Easy Paleo Strawberry Crisp

June 1, 2015

Easy Paleo Strawberry Crisp


Ever seen those runners during a race who so effortlessly can drink water out of those tiny paper cups without spilling a drop?
I'm not one of them.
I can’t even count how many races I’ve completed in my life: Ironman, Triathlons, marathons, half-marathons, 10Ks, 5Ks, etc.
Not a single time I managed to drink from those paper cups.

Easy Paleo Strawberry Crisp





This is how it usually goes: I approach the water station and I make eye contact with one of the (amazingly-awesome) volunteers. Then she/he holds a cup and I reach for it, but nine times out of ten instead of grabbing the cup, I splash the water into her/his face.
I then grab a cup from the next person. I try to drink but instead I dump all of the water — usually on my shoes, more often on my shirt.
At the third attempt, I remember that it’s better to slow down a little bit. So I grab the cup and I squeeze the top of it together to create a sort of funnel — that way the water comes out more in one controlled stream.
But even then I cannot for the life of me drink the water inside the cup. It just ends up everywhere except for my mouth.

Easy Paleo Strawberry Crisp




Another method I tried was to just throw a couple of cups towards my face and hope some would get in my open mouth.
It sort-of-worked until I grabbed by accident a cup full of Gatorade and threw it in my eyes. It was not funny.
You only need to throw Gatorade in your eyes once to never do that again.

Easy Paleo Strawberry Crisp




As a result of all these failures I started carrying with me a thing called Hydra Pouch (a sort of soft water bottle) so that I can drink when I want and not have to worry about water stops.
But I have to be honest here, carrying water sucks.
Though not having water (and not being able to drink from water cups) sucks even more. What a conundrum...
Fortunately in triathlons you don’t really have to worry about water stations, because you can drink during transitions plus I have a water bottle on my bike, and drinking while pedaling is so simple. So, so simple!

Easy Paleo Strawberry Crisp




You know what else is simple?
This strawberry crisp.
Strawberries are often my fruit of choice because no matter what you place them in — a pie, a crumble, or even a salad — it tends to be bursting with bright, juicy flavor.
They're also the perfect fruit if you are looking for a splash of color.
This is where this strawberry crisp comes in. A perfect, quick dessert that is filled with fruity goodness.
Strawberries are definitely the star of this dessert, they are topped with a delicious almondy crumb that gets super crunchy once baked.
In only 30 minutes of baking time, the strawberries form a sweet, slightly sticky, delicious syrup.
I’m telling you, it’s way simpler to make this strawberry crisp than drinking water from a paper cup while running. Trust.

Easy Paleo Strawberry Crisp                                                                                   Print this recipe!

Ingredients
Serves 6

Fruit

4 cups / 17.5 oz / 500 gr strawberries, halved
2 tablespoons arrowroot powder (or tapioca starch or cornstarch)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon maple syrup (or honey)

Topping

1 cup / 4 oz / 110 gr almond flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill)
½ teaspoon fine grain sea salt
3 tablespoons extra virgin coconut oil (or butter)
3 tablespoons maple syrup (or honey)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C) and place a rack in the middle.
In a large bowl toss halved strawberries, tapioca starch, vanilla extract, and maple syrup. Set aside.
In another bowl mix together almond meal and salt. Add maple syrup and coconut oil and with your hands (or a pastry cutter) cut in the coconut oil until the mixture begins to form crumbs. Set aside.
Grease a 9-inch baking pan or a cast-iron skillet (or 6 individual ramekins).
Scrape the strawberry mixture into the baking pan.
Spread the topping over the fruit in an even layer.
Bake in the oven for about 25 minutes or until the topping has browned and the fruit bubbling.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool 10 minutes before serving.

Nutrition facts

One serving yields 248 calories, 17 grams of fat, 23 grams of carbs, and 5 grams of protein.

31 comments:

  1. Delicious! And a perfect way to start using up the 10+ lbs of strawberries we have.

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  2. Hahaha what a specific issue! Also totally agree that water station volunteers are angels on earth. They're so positive and I love it. These crisps are adorable, I have mini tart pans like those and they need to be put to better use :) Pinning!

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  3. I always end up crushing those paper cups before I get to drink the water!

    I like how you and I both posted strawberry desserts but on different ends of the healthy spectrum haha

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    1. Ha! Our desserts totally compensate each other, right?

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  4. I did the Gatorade thing once, and agree you do that only once, and never again!

