Recipes

Apple Pie Fruit & Nut Bars

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Apple Pie KIND Bars 2

 

The yummiest KIND* bar is hands down the Apple Pie flavor, although they are all excellent. We discovered these gems at a coffee shop in Austin, and for some reason it was the only place that sold this amazing flavor. Having moved recently, I went out to search for the delectable bars. I made my way to Whole Foods and scoped out the enormously large selection of healthy bars, hoping to spot the rare flavor, mouth watering with anticipation, but was extremely disappointed to see there was no Apple Pie flavor! I instead decided to settle on the blueberry one, and left feeling let defeated and utterly disappointed.

I returned home and decided I had to find a way to reproduce these gooey apple pie bars so we could grab them whenever the impulse sprung. I knew the challenge would be creating a sweet sticky coating that would hold the bar together with simple healthy ingredients. Then it came to me- honey coconut caramel! I whipped it up, and it’s pretty close to the real deal and of course good for you too!

(*KIND is a registered trademark of Kind LLC, New York, NY)

Apple Pie KIND Bar Step 1a Apple Pie Kind Bars

Apple Pie KIND Bars

Apple Pie KIND Bars

  • 1 cup roughly chopped Almonds (raw, unsalted)
  • 1 cup roughly chopped Pecans (raw, unsalted)
  • 1 cup Dried Apples (chopped)
  • ½ cup Raisins (chopped)
  • 1 tablespoon Chia seeds
  • 1 teaspoon Cinnamon (more if you like!)
  • ½ teaspoon Himalayan Salt (or celtic sea salt)
  • 1 cup Honey
  • ⅔ cup full fat Coconut Milk
  • 1 tsp Vanilla
  1. Mix the nuts, chia, dried fruit, cinnamon and salt in a bowl.
  2. In a saucepan mix the honey, coconut milk, and vanilla. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring frequently.
  3. The mixture will begin to froth, keep stirring, and remove from heat once it reaches the “ hard ball stage” between 250-266 degrees.
  4. If you do not have a candy thermometer, you can drop a small spoonful of the mixture into a bowl of cold water, and then see if you can form a fairly firm ball with the mixture with your fingers. It should hold together once formed.
  5. Once it’s reached this stage, remove from the stove and pour over nut mixture.
  6. Working quickly stir and evenly coat the mixture then pour into a greased pan.
  7. Using a greased spatula or your hands to firmly pack down the mixture into the pan.
  8. Place into the refrigerator to cool for 5-10 min then remove and cut into bars.
  9. The bars can now be stored in the fridge or freezer.

 

Cheesecake Fruit Tart {Gluten-Free, Healthy, No Bake}

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Fruit Cheesecake Tarte Closeup

Yeah! I am so excited to share my first recipe with you today! My hubby just celebrated a birthday and I wanted to make him something beautiful and elegant, that also was not a complete sugar blow out! He LOVES cheesecake, which can be laborious to make the REAL way, not to mention extremely unhealthy, so I came up with this version.

I used coconut oil in the crust for a healthier fat, used minimal less-processed sugars like coconut sugar, honey, and maple syrup, and I blended the cream cheese with greek yogurt to add the tang but keep the fat content from reaching sky high proportions.

Finally, I topped it with sliced strawberries, kiwi, raspberries and blackberries, complete with a strawberry heart in the middle. It looked beautiful!

Fruit Tarte Overhead

He said “this is the best cheesecake ever” and pretty much ate the entire thing over the next few days. He didn’t notice one bit that it wasn’t a “real” cheesecake, but in fact a cleaned up version!

{Healthy~Easy~No Bake} Cheesecake Fruit Tart with Graham Crust

A healthier version of the classic fruit tart, made even more delicious with cheesecake filling and graham crust!

  • 1 3/4 cups crushed gluten-free graham crackers or almond meal
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons of coconut sugar
  • 5 tablespoons of coconut oil melted (or butter)
  • dash cinnamon
  • 2 8 oz . cream cheese room temp. (or make your own dairy-free: http://www.thespunkycoconut.com/2013/05/5-minute-coconut-cream-cheese-paleo-dairy-free/)
  • 1 cup plain greek yogurt or coconut yogurt (I used Face brand, strain if watery, strained)
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 2 tablespoons of maple syrup
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla
  • Assorted berries and fruit of choice sliced thin for garnish
  1. To make the graham crust combine the crushed graham crackers, melted coconut oil (or butter), along with the dash of cinnamon and coconut or brown sugar in a bowl and mix throughly, coating all the crumbs.
  2. Press the mixture firmly into a pie plate using your fingers or an end of a glass to compact it.
  3. You can either bake the crust at 350 degrees for 5-7 min, or simply just chill in the refrigerator for 1/2 hr.
  4. Place your room temperature cream cheese into your stand mixer. (you can use hand mixer, just make sure all ingredients are smooth and well blended)
  5. Beat the cream cheese on medium speed then add in the yogurt, vanilla, honey and maple syrup.
  6. Once the mixture is smooth and creamy you can remove it from the mixture and pour onto the graham crust.
  7. Chill in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours.
  8. Slice your selected berries and fruit and arrange on top of the cheesecake before serving.