Last week when I said, “I love food,” I really meant it. I love trying new foods, eating food people cook for me, savoring comfort foods, looking forward to my favorites, enjoying a healthy, fresh salad, dining out at restaurants – five star or complete dive – and most recently, cooking my own food for myself and others to try and hopefully, like. I’ll admit, while I enjoy the actual preparation or cooking of the food, I think I like finding out whether it’s a ‘hit or miss’ the best. I get so anxious waiting for my dish as it finishes cooking in the oven or as it’s setting in the fridge. I guess I just can’t wait to find out if all my hardwork has paid off. Or, maybe I just can’t wait to finally eat!
The other day, my anxiousness was eating up (lame pun intended) at me so badly, I wanted to scream. Instead of waiting the usually hour or so for my dish to bake in the oven, I had to wait a whole night and then some. Le horror! I’ve been seeing the breakfast cookie everywhere on the food blogosphere (thanks Brandi and Gina!) and I figured I should give it a try. But, Healthy Chow is always up for a challenge, so she decided to give the breakfast cookie her own little twist. This is where the anxiety comes in. Because I had no idea what a breakfast cookie even tasted like, let alone what it was going to be like in this ‘twisted’ version, I was dreaming about the result of this recipe in my sleep. And, I’m happy to report that it was a success. Alas, Healthy Chow can rest!
So without further ado, this is what was making Healthy Chow sleepless in Seattle (or Boston):
Easy No-Bake Fruit Tart
For the no-bake crust:
- 1 1/2 cup of oatmeal (I used the quick cooking oats, not instant)
- 2 TBSP of smooth Barney Butter ( I used the samples from my HLS swag bag – you can use any nut butter you see fit)
- 1/2 cup of unsweetened, natural applesauce
- 1/4 cup of unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze
- 2 TSP of ground flaxseeds (I used Trader Joe’s whole golden roasted flaxseeds that I ground)
- few shakes of cinnamon
- pinch of sea salt
For the filling (I like to call it, Lemony Coconut Ricotta Cream):
- 1 cup of nonfat ricotta cheese
- 2 TSP of organic golden honey (I used Nature’s Promise brand)
- 1 TBSP of organic shredded coconut ( I used Woodstock Farms brand)
- 1 TBSP of lemon juice
- dark chocolate shavings (I used Lindt Excellence 70% cocoa bar)
- 16 oz. of organic strawberries, hulled and sliced thin (Trader Joe’s – again!)
1) In a mixing bowl, mix your oatmeal, barney butter and applesauce. Once that gets well blended, add in your almond milk (Almond Breeze). You might need to add in a splash more, to loosen the mixture. Mix again. Then, add your shakes of cinnamon and pinch of sea salt.
2) Once your oatmeal mixture is well blended, spread onto a pie plate with the back of a spoon. Make sure to spread the mixture evenly, and get the sides as well. Then, add a few dashes of cinnamon to top it off.
3) Now here comes the waiting part…Place your tart ‘crust’ in the fridge overnight (I actually left mine in there for close to 24 hours). You want to give your tart crust time to set. The moisture from the almond milk and applesauce will soften the oatmeal, so don’t worry about having dry oats. However, as the always helpful and ever so clever, Brandi, mentioned to me, the oatmeal is going to be ‘thick and chewy’ and not hard and crunchy. I actually love the chewiness of the crust. It reminded me of a cross between an oatmeal cookie and a granola bar. Hello?…YUM!
4) Now, it’s time to make your filling. My good friend, Laura, gave me the idea of puréeing the ricotta in a food processor (I used a blender) to give the ricotta a creamier texture. Thanks Laura! So, in a blender or food processor, add your ricotta cheese, coconut, honey and lemon juice. Purée until you get a nice and creamy texture (it won’t take much). You might need to scrape down the sides and stir a little between each blend in the blender/food processor. Another tip here, my sister, Michelle (hi Michelle!), said an immersion blender would have been best in this sitch. (Thanks Michelle – Christmas is coming up – hint, hint)
5) Set your ricotta cream aside. Take out your tart crust from the fridge and start layering your fruit. I used strawberries, but feel free to use any fresh fruit you’d like. A combination of fresh fruit would have been great here – I’m thinking kiwi and blueberries, raspberries and blackberries, peaches and strawberries…you catch my drift…
6) Once your fruit has been layered ever so carefully on your crust, it’s time to start spreadin’ the new…. Just kidding! Start spreading your ricotta cream over your fruit layer. I left the outer edge of my strawberry layer uncovered to make it a bit more aesthetically pleasing…me thinks it worked!
7) Using a veggie peeler, start shaving some chocolate onto your tart. I only used a light dusting of chocolate – but feel free to make the chocolate shavings as thick as you’d like. Some dark chocolate chips would be fun here, too! Or, instead of the chocolate, you could sprinkle some more of the coconut.
8 ) I’m sorry to have to say this, but you’ll want to place your tart back in the fridge for another 30 minutes or so or long enough until everything is well chilled again. Once your tart has been chilled, cut and serve!
Serves 6
I really liked how this tart came out. The fresh strawberries (which were sweet enough on their own) were a great complement to the lemony and coconutty taste of the ricotta. The texture of the chewy oatmeal crust was a pleasant twist and gave the tart an interesting depth. While this recipe got its start from the breakfast cookie, I can easily see this being eaten for dessert, a snack or perhaps even dinner (if that’s the way you like to roll). The crust is hearty and filling while the ricotta gives the recipe a kick of protein. Plus, each slice of this tart was less than 200 calories. Not bad! With this breakfast, dessert, snack or whichever you want to call it (seems like this is starting to become a trend – hi Lauren!), you can be good and healthy even if it feels like you’re being a little tart…
What’s your favorite way to incorporate fruit into your dessert/breakfast?
