Apple Tarte

 

I am totally digging this new concept I heard about recently. Its what I like to call nutritional density. And it is just that simple. Its about eating things that are packed full of good stuff and your body can truly fuel up!

I know that when I'm really hungry, the easiest most convenient thing for me to do is to get myself a nice big bowl of ice cream. Sweet, creamy, gone in three seconds. Ok, I'll have a second little bit. Annnd a third....Annnddd now I feel slightly barfy. Yes, barfy is an adjective. This three-bowl ice cream rotation is really a dumpy cycle. I'm guilty. I will admit it.

Now, as silly and health-nutty as this sounds, I can honestly say that when I eat foods that are whole and natural, even if I do gorge my face off, I still feel ok. After a couple of peanut butter cookies (like the ones I recently made), I can get to the point when I feel genuinely full, satisfied, and maybe even content. Nutrient dense foods, like peanut butter and oatmeal, are surprisingly tasty in treats as well. Plus, you feel a bit happy after a treat, so a nutrient dense treat equals body happy, plus treat happy. Simple, but slightly crazy, yes?

Now - here's the deal. I already mentioned cookies in my about rant/internal monologue/epiphany/whatever you would like to call it, and so making treats that are dense in nutrients seems to be the way to go! Here I am thinking fruit crisps, nuts and nut butter anything, pumpkin and apple sauce flavoured comfort, roasted chickpeas, oh the list goes on!

Feel good, look good, do good is the mantra. And when I remove refined sugar, processed crap and mega salt, I honestly think I accomplish that.

Just a small rant for the weekend. So, here's a recipe for salad. JOKES! Let's make something waaaay better.

Here we go!

 Peel, slice, measure, toss, sample (make sure these apples are tasty, crisp and sweet).

Apples sliced, layered, and ready to melt together.  Assemble it all together, take a look to make sure you think it looks pretty, and then its ready to go into the oven.

Out comes a cinnamon tower of apples. Um, yum (thanks instagram).

Apple Tarte

1 cup almonds
8 dates
1/4 cup water
2 tsp honey
2 medium apples, peeled and sliced
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp cinnamon
1-2  tsp coconut palm sugar

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray a pie pan with cooking spray and set aside.
2. In a food processor pulse almonds until they resemble coarse meal. Add dates, water and honey and pulse until combined.
3. Press almond paste mixture into the bottom of your pie pan. The almond paste should evenly cover the bottom of the pan.
4. Slice apples into thin slices. Toss slices in lemon juice, cinnamon and sugar until evenly coated.
5. Arrange the apple slices on the crust in a layering fashion. Some apples will be layered on top of the previous row.
6. Bake tarte for 20 minutes. Cover with foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes.
7. Cool tarte for 10 minutes. Serve warm, with ice cream (or non-dairy frozen dessert).