Crumbly Goodness

I'm one of those girls who would love to be able to cook but who doesn't really have the know-how. Because it's just been the two of us living in our partially-furnished rental apartment here in London, we don't really own any fancy kitchen equipment. We don't even have a mixer or food processor. In fact, the most technological of our appliances are a toasted sandwich machine & a blender; which we inherited from friends when they left the country.

There's never been much point in investing a lot of money into buying new and fancy products because it's not like we can just throw them into our moving van and take them to our next flat when we move: because we'll be moving abroad. Again. So yes, we've been living off limited kitchen resources for the past three years, and this is how it will stay until we move home and stock up our own kitchen! {I'm SO excited to do this, you have no idea.}

Oh KitchenAid mixer, one day you will be mine. Won't you?
We also tend to have fairly basic ingredients in our pantry too; being that there is just the two of us, we buy things that we cook and eat as we go. The past few months have seen me stockpiling basic baking ingredients, but I certainly can't just fling my cupboard or fridge doors open and find certain spices/flavourings/cooking products.

What that means is that I'm constantly on the lookout for simple recipes, using simple ingredients, using single equipment. That's not a lot to ask right? Oh wait, yes, it also needs to be low calorie. Easy, no?

Today I was feeling really uninspired. I was mooching around the apartment and craving something sweet - I tend to get the munchies either in the middle of the afternoon or just after dinner. As you know, I've been following a healthy eating plan for the past few weeks but I don't like to limit myself as to what I can or can't eat.. so it's nice to be able to plan meals in advance when you know what your likely downfalls are going to be. I have a lot of low calories snacks in the house - cheddar oat bakes, low GI chocolate chip oat biscuits, random bits of fruit and even the occasional Cadbury big bar of chocolate. (3 squares of deliciousness = just under 100cals, yes please!)

Today, none of those snacks would do; I wanted something different. I wanted to bake something. So what does any hungry girl on a diet do? Why, she googles, of course. She googles naughty, naughty things and ends up craving all sorts of Sugar! Carbs! Sugar! Starch! Sugar! Did I say Sugar!? Mmm. Baked things. Cakes. Pies. Macaroons. Muffins.

I didn't cave, you guys, because we didn't have the right ingredients to make any of them I am a strong willed healthy machine. But I did still find myself really, really snackish, so kept on looking.

I settled on stewing some apples, thinking that I'd have some of them with custard or yoghurt to satisfy the sweet cravings. Then I got to searching for apple crumble recipes.. and I found one which I adapted to suit my current ingredients & equipment {or lack thereof.} And wouldn't you know, it was pretty darned good. It was super easy to make, it tasted great considering how little was involved, and I made do with my own estimates at amounts.. because er, we don't have kitchen scales and I like/need to be creative with my measurements.

I wish I'd thought to take a picture while it was in the pan and fresh out of the oven, but instead you'll have to check out one of the small portion servings I made up, minus the low fat yoghurt I dolloped on top.
Unfortunately this picture doesn't do it justice either because a) it was the dodgy, fallen-apart piece that I decided to eat {so that Jase could have the nice, NORMAL looking slice, such a good fiancé I am!} and b) it is kind of a blurry iPhone pictures. Bygones.. I'll take a better one next time I make it, promise.

Seeing that I don't use exact measurements, replicating the crumble might be a little bit tricky, but it's worth playing around with if you're so inclined. Here's my take on a simple & easy apple crumble recipe that could serve 2-3 or 4, depending on how much of it you want to shovel into your pie-hole. Mmmm. Pie.

Ingredients:
2 apples, peeled & sliced
sweetener or sugar {whichever floats your boat}
1tsp cinnamon {ground preferably, grating cinnamon sticks resulted in FAIL}
80-100g rolled oats {or any oats, really; I used 2x portion control servings from my diet plan}
1/4-1/2cup plain flour {add it gradually, you may not use it all}
3-4tsp margarine or butter {again, add it as you go along}
You'll also need a shallow baking dish - or a loaf cake tin
Preparation:
Pre heat oven to around 180 degree {celsius!}
Peel your apples and place them into your greased dish/pan.
Realise you forgot a step; take them out again, throw them into a mixing bowl {or, if you're me, a protein powder mix shaker} with about 2tbs sweetener & cinnamon.
Shake it all together so your apples are coated, then place them back into your greased dish/pan.
Mix together oats, flour and sweetener and begin rubbing in margarine until mix starts sticking together.
Coat apple with crumble mixture & bake for 30-35 minutes.
Do you have any simple to make and low calorie meals you'd like to share? Share the cooking love!


6 Comments • Labels: ,  

6 comments:

Karen said...

How about you put the Kitchen Aid on your wedding registry? I bet you'll get loads of gifts then, so maybe stick with the basics till then (it's only six months till your wedding from when you go back to AUS anyway, right?).
I'll definitely have to try the apple crumble sometime. As you know, I am a sucker for all things sweet. If I come across any recipes that are weight loss compatible, I'll post them up on my other blog. You know where. ;)

Mary (A Merry Life) said...

I totally agree with the previous comment. Put it on the registry. You might get lucky and get it!

Britt said...

I adore my kitchen aid. It rocks my socks off. Usually when I want a low cal treat I make angel food cake. But the mixer makes it super easy. I used to make apple crumble all the time, but I tend to eat hoards of it so it's a bad idea for me.
I baked 150 cookies today (way to go for getting things off the wedding list!) that were neither low fat nor have few ingredients. I only had one though! How's that for restraint!

Emily Jane said...

Apple crumble and custard is AMAZING... as long as the crumble's piping hot and the custard's Ambrosia straight out of the fridge. ALMOST as good as rhubarb crumble... maybe I'll make one of those this weekend; now I'm craving it too!

Anonymous said...

I made an awesome apple pie for the 4th of July. It was anything but healthy though. And my Kitchen Aid is something I absolutely cannot live without - put in on your wedding registry!

Chantel said...

Oh Kitchen Aid! I'd love one too someday (A red one) but I have plans to travel and have put purchases like this on hold...

And low calorie cooking... I need some inspiration too. I've been living off sushi lately..

I'm going to start to worry if I want it for breakfast... LOL





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