Low GI, low sugar, low fat flapjack Recipe

When we visited Paris – I was delighted with the cakes and pastries mostly because they don’t use as much sugar as we do in the UK.

Like so many others at this time of the year, I am trying to eat less sugar and fat but weaning off sugar is not easy! I find 4 0’clock is when my body craves a sugary snack, so I thought I would come up with a healthy alternative – where I can indulge a little sweetness without nullifying my exercise sessions! While a lot of flapjacks in shops look healthy, they are usually packed with too much sugar or fat.

This is made in layers – for the base and crumble topping you need:

200g or 2 teacups of rolled oats

150g, or 1 1/2 tea cups of wholewheat flour

2 oz or 50g of Apple puree (apple sauce is a good alternative if you don’t make your own)

2 oz or 50g of butter or you can use coconut butter

Fruit sugar or honey – 1 – 2 tbsp depending on taste

The fruit layer

Fruit – cherries, blueberries, blackberries approx 1 lb

Arrow root

Fruit sugar or honey – 1 – 2 tbsp depending on taste

Firstly, mix the flour, oats into a bowl and rub in the butter, then add enough apple puree to bring the ingredients together – aim for crumbly rather than paste. Add a little sugar to taste, (if you bought your applesauce then it might contain enough sugar) Try to keep it to 1 tbsp if you can.

Set aside about 1/4 of this mixture for the topping, and then press the rest into a well greased, (or lined with parchment) swiss roll tin, (8 by 6 inch).

Bake in a medium oven (baking oven on aga, GM 6, 180c) for around 10 minutes. This makes the base nice and crisp.

While the base is baking, put your fruit into a saucepan and enough water to just cover the bottom of the pan and slowly bring to a simmer. You can add sugar or honey to taste, or without if you prefer. Once the fruit is soft take off the heat.

In a small cup, mix a little 1tsp of arrowroot with water to form a milky solution – add it to the fruit mixture and stir rapidly, until the sauce thickens.

Add the fruit topping to the cooked base and sprinkle with the reserved 1/4 topping. Return to the oven until the top is golden brown.

Cut into slices and allow to cool.

This recipe cuts down on the amount of butter by using apple sauce and you can reduce the sugar down to make it less sweet. If you are trying to wean yourself off sugar then this is a great alternative to cakes or the sugar laden flapjacks. These will stay in an airtight tin for a few days ! if you can leave them that long!