Easy Gluten Free Living & Fruit Crumble

I'm slowly easing back into blogging since we welcomed Mr. S into the family, and as I've browsed older posts on here, I realized I haven't said much about being gluten free, which surprises me since living gluten free is so important to my family!

2 years ago I made a decision to forever change my diet by saying goodbye to gluten. It was a decision that should have been made years before, (I had had the bloodwork and endoscopy reports proving I was allergic to gluten in my possession since I was a teen,) but I had been too afraid and too lazy to make the change. But 2 years ago, I hit a breaking point. I was in my early 20s, only 3 years into my marriage, with a one year old daughter and I felt like an old woman. I was overweight, had no energy, struggled with chronic joint pain and muscle fatigue, and had weekly migraines.

About 10 weeks after strictly following a gluten free diet, I started seeing miraculous results. Weight started coming off that hadn't budged in years, my migraines disappeared, I had a surge of new energy and started working out again (and actually enjoyed it for the first time in years, as my joint pain started to disappear,) and my appetite and cravings for junk were greatly diminished as I believe the healing that took place in my gut enabled me to start absorbing my food for the first time in a long time.

Living gluten free has changed my life for the better in so many ways, and I'm always so excited to share my successes with my friends. One thing that drives me crazy, though, is that I run across so many people who would like to benefit from this way of life, but are afraid of giving up good food and having to learn a whole new way of cooking. Maybe I can use this little old blog to be an encouragement to those of you out there who feel this way. It's been 2 years of being gluten free for me, and I am continually surprised how so many of my old favorite foods can very easily be made gluten free (and healthier!) and how learning to cook good gluten free food isn't half as scary or difficult as I once worried it would be.

Which brings me to this wonderfully simple, delicious fruit crumble recipe.

My pastor's wife, who is also gluten free, brought this crumble over for us while I was recovering after just having Silas, and it is SO good. When she shared the recipe with me I was shocked at the simplicity of the ingredients. I love recipes that are simple and versatile. This recipe can adapt to whatever you have in your kitchen (or garden) and turn out fabulously each and every time.

Preheat oven to 375*F.

4 apples or peaches (or a mix of both) peeled, cubed and placed in a lightly greased casserole dish.

1 - 2 cups of blueberries, blackberries, or raspberries (whatever tickles your fancy. We have a freezer full of freshly picked blueberries so that's what we used.)

For the crumble topping, just mix 1 cup of gluten free oats (we use Bob's Red Mill brand) with 1 cup dark brown sugar, a half teaspoon of cinnamon and one stick of softened butter. Blend with a fork until very well mixed.

Then you simple pack the oat mix on top of the fruit and bake uncovered for 30 minutes.

It can stand up on its own, but is really decadent with whipped cream, yogurt or ice cream on top. A perfect summer dish!