Made with almond & oats, warm, juicy apples and sweetened with cinnamon these Apple Cinnamon Crumb Bars double as an anytime snack bar or holiday dessert.
Hello Hello Friends!
Welcome to another Monday! I don’t know about you, but I really need a new life or maybe just a new leg. Along with it I need a lot of coffee, alcohol, sleep or something. I feel like life is spitting bullets at me lately. I recently visited my doctors for two separate appointments and received some unexpected news. I have been scheduled to undergo two surgical procedures, and fortunately, neither of them relate to my recent tibia fracture. don’t even know where to begin.
Earlier this year when I had my ankle stress fracture my PT had a serious discussion with me about getting my bad hip checked out. Frankly, I put it off because it doesn’t bother me as long as I stay active and not in a brace, on crutches, in a boot or sitting all day long. When my tibia fractured this summer, she reminded me once again to get it checked. She believes the issues I’m having with my lower leg are related to hip instability. All the force of my body is going to the lower extremity. But I didn’t need to see a hip surgeon to tell me what I already knew was wrong.
Years ago I fractured my femur. Long story short, doctor didn’t operate soon enough and the head of the femur died from blood loss. Otherwise knows as avascular necrosis. At that time, I was 21 and was told I’d need a hip replacement within 6 months. That was sixteen years ago.
Taking my PT’s advice, I saw a surgeon who confirmed what I already knew. His words “your hip is destroyed & I have no idea how you are walking on it.” Apparently I still need a hip replacement. Probably will need four or five in my lifetime. He said given how young I am, the longer I can put it off the better. He wasn’t able to definitively tie the lower extremity issues to my hip instability. I already know my hormone imbalance is to blame for my weak bones, but possibly it’s only half the story.
After he told me about the surgery and how they slice your glutes in half, I was thinking no way, I am absolutely no way, no how doing this. He also told me I could never run again on a hip replacement which further rooted my decision.
I talked it over with my PT last week. She told me she knows plenty of people who run on hip replacements. I asked her to tell me in her honest opinion if she thought I needed to do it now. She said “you need do do it now.” She told me everyone feels a thousand times better when they do it. The thing that concerns me is I have such a high pain tolerance that it could be much worse than I know.
Truthfully, I know I have to do it very soon but I don’t want to. It feels unfair. It’s the cards I’ve been dealt so I have to deal with it. Maybe I will feel better like she said. At least that’s what I keep telling myself. So once I get off these crutches, I’ll be on a mission to find a surgeon.
I’ll save the second surgery update for later this week because we need to talk about these Apple crumb bars! If you like apple pie, apple crumble or apple cinnamon anything, these bars are meant for you! I’m in love with them. The texture is thick and the sweetness of the apples and cinnamon is perfection. Mom couldn’t stop eating them. She likes to warm hers in the microwave a bit then top with ReddiWip for a little dessert. The great thing about these bars is they double as an anytime snack or holiday dessert. I don’t know about you, but I have a hard time controlling myself around holiday desserts. The pre-portions help me keep things under wrap. I’m warning you though. These are so cinnamon-y good you may eat more than one. Happy baking!
Apple Cinnamon Crumb Bars
- 2 small apples, peeled, cored & cubed
- ½ cup coconut oil
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup almond flour
- 2 cups Gluten Free oat flour
- ½ cup Gluten Free rolled oats
- ½ cup Truvia baking blend brown sugar*
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 1 tbsp slivered almonds
- Preheat oven 200 degrees
- Prepare an 8×8 baking pan by lightly spraying it with nonstick cooking spray or use a nonstick pan
- In a medium bowl combine flours, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon & salt and mix to disperse evenly
- Then make a well in the flour
- To the well, add coconut oil & vinegar
- Disperse flour mixture into the liquid until absorbed by the flour mixture
- Remove ⅔ of the batter and press it evenly on the bottom of the baking pan
- Add even layer of apples on top of the batter
- With the remainder of the dough, sprinkle crumbs of the dough on top
- Add slivered almonds on top
- Bake 30 minutes
- Allow bars to cool in the pan 30 minutes before slicing into bars
- Eat bars warm or cold
- Store in the refrigerator in a container up to a week
Makes 16 bars, 189 calories each
*Can sub regular brown sugar or brown coconut sugar
Calories: 3366 Fat: 177g Saturated fat: 104g Unsaturated fat: 61g Carbohydrates: 413g Sugar: 141g Sodium: 1265mg Fiber: 30g Protein: 54g
