I’m Engaged! and Blackberry-Blueberry Crisp

I’m so excited to announce…I’m ENGAGED!!! Steve proposed on our two-year anniversary, which was Wednesday (July 11, 2012) and made it the happiest night of my life. I was totally surprised and it was perfect. I’m still grinning ear-to-ear! I feel so lucky to have found a best friend and genuinely loving man to spend the rest of my life with.

Cheers to that!
Now on to dessert! We went home to visit Steve’s dad last weekend and after a wonderful two days by the lake (there’s nothing better than sipping your morning coffee on a deck, overlooking the water), we trekked home, with a large bag of wild blackberries as our parting gift. Immediately, I made plans for the berries…a few for my yogurt and oatmeal, the rest for a Crisp, Baked Berries, and maybe some Quick Jam! We’ll see how the rest pans out but so far I’ve managed the yogurt and oatmeal (imagine that) and decided I just had to have the Crisp next.

I love any kind of fruit crisp, especially because you can strategically eliminate the flour and make it a surprisingly healthy dessert. Here’s my healthier version that will make you feel like you’re indulging, but it’s wholesome enough to have for breakfast! I made a mini version that feeds two generously, but you can always double or triple the recipe to fit a larger square baking dish!

Blackberry-Blueberry Crisp

*I make my own by pulsing oats in a food processor until they are very fine. You can sometimes find oat flour in natural food stores too.
**I’ve read a lot on coconut sugar and it is a low glycemic sweetener. It smells richer than sugar but it is a perfect replacement for sugar in baked goods like these. You can use brown sugar if you prefer though, or if you don’t have coconut sugar.

~Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray your baking dish with nonstick spray.
~In a bowl, combine the berries, lemon juice, Splenda and oat flour. Stir until completely combined. Pour this into your prepared baking dish.
~In a small bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients (coconut sugar, Splenda, oats, salt and cinnamon). Stir the ingredients together. Pour them over the top of the berries in an even layer. Use your cooking spray to quickly spray a layer over the top of the oat mixture topping.
~Bake for 35-40 min or until you can see the berries bubbling throughout the dish. Then, if the top isn’t browned yet, turn on your broiler for 3-5 min to finish browning the top. Carefully remove the dish from the oven. Let cool to thicken, then enjoy!
This dish is certainly delish all by itself or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, but I’d recommend trying it on top of a scoop of nonfat Greek yogurt!