Blackberry and Raspberry Cobbler with Monk Fruit

Blackberry and Raspberry Cobbler

Blackberry and Raspberry Cobbler with Monk Fruit

Recently, I was diagnosed with borderline diabetes, and that I need to lose 25.5 lbs, (will recheck in October bc Dr. wants to make sure that it wasn't a mistake, since I drank coffee with creamer before the test. I had to have something and coffee makes me happy. 😬)  The words from my Doctor hit me with a, near, knock out punch. I was a mess, mentally and emotionally. 

Ok, boom, pow, I took the hits now it's time to get up and dust off my boots.  What's next dear Dr. Carpio?  He said, cut the sugar, eat lots of fruits and veggies and lose 25.5 pounds, then, as always he smiled.

Ok.  Cut sugar. I can do that.  Lose 25.5 lbs.......that's the challenge, but I will do my very best.  In college and shortly after, I used starvation to lose weight, therefore, I don't weigh myself because it triggers the starvation mindset and becomes an obsession.  I must come up with something else.  I consulted a Specialist to help me lose the fat in a healthy  manner. Weight loss in progress.

Next, cutting the sugar.  I love sweet tea, I love ice cream, I love cake, I love sweets.  I hate diet anything.  I can't use artificial sweetners because I have an allergy to something in them and my head starts buzzing, no kidding.  I have long since abandoned, as many things as possible, that contain GMO's and are not organic.  The research into an effective, natural sweetener began.

I can not emphasis more, DO YOUR RESEARCH, there are many "natural" sweetners out there that are only "natural" because a part of it came from nature at one point. Just because something says "natural" doesn't mean healthy. Take Agave syrup, it is terrible for you!  "Most agave syrup has higher fructose content than any commercial sweetener -- ranging from 70 to 97 percent, depending on the brand, which is FAR HIGHER than high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), which averages 55 percent."

While some Stevia products do contain stevia, they  also contain chemicals. The FDA has not approved pure Stevia for use as a sweetener, as seen in this excerpt from an article written by the Mayo Clinic. "Note that although the FDA has approved highly refined stevia preparations as a novel sweetener, it has not approved whole-leaf stevia or crude stevia extracts for this use."  Key words, "highly refined," code for adding chemicals in the refining process.  That's why Stevia still has an after taste, as do other "sweeteners." My sister bought me some Stevia plants, and when I take a leaf from the Stevia plant and chew on it, or add it to my tea, there is NO aftertaste.  Sigh, why does the FDA approve chemicals but not the natural/actual plant????

In my research I found Monk Fruit.  As you all know, I have food allergies so I have to be extra careful with regards to what I put in my body.  Lots of research later, I found out that the monk fruit  is a gourd and part of the pumpkin family.  Good news for me, I'm not allergic to pumpkins.  Yes!  I also learned that the area the Monk Fruit is harvested, has more Centanarians than any other part of the world. Also good news.  Monk fruit got it's name because the Chinese Monks used it medicinally, it's actual name is Luo Han Guo.  Some of the most important health benefits of monk fruit include its ability to treat diabetes, help with weight loss, lower inflammation, eliminate fever, prevent certain types of cancer, protect the heart, prevent allergies, and prevent signs of aging.  Monk Fruit is also 300 times sweeter than cane sugar.  Could this be true?  Only one way to find out, buy some.

While searching for Monk fruit, I found that 99% of all monk fruit sweetners are mixed with something.  For instance, dextrose is mixed with a popular "raw" sweetener.  Dextrose is a sugar, anyting with "ose" is a sugar.  How can it be raw, if it's mixed with something?  It can't have a lot of monk fruit in it for two reasons, #1 Dextrose is listed first in the ingredients and #2 monk fruit is brown, not white.  If a monk fruit sweetner is white, it's not pure.  There are other "monk fruit" sweeteners out there, but they all have an added ingredient or more.  Also, since Monk Fruit is approximately 300 times sweeter than sugar, and the container says that 1 teaspoon, is a serving, it can't be pure, right?  I want PURE, 100% pure.  So I searched Organic and found a product with 100% pure monk fruit in it.   I purchased it, and WOW.  Just WOW!

I'm not trying to do an ad, but I have to share!  Monk Fruit, pure, 100% organic Monk Fruit is BOMB!  It's is delicious,  no aftertaste, it dissolves in cold drinks, hot drinks, it doesn't break down into a chemical mess when it's added to baked goods.  It is out of this world.  My son with a massive sweet tooth even likes it!  Here's a picture of it:

This is the scooper included in the container. 

