Breakfast Fruit Crumble (gluten free, dairy free, vegan)

One of the hardest things about being diagnosed with Celiac and having to go gluten free had everything to do with breakfast. I mean, I was a creature of habit - if you gave me a New York style water boiled bagel with a smear of cream cheese, I was a happy girl. Of course, I would ALWAYS have a stomachache after eating my beloved bagel and I would always blame myself for eating too much. This went on, my friends, for years. Little did I know that it had nothing to do with quantity and everything to do with gluten.

Oh well, those days are gone. I still have a bagel now and then, always gluten free and almost always homemade (by me). The cream cheese is another story. I can still eat the gummy white stuff if I want to, but the repercussions are rarely worth it.

So, where am I going with this? I'm heading straight for thinking outside of the bagel box. For the last 4 1/2 years, I've been exploring other breakfast possibilities, including pancakes, and waffles, and hot cereal, and scrambled tofu, and yes, the occasional homemade bagel. But lately, I've been obsessed with my Fruit Crumble, inspired by Sweetly Raw, a blog that I've just become acquainted with. Heather, of Sweetly Raw, posted about her Mango Berry Crumble, and it might as well have had my name in the subtitle. You see, in the past few years, when I've felt ambitious, I would take the time to make Muesli. But it always involves lots of cutting and chopping before the spoon goes into my mouth. And I'm not always in the mood. My iteration of Heather's Mango Berry Crumble is a simpler version of my Muesli. And so, I couldn't be happier.

What I've been doing is making the crumble mixture and sticking it in the frig. And then on the mornings when I'm in the mood, I just throw some fruit in a bowl, top it with the crumble, and pour some homemade almond milk over the whole shebang and I'm in heaven. Total heaven, I tell you.

Heather, we don't know each other, but thank you!!!! Not only for the recipe, but for the template. I bet you could easily add or substitute other nuts or dried fruits. For example, the original recipe didn't include pistachios, but they marry beautifully with dates, so it was natural for me to include them.

One more things….this concoction is equally delicious without the almond milk and would make a great, light dessert.

Breakfast Fruit Crumble

click here for printable recipe

1 cup walnuts
1/4 cup pistachios
1/2 cup pitted dates
1/2 cup shredded, unsweetened coconut
1/3 cup rolled oats (be sure they're gluten free)
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
Bowl of fruit
Almond milk (or milk of choice)

Throw all the crumble ingredients (walnuts through vanilla) into your food processor. Combine until the mixture is crumbly. Spoon over a bowl of the fruit of your choice (this morning I used blueberries, strawberries, and mango), add almond milk.