    Not that I hit my eyes with it, but I dumped all over my neck and it is sooooo unpleasant (I hate sticky messes)

    Love these strawberry crisps.... super cute!

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    1. I hate Gatorade, it's so sugary and full of colorants, bleh!

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    2. I grabbed it by mistake, actually - I cannot stand it, particularly in the middle of a run... water is the only thing I can have. In fact, those energy gels give me a stomach pain within minutes. Such a delicate flower, I am... ;-)

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  5. This one looks super scrumptious my friend. LOVE desserts like this and thanks for the visual and laughs. Your writing of reaching for and splashing your needed water was quite funny and no, Gatorade is no bueno for the eyes, plus you still had to run all sticky. Bummer...

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    1. Gatorade is no bueno for the eyes, and no bueno for drinking either. Too sugary, better to stick to water!

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  6. Perfect timing on this one. I have strawberries AND I've been craving a crisp or cobbler. I made xylitol sweetened jam with half of the organic batch and will use the other have for a mini version of this recipe. Once upon a time...I had a vegan gluten free dessert biz (for 6 years!) You're one of the few food blogs I follow now. Different time, but I still eat ;)

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    1. I'm flattered to be one of the few food blogs you follow, THANK YOU for that! :)

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  7. HAHAHAHA! I thought the Gatorade incident was pretty hilarious. Yeah...Sorry! I laughed... loud, hard, I mean really. I laughed. Sorry man, it's just that I got a visual, you know. I couldn't help it.

    And you say drinking while pedaling is easy? I think NOT! I'm notorious for dropping my bottle while trying to drink from it, and for some reason, it inevitably ends up in the ditch. I once came home full of scratches and covered in mud, all that because I tried to quench my thirst. My water bottle had decided to fight me and it won, apparently.

    Maybe we oughta remain thirsty my friend, it's better for our safety! ;)

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    1. There are a couple tricks I could teach you to safely drink water while pedaling, they work pretty well!

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  8. But on the other hand, this issue with water sounds quite refreshing - what could be better that a few splashes of water on your outfit on a hot day during a marathon? Moreover, those folks should be appreciated for some water in their face. At least I would be happy. Needless to say, those crisps are lovely - old good way to incorporate your strawberries in a dessert! Well done!

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    1. TBH the volunteers never complain about it, not even in winter. That's why I think they're amazing!

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  9. If I was ever a water volunteer at a race you were running in, I would totally run alongside you to make the water handoff easier. I mean, that's what relay teams do, right? Or maybe I would just throw the water in your face as you ran by just to save you from doing it yourself. It all depends on whether you send me one of these strawberry crisps before the race. Deal? #WolfpackEats

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    1. Are we talking about wolfpack relays? We should do that!

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  10. The transition into introducing this recipe is awesome haha. I'm just bad about drinking water from any sort of cup/water bottle....daily struggles! This crisp looks awesome and perfect for summer, Mike!

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  11. Carrying water isn't fun at all - but, dude - maybe you could have David's taco cannon reprogrammed to shoot water? Oh wait...scratch that...a cannon blast of water might send you back to the starting line of a marathon and that wouldn't be fun at all either! Ugh! Sorry dude, guess you gotta stick with this pouch of yours! I know if I could scarf this strawberry crisp at a "water" station, I wouldn't even let a crumb drop - that crumb topping sounds so good!

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    1. The pouch is not so bad, not the best but not so bad...

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  12. What a delicious recipe!! This sounds like the perfect strawberry crisp - really wishing I wasn't allergic to strawberries right now!!! I will have to make it with raspberries instead. The topping sounds absolutely mouthwatering too - I love that you used almond flour!

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  13. What? You don't like packing all that water weight around!!! In all seriousness it really is a conundrum (love that word)! I've never solved it myself but there has to be a better way to carry it with you, my main problem is how it starts to slosh around once you've drank some of it - drives me crazy! I've been loving the desserts you've come up with lately, simple perfection is always best!

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    1. Don't get me started on the sloshing part, it drives me insame!

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  14. Wow, what a segway! Not able to drink from paper cups to strawberries :) So does that mean you've got runs in the future if your thinking about cups?
    These little strawberry crisps look amazing! Your food always looks so good I want to dive right in!

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  15. I hate carrying water even on my hikes. I am always impressed at how effectively some can drink, I could never do it too.
    That crisp is amazing..imagine if we could get a slice while running, wouldn't mind that at all.

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  16. I made this and it is really delicious. I am satisfied with less sweetness, so I cut the maple syrup in half for the crumble. Definitely a keeper! Thanks!

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