The container says 1 gram is a serving, and there are 100 servings in each container. NO WAY, there's probably more like 300 servings in there, simply because it's SO sweet!

This is about how much I use in my coffee, probably less.  It is super super sweet!

I have been using the Monk Fruit for about a month and I have to tell you, I don't miss sugar at all!  This stuff is so sweet that you have to be very careful with how much is used.  I carry it with me,  and my friend asked me to sweeten her tea with it.  (I've given up Sweet Tea, I order Unsweet and put Monk Fruit in it.)  I kept shaking a little in at a time, and she said more....more.....I accidentally dumped more, a lot more!  We both gasped in horror, that tea would be way too sweet to drink!  Thankfully, the tea was so strong that it was ok.  

If you have been following my blog, you see that we love cobblers!  I tried to make cobbler with a little bit of monk fruit and no sugar whatsoever.  I'd never tried to cook with the monk fruit before so I didn't use enough causing the end product to not be as good.  I tried again and this one, well, that's why there's a picture of an empty dish.  I took the cobbler out of the oven, and the two, 10 year old, boys were trying to taste it while it was bubbling hot.  I had to defend it against them until it could be plated.  In all the turmoil, I didn't take a picture of the "before."  I did get a picture of the "after," like less than 15 minutes after, literally.  

Enough Jabber.....Here's the recipe!  Try it and let me know your thoughts in the comments!!!

Blackberry and Raspberry Cobbler with Monk Fruit

1/2 Stick organic butter

1/4 cup organic brown sugar

1 cup organic flour

1 organic egg

1/2 cup 2% organic milk

1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk

1 scoop of Organic Monk Fruit apx. 1gram (scoop included in pkg.)

pinch kosher salt

1 teaspoon aluminum free baking powder

1/2 cup Blackberries (or fruit of your choice)

1/2 cup Raspberries

Heat oven to 350 degrees

Put casserole dish in oven with the butter, allowing it to melt

Pull out when butter is completely melted

Sprinkle the brown sugar on the the melted butter

In a bowl mix the flour, egg, milks, monk fruit, salt and baking powder

Pour over the butter and the brown sugar

Drop berries on top of the batter, (don't completely cover the batter but put as many as you like on top.)

Bake in the oven for 30-45 minutes until top is golden brown and bubbly.  

Let cool before serving, with a scoop of frozen whipped topping. (freezing it gives it the consistency of ice-cream, which satisfies our sweet tooth, but with 1 gram of sugar and 25 calories for 2 tablespoons.  compare to your favorite vanilla ice cream and you'll see this is a "diet" SCORE!)

credits:  Agave: Marcola, click on link to go to page. Stevia: Mayo Clinic, click on link to go to page. Monk Fruit: Organic Facts, click on link to go to page.  Links are highlighted in blog.

Old Fashioned Blackberry Cobbler Recipe

The field behind our house is full of wild blackberry bushes.  The brambles rise up to the light, full of red berries and the ripened blackberries.  My mouth is watering just thinking about it.  We have 12 acres, and nearly every where you look there are blackberry bushes.  Some are surrounded by poison ivy, some right along the trails that are cut through the thick underbrush, and some just waving in the breeze among the high grass.  You'd think we would have so many blackberries, we'd be sick of them.  Maybe we could pick so many of them we could sell them at the Farmers Market.  You'd think and you'd be wrong.  Those blackberries are very sought after, and not just by us, but by the animals that live in the field.  We are nestled at the base of a mountain, altitude about 2400 feet above sea level.  

While we do not live IN the mountain, we have a plethora of wild animals to compete with for the blackberries.  One of which is a fat, black bear.  That's right, a bear.  He lives in the field behind our house, periodically breaking into our trash cans to have a feast. Last year were able to only pick one small bowl of blackberries before  he grumped at us, causing us to beat a hasty retreat.  This year, I was determined I would get more than one bowl.  If we don't pick them as soon as they turn black, the bear, deer, skunks, raccoons, possum, squirrels and a variety of birds will pick the vines clean.  I was able to pick the berries 2 times.  I got enough to freeze, which is wonderful, although I doubt they'll make it to the winter because of our love of cobbler.  A few weeks ago, when the red berries were turning black, a friend went to pick some berries.  He has been in the country his whole life of 72 years, and armed with 4 wheeler and a pistol (to scare, not harm, the bear) he went into the field.  A short time later, he came back out.  He said he was picking berries and heard something following him in the bushes.  He looked down at one point and saw a pile of bear poo.  Jumping on the 4 wheeler, clutching his prize of berries he came back to the house. Having admitted he was scared of the bear he thanked me for the berries and left.  I decided I best not go pick anymore either.  Once the berries are scarce, the bear might be a little less fearful and more aggressive since his winter survival would be in question.   

