Healthier crumble with apple, rhubarb and ginger

During my quest to reduce the amount of alcohol in my diet, I have found myself craving sweet carbohydrate substitutes, particularly after eating dinner. A healthier alternative to eating chocolate, lollies or fatty desserts is fruit. Fruit can be made into great desserts, crumble being one of the most popular. Unfortunately, most crumbles are full of saturated fat, sugar and simple carbohydrates, not a combination that should be eaten too often. However, crumble can be a dessert that is full of fibre, high in complex carbs and essential fatty acids and lower in sugar. And it can be wheat free. If you need to sweeten the fruit, you can use agave nectar instead of sugar. Agave nectar is 90% fructose giving it a low glycaemic index. Cinnamon also helps to sweeten fruit without adding calories and it also balances blood sugar levels – important for those with sugar cravings. Ginger gives the fruit a nice twist and has countless health benefits. Instead of using flour, butter and sugar for the crumble, I use oats, nuts, honey and olive oil/butter. This increases the fibre and essential fatty acid content and lowers the GI, unusual qualities in a dessert. It’s a dessert that is healthy enough to be eaten as a snack too. Serve with goats yoghurt.

· Bunch of rhubarb, washed and chopped into 2 inch lengths
· 4 or 5 granny smith apples, peeled, cored and chopped
· 2 tsp of organic agave nectar
· 2 inch stick of ginger grated
· ½ tsp of cinnamon

For crumble topping

· 1 cup organic rolled oats
· ½ cup of puffed brown rice
· ½ cup of almonds, cashews and seeds (sunflower, pumpkin, sesame, poppy) crushed
· 2 tbsp of olive oil or butter
· 1 tbsp of honey

Put the fruit, agave nectar, ginger and cinnamon in a saucepan with a small amount of water, cover and cook until soft. Meanwhile, mix together crumble ingredients. Place stewed fruit into an ovenproof dish and cover with crumble mixture. Bake in the oven at 180oC until golden.