Dear Mom,
If we lived close by, I would make you this strawberry mango crisp for Mother’s Day brunch. It’s pretty, bubbly, and sweet, with many different layers. Just like you. There’s a nutty layer too – wink, wink. (Two teenage girls in the house can do that to a person!) When I think back to my teenage years, I feel guilty about how much I took our relationship for granted. I’m irritated by my former self who thought it was so ‘uncool’ to be seen with my mom at the mall. If I could get those years back, I would’ve proudly walked by your side and invited you more places with me. In my mind, parents were often obstacles to having more fun. I thought you were too cautious and worried about my safety and I couldn’t fully understand why you cared so much. Like that night I was really sick due to some poor choices and you sat beside my bed all night long, not sleeping a single wink, just to make sure that I would be ok. And then you grounded me like you should have. You knew that I wasn’t invincible like I thought I was.
After the teen years, I started to appreciate our relationship more with each passing year until one day it dawned on me that you are one of my best friends. You are one of the first people I share good news with or when I have a problem that needs sorting out. You have this magnetic smile that always makes me feel lucky to witness. I don’t have to worry that you’ll be bitter about my successes or secretly happy about my setbacks. Your love and support is as genuine as it gets.
This Mother’s Day has a new meaning in my life. I now understand why you were so afraid of losing me and why some days it was incredibly hard to let me go. The mother-daughter bond is a complicated one with many ups and downs, but it’s one that I can’t wait to navigate with my own daughter.
With love to you and all the mamas,
Angela
Springtime Strawberry Lime Mango Crisp (Vegan + GF)
Yield
6-8 servings
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Fresh strawberries, buttery mango and tangy lime create a naturally sweet, gooey crisp with a crunchy almond-oat-coconut topping. I love making this crisp in the springtime when mangos and strawberries are at their peak. And when I say "crisp", I really like a crisp topping (which is what you'll find here). Serve it as a healthy weekend breakfast or alongside a brunch. I especially love it after it’s chilled in the fridge overnight – the syrup thickens and the leftovers are irresistible the next morning. To turn it into dessert, add a scoop of ice cream. This recipe is adapted from the Apple Crisp in The Oh She Glows Cookbook.
Ingredients
FOR THE FILLING:
- 2 pounds fresh strawberries, hulled and chopped (about 5.5 cups)
- 2 cups chopped fresh mango (about 3 mangoes)
- 1 tablespoon arrowroot powder
- 3 tablespoons coconut sugar (or granulated sugar of choice)
- 1.5 tablespoons lime zest
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
FOR THE TOPPING:
- 1 cup rolled oats, use certified gluten-free if necessary
- 1 cup thinly sliced almonds
- 1/3 cup almond meal or almond flour
- 1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 1/4 cup virgin coconut oil, melted
Directions
- Preheat oven to 375F. Lightly grease an 8-cup (2 litre) casserole dish.
- For the filling: Place the chopped strawberries and mango in a medium bowl and sprinkle the arrowroot powder on top. Toss until the fruit is coated.
- Stir in the sugar and zest. Drizzle on the lime juice and lightly toss to combine. Pour the fruit mixture into the prepared dish and spread out evenly.
- For the topping: In a medium bowl, stir together the oats, almonds, almond meal/flour, shredded coconut, cinnamon, salt. Pour on the maple syrup and melted coconut oil and stir until combined.
- Sprinkle the topping all over the fruit mixture in an even layer.
- Cover the dish with foil and poke a couple holes in the foil. Bake for 20 minutes, until the fruit is tender. Remove the foil and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes until the topping is golden and the filling is bubbling up around the sides.
- Serve with a scoop of non-dairy vanilla ice cream, coconut whipped cream, or simply on its own. Store in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)
A couple quick updates:
– New Baby section on the blog
– I’m told that my Steven & Chris cooking segment is finally airing today. Fingers crossed!
Have a lovely weekend.
Two of my favorite fruits – can’t wait to try this. Your letter to your mama is pure loveliness!
What a great post! Such a nice letter and such happy news – a baby girl! Congrats!
