Sweet Endings: Dessert

Serving a dessert can be a tasty and nutritious way to make a meal last a little longer. Unlike most traditional desserts, which are high in sugar and refined carbohydrates, the recovery recipes found in our book, "Food For Recovery" are made from hearty whole-grain flours, fresh fruits, nuts, and other whole foods ingredients. There are also wheat-free, egg-free, and even no-bake recipes.

The recovery desserts provide an abundance of vitamins, minerals, and enzymes. Unlike many desserts, these recipes do not rob the body of nutrients but rather enhance a recovery diet.

So yes, when eating for recovery you can make a dessert and eat it too.

Real old-fashioned apple pies had hearty whole-grain crusts just like this one. The walnuts add crunch and many vitamins and minerals. Use the pie crust for other fruit pies such as peach, berry, or rhubarb.

Serves 8

Crust:

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

Dash of salt

4 tablespoons vegetable oil

1/4 cup iced apple juice

Filling:

8 McIntosh apples, peeled, cored, and sliced

2 tablespoons arrowroot

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 tablespoons honey

1 cup chopped walnuts

1. Make the crust. In a large bowl, combine the flour and the salt. Add the oil and mix with a fork until the mixture resembles small peas. Add the iced apple juice a little at a time, adding only enough so that the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl and forms a rough ball. Turn out onto a lightly floured board and gently knead a few strokes, then wrap in a plastic bag and set aside 10 to 15 minutes at room temperature.

2. Preheat the oven to 350° F.

3. Make the filling. In a large bowl, toss the apples with the arrowroot, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. In a smaller bowl, mix together the lemon juice, honey, and walnuts. Add the mixture to the apples and stir to combine.

4. Remove the dough from the plastic bag and cut into 2 even pieces. Roll each out on a floured board into 2 10-inch, Va-inch-thick circles. Carefully place one circle in an 8-inch pie plate, add the apple mixture, and top with the other circle. Crimp the edges together and prick the top several times with the tines of a fork. Bake about 20 minutes, or until golden brown.

From: Food For Recovery 4th Edition: The Complete Nutritional Companion for Recovering from Alcoholism, Drug Addiction, and Eating Disorders Copyright © 2018 by Mary P. Cheney, H.C., Joseph D. Beasley, M.D.

This is a nutritious low-fat recipe. This crisp is high in fiber, biotin, and manganese. Any favorite fruit combinations will do.

Serves 10

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour or 3/4 cup barley flour and 3/4 cup soy flour

1/2 cup oats

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1/2 cup iced apple juice

2 tablespoons apple juice

10 apples, preferably McIntosh, peeled, cored, and sliced

2 cups blueberries

1/2 cup crushed walnuts or pecans

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F

2. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, oats, and salt. Add the oil and with a fork stir the mixture until it resembles small peas. Add the iced apple juice a little at a time, adding just enough so that the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl into a rough ball. Press together with your hands, then return the dough to the bowl and set aside 10 minutes.

3. Break the dough into tiny pieces and place on a greased baking sheet. Bake 10 minutes, or until the dough is crunchy.

4. In a large pot, bring the apple juice to a boil over high heat. Add the apples and blueberries, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook 5 minutes. Remove from heat and pour into an 8 x 8 X 2-inch baking dish.

5. Sprinkle the cooked dough and nuts over the fruit. Bake 35 to 40 minutes. You may want to put a piece of foil or a baking sheet under the pan, since the juices may bubble up and out of the pan onto the oven floor.

Variation: Peach-Strawberry Crisp: Substitute 12 peaches, peeled, pitted, and sliced, and 2 cups sliced strawberries for the apples and blueberries. Substitute 1/2 cup crushed pecans for the walnuts.

Variation: Pear Crisp: Substitute 10 pears, peeled, cored, and sliced, for the apples. Note: You can substitute frozen blueberries if out of season and just bake a little longer.

Gluten Free: You can substitute a gluten free flour mix for the 1 ½ cup whole wheat flour. I love King Arthur’s Gluten Free “Measure For Measure Flour” as you can simply substitute equal parts (1-1) for an easy and convenient swap for conventional (wheat) flours.

From: Food For Recovery 4th Edition: The Complete Nutritional Companion for Recovering from Alcoholism, Drug Addiction, and Eating Disorders

Recipes From Food For Recovery

APPLE PIE

Apple-Blueberry Crisp