Obesity’s Answer

6 medium Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup raisins
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 cup date sugar
1/4 cup melted Benechol spread
2 tsp vanilla

1. Mix together and put into a 9×9 baking dish.

Topping:
1 cup whole oats
1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup unsweeted coconut
1/4 cup date sugar
1/3 cup Smart Balance spread, melted
1/4 cup maple syrup

2. Mix together topping ingredients and spoon on top of apple mixture.
3. Bake at 350 for 28-30 min.

This recipe was taste tested at a CELL Angels supprt group meeting, and met with rave reviews.  Of course this is a sweet that should only be eaten on “free days.”  Date sugar is nothing but pure ground dried dates, available at health food stores.

Have you ever just ached for a piece of sour lemon candy?  I cannot tell a lie.  I was going to swipe a recipe out of Better Homes and Gardens for a pear chutney to put over pork and modify it for the CELL Program.  Of course, by the time I substituted this and that, no telling what the experiment would end up with.  Yup, no telling.  But the flavor is outstanding!  You have GOT to taste this stuff.

1/2 cup honey
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
2 tablespoons fresh finely shredded lemon peel
5 oz (1 cup) dried apricot bits
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
5 firm medium pears

1. Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan except for the pears.
2. Bring to a boil.  Simmer, stirring often for about 5 minutes.
3. Slice the pears lengthwise in thin slices as you watch the saucepan.
4. Add the pears to the saucepan and heat, stirring often, for about another 5 minutes until the pears start to soften.  Allow it to cool for at least 10 minutes.  Help yourself to the mixture warm out of the pan.
5. Spread the (remaining) mixture out on wax paper.  Cover with another sheet of wax paper and fold it into a zippered freezer bag.  Store in the freezer.

And NO, this is not for diabetics!  Sorry.

*gluten-free

A very distinguished English teacher says this is the best trail mix he has ever tasted.  Takes a little fussing over, but well worth it! 

1 pound raw pecans (about 4 1/2 cups)
1 pound raw almonds (about 3 1/2 cups)
1/4 cup soy sauce (I use the gluten-free kind, but don�t get the kind with MSG)
1 pound fancy salted cashews (about 4 1/2 cups; this adds the salt for the rest of the trail mix)
3-6 oz bags of sweetened dried cranberries such as Craisins
1 cup golden raisins
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (doesn�t quite fit the no white sugar rule, but we decided chocolate is in it�s own category!)

1.  Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
2.  Place pecans, almonds and soy sauce in a plastic bag or resealable plastic container.  Shake well.
3.  Spread pecans and almonds out on a large baking dish.  I use a large pizza pan with a rim to keep the nuts contained.
4.  Place pecans and almonds in the oven and bake.  Set the timer for 10 minutes.  At 10 minutes, stir the pecans, making sure you dislodge all the nuts.  Set the time again for 10 minutes.  The nuts need to bake for a total of about 30 minutes, stirring three times.  USE THE TIMER.  Overdone nuts just taste burnt.
5.  Remove the almonds and pecans when they look roasted, stir once more and allow them to cool.
6.  In a large resealable plastic container, combine the nuts with the remaining ingredients.  If the nuts are still just a little warm, the chocolate melts in just a bit and tastes wonderful.  Cool in the refridgerator.  Separate the trail mix into small zip-lock plastic bags into single servings of about a handful so you won�t be tempted to eat the whole thing.  Freeze the rest. 

This is an easy something you can grab on the way out the door for a “special” mid-afternoon snack.  It’s a great snack for the kids for school.  Frozen, it will last a long time and stay fresh.

*gluten-free with the right ingredients