Raw Vegan Pear and Apple Crisp with Raisins

Pears, apples and raisins tossed with Fruit-Fresh produce protector.

One cup of fruit processed with soaked dates and nutmeg.

Raw crisp from processed walnuts, almonds and dates.

Prepared fruit being topped with crisp.

Completed pear and apple crisp in an 8 x 8 glass pan.

Pears and Apples are Wonderful Together

We've got boxes of harvested apples and pears thanks to generous friends with fruit trees. We love making raw crisps (see my recipe for Raw Vegan Peach and Blueberry Crisp). Since we enjoy both apple crisp and pear crisp, Doug and I thought we'd try putting them together. The juicy pears and crispy apples make a great combination.

Just Fruit and Nuts

If you've never tried a raw crisp before, you won't believe how good it is. And healthy too. The crisp is sweetened by the fruit itself along with the Medjool dates and seedless raisins. There is no added sugar. Nor is there any butter. The only fat is that from the heart healthy almonds and walnuts. This dessert is low in saturated fat and has zero cholesterol and nearly 6 grams of fiber per serving. The walnuts alone provide almost 1 g of omega 3 per serving.

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Raw Vegan Pear and Apple Crisp with Raisins [serves 8]

For the Crisp

1/2 cup raw almonds

3/4 cup raw walnuts

3 Medjool dates, unsoaked

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon salt

For the Filling

3 cups thinly sliced peeled and cored pears

3 cups thinly sliced peeled and cored apples

2 teaspoons Fruit-Fresh produce protector

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

4 Medjool dates, pitted and soaked for 1 hour

1/4 cup seedless raisins

To make the crisp, place almonds in a food processor with an S blade and process until coarse. Add walnuts, dates, cinnamon and salt and process until the mixture begins to stick together. Remove mixture and set aside. Don't wash the food processor, you'll be using it again.

To make the filling, place the pears and apples in a large bowl and toss with the Fruit-Fresh produce protector. Remove one cup of this filling and place in the food processor. Drain the soaked dates but don't squeeze out the moisture. Add them and the nutmeg to the food processor and process until smooth, scraping down the sides when necessary. Stir mixture into the bowl of sliced fruit along with the raisins.

Spread 1/3 of the crisp on the bottom of an 8" x 8" pan. Place all of the filing on top of it. Sprinkle the remaining crisp over the filling. Serve immediately or refrigerate. It will keep for several days.

Per serving: 246 calories, 11.6 g fat, 1.0 g saturated fat, 0 g cholesterol, 4.1 g protein, 27.5 g carbohydrates and 5.6 g of fiber.