Mom's Apple Crisp

I am in the middle of a 
sugar/sweetener detox right now but I've been thinking about sweets for the past few hours. Because I know I can't have any I've actually enjoyed thinking about them. Yesterday in my post about food rules I shared that I think it's important to break my rules every once in a while. This crisp is one of those ways I break my food rules. The trick is that I only make it when we have people visiting or my mom makes it when I am home. 

Banana Peanut Butter Pancakes

Who doesn't love pancakes?! I know I do! There is even a family story of me eating my weight in pancakes when I was little, taking a nap and then getting sick. But even after that experience I still love pancakes.  The one problem I have with pancakes is that they have about zero nutritional value, so I found a great alternative!

These pancakes are the perfect mix of banana and peanut butter in a warm, light pancake form.  I made these for myself when I was at my parents and my mom had a bite and really liked them (so it's not just me.)

Banana Peanut Butter Truffles

One of the great things about being home (at my parent's house) is being able to make lots of food and not feeling like Steve and I have to eat it all by ourselves. Also my brother, Bram, eats about the amount of Steve and I together so I can always try out new recipes. Bram has been known to eat four large meals a day. When we are home he regularly has two breakfasts, lunch, a big afternoon snack, dinner and a bowl of ice cream.

Four Berry Pie

Blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, and strawberries all combine to make a perfect pie in our house!

We use Mom's Pie Crust for every pie we make and then make the filling depending on what season it is and who is going to eat it.  Her Four Berry Pie is definitely a bit more of a complicated process compared to some of the others.

My mom uses frozen berries because where we live all four of them are never ripe at the same time. She always has a big bag of frozen berries in the freezer so she can make this pie throughout the entire year.

Baked Apple Chips

Yesterday we passed 3000 visits to our blog! Thanks so much for everyone to their support for the past three months. I'm having a blast writing and sharing all of our recipes and what is going on in our life. I hope you continue to visit us here. We really appreciate all the support.

I had a big bag of apples that I wanted to use up before I left for my trip home. The only fruit Steve eats are clementines so any other fruit I leave at home will just go bad.  I usually like to juice my apples but I have too many to keep having juice for the next few days.

Also apple chips seem like the perfect snack to bring with me. I usually just bring raw fruit but these will be an extra special treat! Steve even tried these and asked if he could take some as a snack for lunch!

Cranberry Sauce

**Again pictures will be added next week!

My new favorite Cranberry sauce doesn't have any refined sugar it in.  In past years I've made a cranberry sauce that has cranberries, sugar (lots of it) and orange juice. It's really good but I needed a change from all the refined sugar.

Trust me you won't miss the sugar in the version. It's sweetened with maple syrup and absolutely delicious. First you heat the maple syrup, water, lemon juice, ginger and cinnamon in a sauce pan and simmer for 5 minutes.  Then you add the cranberries and cook for 15 minutes. Making sure not to cook it longer because this will change the consistency.  When it's still warm the sauce is runny but when it cools it will solidify.

Stewed Apples with Cinnamon

After all the long posts this week I decided it was time for a shorter one! I hope you enjoy it.

I discovered this recipe during my detox! I wanted to have fruit for breakfast but I felt that just eating an apple raw made it feel less like a meal and more like a snack. I also wanted it to be warm.

You can easily do this with other fruits! I did a mixture of pear and apple once which was really good!