This is a picture of a Mama bear and her cub that frequent my Dad's property.  She is a black bear, the same as the bear who occupies the field.  As my child would say, "Cute, but not cuddly."  I should say so!  Nonetheless, I managed to get some delicious, fresh blackberries and made a fantastic Blackberry cobbler.  I made a video of the process.  Trying something new on my blog.  Hope you enjoy it! 

Old Fashioned Blackberry Cobbler

1/2 stick organic butter
1 cup organic milk
1 cup organic flour
3/4 cup organic sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 organic egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
Blackberries (or any other fruit you like)

Pre-heat oven to 350 F
Place 1/2 stick of butter in 2 8x8 Cobbler pans (or 1 stick in 12x12 pan) and put in the oven as it pre-heats
Take out when the butter has melted and slightly browned
Take pan out of the oven and sprinkle the brown sugar all around the pan, especially the edges

In a seperate bowl mix the rest of the ingredients and pour into the pan, on top of the butter and brown sugar.

Drop blackberries (as many/little) on top of the batter

Return the pan to the oven and bake 45 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly

Serve warm with a scoop of organic chocolate ice-cream

Note:  You can use non-organic ingredients and the egg is optional, you can also adjust the sugar to your liking.
To make a larger pan, just double the ingredients.
If you'd like you can add a tsp of baking powder and a pinch of salt, this will make the batter rise more.
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Purple Choco' Berry Popsicle or Smoothie, Healthy, low fat!

 Purple Choco' Berry Popsicle or Smoothie, Healthy, low fat!

My son and his best friend were enjoying a very warm day outside.  It was time for lunch.  The battle was on! Trying to get these two to stop playing, long enough to eat, is nearly impossible.  What works best? Bribery.  Yes.  Bribery.

While they were eating their lunch, I started the Popsicle-making process.  They were watching as I put their favorite things in the blender.  I didn't bother telling them that I was using all non-fat dairy products, as well as, no sugar added frozen fruits.  I used honey to sweeten, which added to the bribe. I don't know a lot of kids who don't love honey. I really like buying the frozen berries because the only ingredients are, the berries. No extra sugar, or preservatives.  I don't have to worry about spoilage, very low cost as well.  I use them for many things.  Very versatile, as well as delicious.

Did it work? Beautifully, as you can see.  They thought they were getting a treat by getting a Popsicle.  I knew they were getting lots of good vitamins and minerals to go along with their healthy lunch.


I have a two-Popsicle freezer mold, so I used the remainder of the mixture to make myself an 8oz smoothie.  I put a scoop of my favorite protein powder in it, added ice and more non-fat, organic milk, then enjoyed my own special treat!

Purple Choco' Berry Popsicle or Smoothie, Healthy, low fat

1/2 cup of Low Fat, organic Chocolate milk
1/2 cup of 2% organic white milk
1 cup of low fat cottage cheese
1/2 cup of frozen mixed berries
1 tablespoon honey (more or less to taste)

Place ingredients into a blender and puree until smooth.  Pour into Popsicle molds or add extra milk, water, or (as I did) ice cubes to turn into a smoothie.

You may also want to add some more liquid if you see your mixture is too thick to puree well.  It will freeze anyway, just don't go overboard, so the flavors won't suffer.

If you don't like cottage cheese, yogurt would be a good substitution.  However, I find yogurt to contain such a large amount of sugar that I don't use it frequently, outside of enjoying one serving in a given day.  One teaspoon of sugar is about 4.2 grams.  The drinkable yogurt we have has 14grams of sugar in a 3.1fl oz bottle, that is roughly equivalent to, 3 teaspoons of sugar. There are benefits to yogurt, but as with anything, too much of a good thing is not good.  Let me also point out, that the cottage cheese is not identifiable in the finished product.  The flavors are so beautifully compatible, it doesn't make a huge difference.