Simple Sides: Sugarless Apple Crumble on the Barbie!
By Dennis Linden
Children in this country consume an estimated 12 percent of their calories from fast food and 20 percent of all American meals are consumed in a car! The consequences are predictably unhealthy. Competing schedules in the day-to-day lives of a busy modern family make it difficult to share a home-cooked meal together, but possible. In fact, with a little planning, cooking together can become a fun family event and learning opportunity. This feature will focus on providing a child or a group of children, working together under the supervision of an adult, with one uncomplicated, healthy, and delicious side dish recipe. The dishes, focus on seasonal fresh produce items and will always contain tasks that allow even the youngest kitchen helper to contribute to the family meal. Parents should always read each recipe carefully to judge the division of labor based on age and ability as well as to identify where adult attention might be especially needed.
Many of the recipes presented here will seem extremely basic, this is by design. These simple preparations will provide the culinary foundation and confidence to inspire kids to try more challenging recipes as their experience and confidence in the kitchen develops. Melissa’s encourages parents to find the time to gather as a family unit at least once a week for a dinner that everyone pitches in to prepare. It is a wonderful way to teach a child some basic culinary skills and, more importantly, cooking with your children will build memories in all your hearts forever. Enjoy your kids in the kitchen, they will be grown & gone before you know it! “No one is born a great cook; one learns by doing” – Julia Child.
Last month, this blog offered an alternative to the sugary firepit treat, S’mores, with a much healthier grilled fruit sundae. The heat of August really demands that evening meals start outside at the family barbie, so here’s another healthy dessert option to that roasted marshmallow thing, which is also naturally gooey and sweet, too! Besides, since the kitchen has been temporarily relocated, your culinary helpers will have fun learning how to also move another classic, the Apple Crumble, from the oven to the grill and with no sugars added!
The hallowed Apple Crumble: a warm, cinnamon-laced apple filling and a perfectly crunchy, crumbly topping. The dish runs a close second in popularity in this country to our iconic apple pie, and some even prefer it. Sadly, all that goodness comes from large measures of both white and brown sugars as well as white flour. One should also figure in the additional calories of a dollop of ice cream that should always accompany this dish, as well as the apple pie! Selective culinary editing: For a much healthier dish, both sugars as well as the empty calories of the white flour are being replaced, but the ice cream stays!
What a very simple and fun recipe for kids and adults alike! There is very little knife work involved; the apples do need dicing. To peel or not to peel is always a matter of preference. While one could use larger chunks of apple, I tried both cuts and prefer the texture of the smaller dice. Besides, tasking a child with a precise type of cut, rather than just a random chop, is great practice that represents a small passage in your helper’s culinary development.
August triggers the harvest of the first varieties of the new crop apple season – Gala and Honeycrisp. Both are perfect for this recipe. Honeycrisp apples tend to be quite large, but will still hold their shape well if not overcooked. For the family’s grill, when the kids are prepping these packets, just leave the skin on – no sense making tedious work for your helpers on a hot summer’s evening, plus the skin adds texture and nutrients. FYI: I have also served this dish without skins to guests at a casual outdoor dinner party. For that occasion, the construction of each packet was done in front of the guests as the main course was served, explained simply as a Mystery Dessert. The identity was obvious as the aroma of fresh baked apples began emanating from the grill about halfway through the meal. Great fun!
The dates need chopping, then mashing to be successful as sugar substitutes. If the dates are too dry to mash with the butter, soak them in boiling water for 15 minutes, remove any excess water and then mash them. Considered the world’s oldest cultivated fruit, Medjool dates have been grown and harvested from palm trees for over 6,000 years. Dates are a stone fruit, like peaches or nectarines! While dates do have a high amount of naturally occurring sugars from the fruit itself, they also have a very high fiber content that slows the digestion of those sugars, so the metabolism is not overwhelmed. Packed with beneficial minerals, vitamins, nutrients, and antioxidants, Medjool dates replaced both kinds of sugars with sweet nutrition! Enjoy!
