Health Coaches Eat Dessert Too - Healthy and Nutritious

Just because you are working on improving or maintaining your health doesn't mean you should never have dessert. Everyone should indulge at times. Being health conscious, I am simply cautious about what, how much, and how often I eat dessert. My favorite daily go-to are a small serving of dark chocolate or dark chocolate with stevia (Lily's brands are great). Some nights I will eat one gluten-free cookie that my husband will bake. I try to target my treats to contain less than 10 g added sugar. How much or whether I do indulge will depend on whether I ate meals high in refined carbohydrates earlier or not as well. When I really want a treat, though, it means make it yourself. I always plan and make a dessert for family gatherings, holidays, or special occasions, such as Super Bowl gathering last week. I came up with this to serve after the meal was over. It is reasonably inexpensive, but not necessarily super fast to put together. I used freshly ground organic spelt flour to make this, but you can use organic whole wheat or process organic rolled oats instead. You can use regular whole milk if you do not have a food sensitivity to it, or you can use all buttermilk or all almond milk in this recipe. I tolerate buttermilk better than whole milk, but too much dairy becomes a problem for me so I try to incorporate the best of both worlds. Enjoy!

Winter Fruit Cobbler

Filling:

• 1 c. fresh cranberries
• 2 large Bartlett pears, cored, peeled, and diced
• 2 Granny Smith apples, cored, peeled, and diced
• 1/3 c. fresh squeezed orange juice (from 1 large orange)
• 1/2 c. coconut sugar
• grated zest of 1/2 orange
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 3 Tbsp. flour

Topping:

• 1/2 c. butter (1 stick, melted)
• 1-1/4 c. whole grain flour
• 3/4 c. coconut sugar
• 1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• 1/2 c. buttermilk
• 1/2 c. almond milk

1. Preheat oven to 375 F.
2. Toss the filling ingredients together in oven-proof casserole or large pie dish and set aside for 30 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, whisk topping dry ingredients together, then make a well in the center.
4. Pour in melted butter and milks. Sit until combined.
5. Place dish of fruit in oven for 10 minutes.
6. Remove dish and spread topping over fruit. 
7. Place oven in dish and bake for 35 minutes or until top is golden brown and center is set (springs back when touched).
8. Let dish cool 10 minutes before serving.
9. Makes 8-10 servings.