Healthy Holiday Streusel

I don't know about you, but I like the holidays for one reason and one reason only....FOOD! I love to eat, especially desserts. The problem is the aftermath of guilt I feel for gorging myself on far too many unhealthy delights. Since going vegetarian nine years ago, my diet has consistently gotten healthier. I have removed processed foods and replaced them with whole grains and leafy greens. I have even managed to curb my once unstoppable sweet tooth, although I am not sure it will ever fully go away. We all know that cane sugar (white refined sugar) is very bad for us; in fact even in biblical times, cane sugar was referred to as "Satan's poison". Even without advanced modern medicine, we humans intuitively knew the consequences of eating cane sugar. However, the thought of never having sweets again just seems like sacrilege.

This is the very reason I started developing my own dessert recipes, using whole grain and unrefined sweeteners like Brown Rice Syrup, Honey and Agave Nectar. These sweeteners are complex sugars; therefore they digest a lot slower in our bodies. Slow digestion means no blood sugar spike and none of those dreaded sugar hangovers that many of us experience during the holidays. Fresh seasonal fruits are always a delicious and healthy addition to any dessert. This Cran-Apple Streusel is a delightfully nutritious holiday dessert that will have your family so mesmerized they won't even know it's healthy! Carry this dessert into every season by using fresh local fruits like strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries.

Cran-Apple Streusel

Filling

1 pint fresh cranberries or 1 pkg frozen whole cranberries

3-4 fresh apples (I like Gala but any sweet apple will work)

½ cup Agave Nectar

1Tbsp Corn Starch

Streusel

1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour

¾ Cup Rolled Oats

¼ Cup Olive Oil or Butter

1 Cup Honey or Agave Nectar (I sometimes use a ½ cup of each for a lighter sweetness)

¾ tsp Baking Powder

¼ tsp Salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

To make filling:

1. Slice apples. You want them to be thin strips so they cook quickly
2. Mix cranberries, apples, cornstarch and agave in pie dish until thoroughly coated
3. Spread evenly in dish and let sit for 10 minutes. Just so the juices start to come out and everything starts to gel together.

To make streusel:

1. In a medium sized bowl, mix Oil or butter with honey until creamy and smooth
2. Add in Baking soda and Salt first then add WW flour and Oats,
3. Mixture should be thick but still sticky and wet, similar to a cookie dough

Using hands, drop streusel onto fruit mixture in pie dish. Spread the streusel around until it is somewhat even. It doesn't have to be perfect. I prefer to let some of the fruit show through.

Bake in a 375 degree oven for 30 minutes or until streusel is golden brown and the juice is bubbling clear or translucent.

Let sit for 5-10 minutes after baking, then scoop and enjoy.

Happy Baking and Happy Holidays!