Grilled Apple Crumble Packets
For each packet:
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
2 small Gala apples or (1) Honeycrisp apple, peeled (optional), diced 1/4" pieces
Topping
¾ cup butter (or veg spread)
½ cup Medjool dates, chopped
1½ cups whole wheat flour
1 cup rolled oats
Pinch of salt
What the supervising adult should do:
Oversee the dicing of the apples and softening of the dates in boiling water if necessary. An open flame is not child’s play; your helpers should construct each packet and then hand it off to an adult for the grilling. Once cooled, the kids can open each packet to a gooey delight.
What the kids can do:
Combine the lemon juice, water, flour, cinnamon, vanilla and salt in a medium mixing bowl, then add in the diced apple and coat evenly.
In another bowl, mash together the butter and chopped Medjool dates until well combined, then add in the flour, oats and salt, stir to combine.
Prepare pieces of non-stick foil approx. 12” x 18”. Divide apple mixture evenly and place in the center of each piece of foil, non-stick side up. Sprinkle the crumb mixture over the apples. Seal foil packet tightly, making sure all sides are securely closed.
Grill for 20-30 minutes or until packets start smelling like apple pie! Option: serve topped with a favorite ice cream (definitely mandatory!)
Last month, this blog offered an alternative to the sugary firepit treat, S’mores, with a much healthier grilled fruit sundae. The heat of August really demands that evening meals start outside at the family barbie, so here’s another healthy dessert option to that roasted marshmallow thing, which is also naturally gooey and sweet, too! Besides, since the kitchen has been temporarily relocated, your culinary helpers will have fun learning how to also move another classic, the Apple Crumble, from the oven to the grill and with no sugars added!
The hallowed Apple Crumble: a warm, cinnamon-laced apple filling and a perfectly crunchy, crumbly topping. The dish runs a close second in popularity in this country to our iconic apple pie, and some even prefer it. Sadly, all that goodness comes from large measures of both white and brown sugars as well as white flour. One should also figure in the additional calories of a dollop of ice cream that should always accompany this dish, as well as the apple pie! Selective culinary editing: For a much healthier dish, both sugars as well as the empty calories of the white flour are being replaced, but the ice cream stays!
What a very simple and fun recipe for kids and adults alike! There is very little knife work involved; the apples do need dicing. To peel or not to peel is always a matter of preference. While one could use larger chunks of apple, I tried both cuts and prefer the texture of the smaller dice. Besides, tasking a child with a precise type of cut, rather than just a random chop, is great practice that represents a small passage in your helper’s culinary development.
August triggers the harvest of the first varieties of the new crop apple season – Gala and Honeycrisp. Both are perfect for this recipe. Honeycrisp apples tend to be quite large, but will still hold their shape well if not overcooked. For the family’s grill, when the kids are prepping these packets, just leave the skin on – no sense making tedious work for your helpers on a hot summer’s evening, plus the skin adds texture and nutrients. FYI: I have also served this dish without skins to guests at a casual outdoor dinner party. For that occasion, the construction of each packet was done in front of the guests as the main course was served, explained simply as a Mystery Dessert. The identity was obvious as the aroma of fresh baked apples began emanating from the grill about halfway through the meal. Great fun!
The dates need chopping, then mashing to be successful as sugar substitutes. If the dates are too dry to mash with the butter, soak them in boiling water for 15 minutes, remove any excess water and then mash them. Considered the world’s oldest cultivated fruit, Medjool dates have been grown and harvested from palm trees for over 6,000 years. Dates are a stone fruit, like peaches or nectarines! While dates do have a high amount of naturally occurring sugars from the fruit itself, they also have a very high fiber content that slows the digestion of those sugars, so the metabolism is not overwhelmed. Packed with beneficial minerals, vitamins, nutrients, and antioxidants, Medjool dates replaced both kinds of sugars with sweet nutrition! Enjoy!
Grilled Apple Crumble Packets
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
2 small Gala apples or (1) Honeycrisp apple, peeled (optional), diced 1/4" pieces
Topping
¾ cup butter (or veg spread)
½ cup Medjool dates, chopped
1½ cups whole wheat flour
1 cup rolled oats
Pinch of salt
What the supervising adult should do:
Oversee the dicing of the apples and softening of the dates in boiling water if necessary. An open flame is not child’s play; your helpers should construct each packet and then hand it off to an adult for the grilling. Once cooled, the kids can open each packet to a gooey delight.
What the kids can do:
