Healthy Holiday Dessert Guide with Melanie Albert

Spiritual Adrenaline Recipes: Apple Crisp with Healthy Spices and Chocolate Avocado Pudding

By: Tom Shanahan, Personal Trainer and Sports Nutritionist

If you are craving healthy sweets during this holiday seasons, I teamed up with Melanie Albert of Experience Nutrition to create more healthy holiday desserts. Melanie is the author of A New View of Healthy Eating and a recognized expert in whole healthy foods. By clicking on the links below, you can watch Melanie demonstrate how to make the following treats:

These desserts include:

– Apple Crisp with Healthy Spices

– Chocolate Avocado Pudding

– Chocolate Sweet Potato Brownie

– Vegan Chocolate Cream Pie

In this blog, I’m going to share with you the recipes for Apple Crisp with Healthy Spices and Chocolate Avocado Pudding

Apple Crisp with Healthy Spices

Topping

• 1 cup rolled oats
• ½ cup almonds, walnuts, or pecans, sliced
• ¼ cup maple sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon, fresh ground
• 1 tsp nutmeg, fresh ground
• 1 tsp cardamom seeds, fresh ground
• ½ cup grapeseed oil

Filling

• 8 apples, sliced
• 3 tbsp grapeseed oil
• 4 tbsp maple sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon, fresh ground
• 1 tsp nutmeg, fresh ground
• 1 tsp cardamom seeds, fresh ground
• ½ tsp cloves, fresh ground
• 1 orange, juiced and zested
• 1 lemon, juiced and zested

1. Prepare your mise en place.

• Hand-grind all spices in mortar and pestle.
• Hand-squeeze and zest the orange and lemon.

2. Prepare topping.

• Mix all dry ingredients for topping until well combined.
• Pour in grape seed oil and mix.

3. Cook the apple crisp.

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Place sliced apples in a large sauté pan.
• Turn heat to medium and add remaining filling ingredients.
• Cook until apples slightly soften; stir occasionally.

4. Prepare

• Pour cooked apples with sauce into 8-inch by 8-inch baking dish.
• Top with oats topping.
• Bake on middle oven rack for 20-30 minutes.
• Remove and cool for about 10 minutes
• Enjoy!

Watch how to make this recipe, here.

Chocolate Avocado Pudding

 Ingredients

• 4 ripe avocados
• 8 Medjool dates, pitted and sliced
• 2 tsp vanilla extract or 2 vanilla beans, scraped
• ½ cup raw cacao powder
• 2 cups water

Simple Steps

1. Place all ingredients in high-speed blender.
2. Blend on high for about 2 minutes.
3. Stop and scrape down sides of blender, if needed.
4. Blend for another 2 minutes or until completely pureed and smooth.
5. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours.
6. Enjoy topped with fresh fruit, nuts, and seeds.

Watch how to make this recipe, here.

In my next blog, I will be sharing the recipes for Chocolate Sweet Potato Brownies and Vegan Chocolate Cream Pie.

To grab these recipes, be sure to follow Spiritual Adrenaline and Central Recovery Press on social media. Also, show support for my friend Melanie Albert.