With colder months come the unwelcome cold & flu season.  Both of my kids are currently fighting nasty colds which include sneezing, coughing, runny noses, high temperatures and restless nights.  It’s an understatement to say my house is a tad run down and we’re all feeling a bit exhausted.  Luckily I’ve been able to avoid it so far but I’m currently in full ‘take care’ mode.

I felt the house could use a little pick-me-up.  So how about a treat that is heathy, refined sugar free and grain free (a bonus for me!)?

I used warming spices like cinnamon & ground ginger and a fresh fruit base for this wonderful dish.  The addition of raisins, cacao, pecans and ground sunflower seeds create a warming, almost healing dessert.  I realize this “treat” cannot defeat the common cold but it did do wonders to brighten the mood of my sick babies and brought some sunshine into their not so fun day.

The dessert is very simple to make and uses many staple pantry ingredients.  As an extra bonus, your entire house will smell amazing.

My favourite part? The delicious toasted pecans!

Apple & Pear Pecan Dessert

The Ingredients:

• 3 pears, sliced
• 3 small apples, cubed
• 28g raisins (I used two 14g individual boxes)
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 7 tsp sunflower seed flour*
• 1/8 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp cacao powder
• 2 tsp fresh lime juice
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1/4 cup pecan halves (or more if you so desire!)
• 1 tsp cacao nibs (optional)

* You can grind raw sunflower seeds in a regular blender, coffee grinder or a Vitamix grain attachment to make homemade sunflower seed flour

The steps:

• Grease deep square ceramic cooking dish
• Pre-heat oven to 375f
• Toss pears, apples, raisins, maple syrup, 2 tsp sunflower seed flour, ginger, cinnamon, cacao powder, fresh lime juice, olive oil together and mix well
• Place mixture into the prepared baking dish
• Top with 5 tsp sunflower seed flour, 1/4 cup pecan halves, and optional cacao nibs
  
• Bake in pre-heated oven for 20 minutes or until apples and pears are cooked to desired softness.
• Spoon onto serving plates
• Enjoy

If you’re in need of a delicious pick-me-up or crave a melt-in-your-mouth dessert then give this recipe a try!  I hope you enjoy.

Until next time,

Hollie