October 30, 2006

A delicious Flax Crisp Recipe

Here's a yummy and relatively healthy recipe for Apple-Pear Flax Crisp I found at Christine's The Sacred Art of Living web site. In her words;

This recipe is adapted from The Flax Cookbook and is the only recipe I have tried from it, but I do love this crisp and knowing that it is slightly healthy because of the nutritious ground flax seed in the topping helps. (please don't tell me the butter undoes all the good of the flax, because I simple won't listen!) :-) The walnuts have healthy omega-3's in them as well. I make this a lot in the winter, especially when I can't eat all the apples and pears I buy fast enough.

Crisp Topping
1/2 cup chopped and toasted walnuts
2/3 cup flour
1/4 cup ground flaxseeds
3 TBSP brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
3 TBSP melted butter (if unsalted add a pinch of salt)
3 TBSP maple syrup

Filling
4 cups peeled and sliced/chopped fruit
(my favorite combo is apples and pears, but you can use just one or the other and I have also made this with peaches)
1/4 cup sugar
2 TBSP flour
2 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine the walnuts, flour, flaxseed, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a mixing bowl. Drizzle the melted butter and maple syrup over the top and stir together (will be crumbly).

Put the diced fruit in a large bowl. In a small bowl mix together the sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Sprinkle over the fruit and mix gently. Turn the mixture into a baking dish.

Spoon the topping over the fruit, pressing down lightly. Bake about 45 minutes, until the topping is golden brown. Serve with vanilla ice cream! (Even though I try and eat almost all organic at home, my absolute favorite vanilla ice cream is Haagen-Dazs Light Vanilla Ice Cream - very vanilla-y and the texture is wonderful. The crisp is also great leftover for breakfast with some vanilla yogurt).

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The apple crisp photo above is by CatherineA.

October 19, 2006

Flaxseeds Help Reduce Wrinkles

Flaxseeds and flax seed oil are one of the superfoods that help to reduce wrinkles. Your skin cells will be plumper and your skin will be more firm and elastic if you consume flaxseeds and other foods that contain omega-3 fatty acids.