Namasté,
Nicole
Hi, I'm Nicole and welcome to Healthy Chow. My last name is Chow and this is my journey to living a life that is healthy and well-balanced. That being said, I thought Healthy Chow would be an appropriate name for my blog! I love to eat, I'm growing my love to cook and I'm in love with family, yoga and creating my own jewelry. This blog was started as a way to remind myself (and the world) that there isn't just one definition of healthy. We each just need to find our own meaning. Please join me as I find mine.
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oh my goodness, what a great idea to make a larger one! This would be perfect to make when my family is here so I can share the cookie goodness
Seriously – it looks BEAUTIFUL! Great idea.
Thank you again for all your help, Brandi! I hope your family enjoys it as much as mine did. Can’t wait to see how yours comes out
What a delicious looking breakfast/dessert/snack! Like you said it could really pass for any especially since it’s full of high fiber carbs and lean protein.
Hi Eve,
Exactly! This tart is so filling, you could really have it for any meal of the day. Thanks for visiting!
oh….. this deserves a HOLY YUM~~~
I’ll definitely make it! thanks for sharing the recipe!
Thank you, Coco! I hope you like it!
Wow, this tart is GORGEOUS Nicole! I am absolutely making this sometime soon. I’m loving the dessert-for-breakfast trend
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Hi Lauren,
Agreed! Dessert for breakfast is awesome! I remembered your post and that’s why I had to give you a shout out
WOW! This looks delicious. I am definitely going to try it out!
Hi She-Fit,
Thanks so much! It’s definitely worth the wait…
WOW! People would be jealous if i had this for dessert, they may not believe it really is. Great job on this fruit tart! I’m trying not to drool…i like a lot! I love adding fruit to oatmeal or cereal.
Thank you, Nicci! I’m really happy with how it turned out. Too bad it’s all gone now…but the good news is, I can now make another!
that looks AMAZING! i have GOT to add that to my “to make” list!
Thanks Quisha! My ‘to make’ list is getting way too long….
Immersion blenders are great! They are relatively inexpensive and you can easily store them in a drawer.
I made butternut squash soup this weekend and tried to only use the immersion blender. Because the squash pieces were so big I had to take out the big blender. Oh well!
I am glad your tart came out well.
Hi Michelle,
Hahahaha! Your butternut squash soup is good! I remember you made that for me years ago. This past weekend was so cold and rainy – what a perfect idea! The tart was yum, too bad I didn’t save you any….
I know! And that’s why maybe you should get me one as a gift
Hi there! I just stumbled on your blog. Great job! And great job on that fruit tart…I will be giving that a try, for sure!
I’ll be reading!
Thank you so much, Shannon! I appreciate it. The tart is super easy. I hope you like it! Thanks for visiting my blog
Cool tart! I like that it’s no-bake and so wholesome!
Thanks Allie! It’s wholesome AND filling – perfect for breakfast and/or dessert.
wow could that look any more delicious?! what a great idea! my favorite fruit to include is blueberries
have a wonderful day!
Thank you, Kristen. Hmmm, I almost went with blueberries and peaches but went with strawberries when I saw them at Trader Joe’s. Hope school is treating you well.
I tried it! It is yummy and very filling. Thanks Nicole!
Thanks Ree! I’m glad you liked it. It was so much fun having you and your mom over for brekkie.
This looks fantastic! and i’d probably have it for breakfast and dessert
Hi Shannon,
I’ll admit, I had it for breakfast, a snack and for dessert one day….at least they were small pieces
Hi Nicole,
Thank you for sharing this recipe. I do have few questions and I would appreciate your advise. I am living in the South of Philippines and I’m not sure if some of the ingredients of the crust are available in where I am.
What do you think would be the most “generic” alternative to the following:
1. Barney Butter (is any regular butter ok?)
2. Apple sauce (can a fruit jam ok to be an alternative?)
3. Vanilla Almond Breeze (is any vanilla flavoring ok?)
4. Flaxseeds (this one we have it here but can this be optional? or any other alternative?)
5. sea salt (we also have it here but is ordinary iodized salt ok?)
I’m going to use it for my small food business so I’m trying to use a more cost-efficient ingredients which are readily available.
Thanks and I look forward to your response.
Best regards.
Hi Chic,
Thank you for visiting my blog. I appreciate it. I’ll do my best to answer your questions and to give you substitutes for the ingredients I used in my Easy No-Bake Fruit Tart.
1. Barney Butter (is any regular butter ok?) – Barney Butter is actually almond butter. So, you could use any kind of nut or soy butter.
2. Apple sauce (can a fruit jam ok to be an alternative?) – I think fruit jam would be quite nice. I would maybe add a bit of water to it to thin it out a bit before adding it to the crust.
3. Vanilla Almond Breeze (is any vanilla flavoring ok?) – The vanilla flavoring in the Almond Breeze (almond milk) is very faint. I would use lowfat or skim milk or even a soymilk with a splash of vanilla extract.
4. Flaxseeds (this one we have it here but can this be optional? or any other alternative?) – this can be omitted. I just used it in my recipe to add some extra Omega 3’s and dietary fiber.
5. sea salt (we also have it here but is ordinary iodized salt ok?) – regular table salt is perfectly fine.
Good luck with everything and please let me know if you have any further questions. Thank you again for your kind words.
Thank you,
Nicole
Dear Nicole,
Thank you so much for answering all my questions : ) I’ll try this recipe this weekend and I’ll keep you posted on the outcome using the alternatives.
You’ve been really helpful and I hope we’d see more of these oatmeal recipes.
God speed.
Glad I could be of help, Chic. Please do keep me informed if you make the recipe this weekend. I would love to hear all about it! Thank you again for your compliments and kind words.
Take care,
Nicole
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