Is your mouth already watering? Mine too! And while nothing quite compares with a home-baked apple pie, it is a time-consuming endeavor. In search of a good substitute, I found a recipe for a hearty, tasty apple crisp. I am especially pleased with the lower amount of sugar in this recipe than most. To my palate, a syrupy, sugary recipe ruins a good apple crisp (or any other fruit dessert). With less sugar, you can enjoy all of the flavors, especially the apple!

Recipe:

• 5 cups thinly sliced apples
  
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
  
• 1/4 cup water
  
• 1/2 cup flour
  
• 1/2 cup oatmeal
  
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
  
• 1 tsp nutmeg
  
• dash salt
  
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
  
• 1 cup chopped nuts
  

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Toss the apples with lemon juice and water. In a separate bowl, combine flour, oatmeal, sugar, nutmeg, and salt. Mix thoroughly. Using a pastry blender, add in butter. Add nuts. Transfer apples, with the liquid, to a 9 inch square pan. Cover the apples with the flour mixture. Bake 40-45 minutes until top is brown. Best served warm.

Serves 6-9, depending on how much everyone wants!

Another bonus to this dessert is fiber. It is recommended that we get 20-25 grams per day in our diet, which for many people is a challenge. Apples and oatmeal are both excellent sources of fiber.

In an effort to be fit and healthy, the calorie value of foods is important. So is the taste factor. A good question to ask about any food is, "Does this food meet my requirements for taste and nutrition, while containing an acceptable number of calories for me to reach my goals?" When a dessert answers "yes" to all three, it has my vote!