes these even better is that they're grain free (which then makes them Gluten Free) and sugar free!

What's your favorite thing to top on your banana bread?  

Paleo Banana Nut Protein Bars

Prep time: 15 min. - Cook time: 20 minutes - Makes 6 Servings

Ingredients:

• 1 mashed banana
• 2 egg whites
• 2 whole eggs
• 1/4 cup flax meal
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 3 scoops vanilla whey protein powder of your choice
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp. light coconut milk (I used Trader Joe's)
• 1 tbsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, combine wet ingredients (banana, eggs, egg whites, coconut milk and vanilla extract) until smooth.
3. Add remaining ingredients to the wet mixture and combine well.
4. Pour batter in to a greased or lined baking pan (I used a 9 x 11 cake pan). Spread batter with spatula making sure it's distributed evenly in the pan.
5. Bake for ~20 minutes or until a knife comes out clean from the center.
6. Cut in to 6 squares and let cool on rack. Wrap individually for a quick grab-n-go snack. Best stored in the fridge.
 

Nutrition Information for Paleo Banana Nut Protein Bars via nutritiondata.com