Strawberry Blueberry Granola Crumble

Happy Fourth of July! Another holiday, another excuse to bake something exciting. Don't even think that using red, white, and blue sprinkles will cut it for America's birthday. You want to impress her, bake with the fruit grown from her land.

I'd salute it.

You cannot get any more summery-American than this Strawberry Blueberry Granola Crumble. Ripe strawberries, plump blueberries, hearty oats ... the sweet, simple, guiltless desserts are always devoured the quickest. My advice: Make two, bring one to the  BBQ tomorrow and keep the other safe at home.


1 1/2 cups oats, ground in the food processor

3/4 cup oats
1/2 cup slivered almonds
dash of salt
dash of cinnamon
3 tablespoons coconut oil
3 tablespoons maple syrup
1 quart blueberries
1 quart strawberries, diced
2 tablespoons arrowroot
squeeze of lemon juice

Heat oven to 350F and lightly grease a clear casserole dish.

Mix together ground oats, whole oats, almonds, salt and cinnamon. Add oil and syrup, mix using finger tips until a coarse crumble is achieved. Set aside.

In a large bowl toss blueberries, strawberries, arrowroot, and lemon juice until fruit is all-coated. Pour into casserole dish. Using a large spoon, drop granola crumble on top. Bake until topping is golden and fruit is steaming, about 20 minutes. Let cool a bit before eating. If feeling adventurous, serve with coconut ice cream.

Chocolate!

There are only two things better than chocolate: homemade chocolate and chocolate-dipped fruit.

Because no one should feel guilty about indulgence.

Chocolate-covered strawberries. The perfect combination of fresh, healthy sweetness and the rich pampering of chocolate. This is a more-natural way to do it, a nice alternative to running to the store to purchase vegan chocolate chips and melt them over the stove. And a great way to incorporate coconut oil into your diet. Feel free to up the super-power by using carob powder instead of cocoa.


1/2 c coconut butter/oil
1/3 c plus 1 T cocoa powder (preferably dutch-processed)
2 T agave nectar or maple syrup
1 t mint extract, optional
Strawberries for dipping

Warm the coconut to a liquid by placing the filled measuring cup into a bowl of warm-hot water. Once melted, mix together all ingredients in a new bowl. Immediately dip strawberries into chocolate and place on a plate to set. If you are really impatient, or desire a cooler temperature, pop the plate of strawberries into the freezer for a minute or two.

Don't limit yourself to strawberries! The coconuty-taste really worked well with carrots too. Like a carrot cake with coconut frosting and a chocolate bonus.

For the extra-ambitious: in place of the mint extract, add a pinch of cayenne pepper. Let the chocolate firm up, then break it into pieces over vanilla dairy-free ice cream. This WILL blow your mind.

Under the sea, they'll be no accusations, just friendly crustaceans.

If you just want some good ol' favorites, pretzels, bananas, apple slices, and vegan marshmallows will all work great.

However, less can be more. The chocolate tastes great on its own. It was just my luck that I found this cute, marine-themed candy mold.

 They might be too coconut-y to be spread with peanut butter, but might be worth a shot. Or maybe some vegan cream cheese ... I am going to stop myself here before I get carried away.