04/12/20

Low carb Sugar free Apple and Blueberry Crisp- From items in the pantry!

Happy Easter! I hope your day is filled with peace, good health, blessings, and love- from a distance, of course. And if you happen to be social distancing alone or away from your loved ones, I hope that you find ways to connect with them today through a video call or maybe even a virtual Easter lunch or dinner. <3

Today I’m cooking dinner for my husband and me, and our Easter menu consists of roasted chicken with lemon and thyme with roasted vegetables, mashed potatoes, and low carb apple and blueberry crisp for dessert!

Apple crisp has always been one of my favorite recipes. Tia, a fellow friend of mine, made a batch of apple crisp last week and ever since I saw her post, I’ve been craving it! With today being a holiday, I really wanted to be able to bake something, but when I took a peek at my pantry inventory, I realized that I didn’t have much at the moment. But I did have a few things, including a little bit of coconut flour, two bags of Swerve sweetener with about 1/4 left in each bag, some flaxseed meal, about 1/2 cup of walnuts, 6 gala apples, and an almost-too-ripe-to-use lemon.

I can work with that!

And to make this crisp a little more spring-y, since this is typically a fall dessert, I decided to add some fresh blueberries which I happened to have in the fridge. 

This crisp turned out amazing for using up some pantry leftoevers! Buttery and crisp, tart and sweet, with warm spices that are comforting and delicious! Here’s the recipe! Enjoy and Happy Easter!

Low carb Sugar free Apple and Blueberry Crisp

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Category: Uncategorized

Servings:  6-8

Low carb Sugar free Apple and Blueberry Crisp

Ingredients

  • For the filling
  • 4-5 medium sized gala apples, or other similar apple good for baking (honeycrisp or pink lady)
  • 1 cup fresh blueberries (blackberries would be great too!)
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp. ginger
  • 1/4 cup no calorie sweetener (I used granulated Swerve)
  • the juice of 1 lemon
  • 1/2 tsp. sea salt
  • -----------------
  • For the topping
  • 1 stick of cold butter
  • 1/2 cup coconut flour
  • 1/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
  • 1/4 cup of granulated sweetener (I used brown Swerve)
  • 2 tbsp. flaxseed
  • 1/4 tsp. sea salt
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1/2 tsp. maple extract

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350.
  2. Core, peel and slice apples into bite-sized chunks and lace into a bowl. Add lemon juice, cinnamon, ginger, vanilla, and sea salt. Stir gently to coat all of the apple slices. Fold in blueberries.
  3. Place the apple and blueberry mixture into an 8in greased pie pan. Pour the additional juice from the bottom of the bowl over the apples. Set aside.
  4. Using a hand or stand mixer, combine all topping ingredients until crumbly. Sprinkle onto the apple mixture in the pie pan.
  5. Loosely cover with foil and bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Remove the foil for the last 10 minutes of baking. The top will be golden brown and the filling will be bubbly.
  6. Let cool for 10 minutes and then serve warm with vanilla Rebel ice cream or homemade whipped cream!
http://orangespoken.com/appleblueberrycrisp/

04/10/20

8 years

I can’t recall how many times I’ve thought about my mom over the past 8 years. Quite possibly more times than when she was here on earth. I wake up thinking of her. I think about her when I look in the mirror each morning, and see faint resemblances of my mom in my own reflection. Sometimes I think of her when I hear the familiar and comforting tone of her voice inside my own words when I speak. And oftentimes something- a song, a picture, an artifact, a scent- will trigger a forgotten moment I experienced with my mom, and that memory will pop into my mind.

When I started this phase of my life 8 years ago, I never dreamed that I would be able to think about my mom without completely crumbling. While there are still times when the thought of her not physically being here can still overwhelm me with sadness, over time those moments have become less frequent, less vivid, and less familiar. 

I think that’s one of the toughest, yet beautiful parts of reaching 8 years of a grief healing journey.

Over time things, including memories, start to fade. Sounds and mental images of our loved ones and the experience of the loss itself start to lose their vividness. We’ve heard the phrase that time heals all wounds, but not because we’ve forgotten our loved ones, but because through this post-loss journey, we, the grievers, experience life a little differently. We feel our emotions a little deeper, and connect a little more with other grievers and allies. We empathize with others who are grieving and experience the concept of time a little differently. We appreciate things that others may overlook, and see the world for what it is- a temporary gift. And, most of all, we create new relationships with our loved ones that is solely spiritual, and those spiritual experiences and memories become stronger as those physical memories begin to fade. While it’s not time itself that’s healing our wounds, it’s the learning and the awareness that we gain during that time that helps us to navigate and embrace a post-loss existence. 

I promise you that I wouldn’t be able to explain those words in the above paragraph to my 31 year old self who just watched her mother take her last breath. But 8 years later, I can say with confidence and conviction, that although the vibrance of who my living mother was has faded in my mind, the learning, the awareness, and the spiritual connection I have with her is a bright light in a world that I thought would always be dark. 

A grief healing journey is different for everyone. Each year of my journey has brought its own uniqueness to my life. There is no timeline or expectation for when you are supposed to be completely “healed” after loss. Loss changes who you are, and at first, it might feel rocky, but over time the hope and dream is that a grief journey can help you discover things about yourself, the world around you, and your loved one that maybe you didn’t see before.

Friends, life is beautiful. It’s special. It’s meaningful. Notice those around you. Ask people how they’re doing. Make time for friends. Don’t lose sight of what’s important. Go on vacations. Put yourself in other’s shoes. Fall in love. Love yourself. Pay attention to your children (even if they’re already grown). Visit your grandparents. Create opportunities to give back. Call your mother. 

And if you are like me, and your mother is no longer here physically, call her anyway.

Just say the words in your heart and in your mind. She’ll be listening. 

“Hey mom, it’s me Steph. Thinking about you today. I know you’re dancing among the seastars”

ttttttt-2

Other posts about my mom Judy

Happy Birthday Mom

Be Merry

Judy’s Tales: The Ketchup Incident 

Judy’s Tales: The Waterfall Incident