Nuts!

In the spirit of trying to blog more frequently, today's post will be a quick one. Just a simple recipe to spice up a delicious, extremely healthy, and portable snack.

Warning: Food geek speak ahead. Nuts and seeds are often cited as excellent sources of poly- and mono-unsaturated fats, which they are, providing us with tons of heart-healthy fats along with a good dose of fiber and a nice boost of protein. They are also, and less commonly credited for, great sources of trace minerals and vitamins we don't otherwise get enough of. These include vitamin E, folate, magnesium, selenium, iron and manganese.

Tamari is a type of soy sauce, and is easy to find in GF forms. It is a little more subtle than most soy sauces - I find it to be less salty and more flavorful. These tamari almonds work their magic in my usual nut mix, adding a little salt and a ton of flavor. While nuts are an extremely healthy food, be careful as the calories do add up in a hurry!
Tamari Almonds

2c Raw Almonds
1/4c Tamari
pinch Salt

Preheat oven to 275F. In a small bowl, toss the almonds with the tamari sauce and salt. Spread them in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake for 30 min or so, stirring occasionally. You want the almonds to be dry but not burnt. Remove from oven and let cool completely before storing. Enjoy!

My Nut Mix
Mix in equal parts of:

Hulled Pumpkin seeds (roasted or raw, unsalted)
Hulled Sunflower Seeds (roasted, salted)
Cashews (roasted, unsalted)
Walnut Pieces
Almonds (you can go for flavors here, such as tamari or any others you can find)

Breakdown: 1oz of this nut mix is 162cal, 6g Protein, 6g Carbs, 14g Fat

Fall-ing

Halloween decorations are out.
Pumpkins are decorating windows and shelves of just about everywhere.
Leaves are littering the yard, sticking to windshields.
I had my first honeycrisp apple of the season.
The Pumpkin Spice Latte is back (and yes, it merits capital letters).
My hoodies are back in the rotation, and getting out of bed is now that much harder.

For the whole year, I always think fondly of this season of hoodies and jeans - where you're not too hot for your skin nor so cold you need a jacket - yet when it arrives, my first instinct is to huddle up in bed and hide from the cold. I still think of Fall as my favorite season, but it always gets off to a hesitant slow start unlike its flashier Summer predecessor. This year, Fall hit with a vengeance - a final hurrah of summer with 20+ degree days led straight into a week of single digit temperatures and perpetual grey skies. Needless to say, my love of the season is taking a little while longer to grow back this time around.

See... I'm not the only one with those hide-under-the-bed thoughts when Fall rolls around

Growing up, come Birthday time, we were always given the choice of cake we wanted that year. I only remember one choice in particular - Mom and I made a chocolate cake with a chocolate ganache - and I remember being surprised at how delicious it was. I was never a chocolate fiend, and seem to recall most of my other cakes being "yellow" with chocolate icing, but don't quote me on it. The last cake I remember having on my birthday was an ice cream cake from The Boy 2 years ago, just weeks before I went GF, leaving delicious leftovers in the freezer for the roommates to enjoy.

This year, I took matters into my own hands and made myself a belated apple crumble. Just what I would have asked Mom for if I were still living at home. Its her recipe - one that was always a top request at home and something I have been wanting to make for months. It is a cinch to make and fills the house with such a yummy smell, its hard to turn down.

Mom's Apple Crumble

3 apples peeled, cored and sliced thinly
1/4c water
3/4c GF flour
1/3c butter - cubed
pinch salt
1/2c brown sugar
2tsp cinnamon
1 1/4c GF oats

Preheat oven to 350F. Place the sliced apples into a 9x13" oven proof dish (or a 9inch pie plate, or... you choose) along with the water. In a small bowl mix flour and salt then use your fingers to crumble in the butter. It should look like cookie crumbs when you're done. Add to this the brown sugar, oats and cinnamon. Mix to combine before spreading in an even layer over the apples. Bake for 40-50min until golden brown. Serve with cream or my favorite - a really good vanilla ice cream (though I bet cinnamon would work too!)


Recipe Notes: I broke one of the cardinal rules of baking (you know - thou shalt not tinker until thou hath followed thy recipe once) and modified this recipe on my first try with it. Adding cinnamon and a small sprinkling of sugar directly to the apples before topping them with the crumble just sounded right today. The Boy isn't a fan of the tart granny smith apples, so I'm hoping the tiny bit of extra sugar along with the cinnamon will help temper their bite. Use gluten free oats to keep this GF - I find mine at the health food store down the road, they're more expensive but are such a treat..