Can’t wait to try this recipe.
Aww! This brought tears to my eyes. This is my first mother’s day, well, kinda first as a mom (I was in your same shoes last year w/ my little one on the way), and your life really does have a completely different meaning once you understand a mother’s love. I cringe at how I must’ve made my mom feel during my teen years. I try to apologize to her now on a daily basis ;)
This looks delicious! I can’t wait to try it out. I’ve been having so much fun trying out the Oh She Glows cookbook recipes that I haven’t been able to keep up with the blog recipes as much as I’d like! I think I’ll try to make this one sometime this week to get me started :D
Angela, that was beautiful. So is the Strawberry Lime Mango Crisp. Congrats!
Congratulations Angela! I see in Saturday’s Globe and Mail that your cookbook is #1 on their top 10 list of cookbook/food books. I made your favorite veggie burgers last night and they are delicious!
Jane
Thanks for your congrats! I forgot to pick up a copy…oops!
Glad you enjoyed the veggie burgers :)
Been following the blog for a while and absolutely inspired by the recipes as I’ve had to evolve my diet! This post moved me, so I had to write to say congratulations! You and your mom sound lucky to have each other and it will likely be the same with you and your little one!
If you are still looking for some good prenatal dvd’s for exercise, check out Blooma’s Prenatal am/pm dvd. Blooma is a prenatal/postnatal yoga studio in Minneapolis. I teach yoga there and so many moms here feel so fortunate to have the support of this place in our community. You will feel the love through the dvd. :)
Jennie
Hi Ange, I could not be happier for you and Eric. I still remember the first time you set eyes on him in English class…the rest is history!
I made the crisp last night and it turned out absolutly amazing. My boyfriend has a nut alergy so I omitted the almonds and used whole wheat flour instead almond flour and it turned out perfectly!
Congrats to both of you on your baby girl! I love subtle reveals like the one in this post. I can’t even imagine how much the meaning of Mother’s Day must have changed this year. All the best and a DELICIOUS-looking recipe! I need to get on this…after I bake some brownies :)
I want to devour this now…and I kinda LOVE your spoon! Great pics :)
Angela, I made this last night but subbed the mango for rhubarb and my kids ate it up (and so did I of course). They requested it for breakfast, which I happily dished out! Great recipe.
Awe what a sweet letter and the crisp looks delish! Congratulations on the baby girl, I’m sure it must be amazing to be pregnant with Mother’s day on the way. I’m so glad you can look back at your relationship with your mother and hope to have that with your own daughter. I can’t wait to be pregnant – it is such a beautiful process!
What a lovely letter. I would LOVE to make this crisp for a Mother’s Day brunch, but I am having trouble finding a few of the ingredients. I currently live in Brazil and specialty flours and nuts can be hard to come by, or sometimes just not knowing the translation of a name can make it difficult. So, I am wondering if:
I can use honey instead of maple syrup?
Is there a more common substitute for arrowroot powder?
Can I use wheat flour instead of almond flour?
Thank you.
I recently made this crisp (and have made plenty of fruit tarts/crisps in the past) so I thought I’d offer my knowledge!
Yes, you can use honey if you prefer. Use maple, agave, or even coconut nectar for a vegan version.
Cornstarch can replace the arrowroot. I’ve used both with great results. I tend to use arrowroot in baking and cornstarch in cooking, but they’re basically interchangeable.
Wheat flour works just as well instead of almond. I used oat flour in this crisp. Any neutral tasting flour (oat, wheat, spelt, etc) will be fine.
Best of luck! I highly recommend this crisp. The lime is an incredible, and essential, component! Yum!
Thank you so much Robin! I’ll try this out.
Hi Angela! Very happy for you!!! one question…if i made this crisp tonight for dinner tomorrow, would it have to be refrigerated? i’m trying to keep the crispyness if that makes sense..
Hi! I would recommend refrigerating it. Unlike baked goods like breads/muffins, this is probably one to refrigerate. If you’d like to reheat/re-crisp it, stick it back in the oven until heated through, and then broil for 2-3 minutes (keeping a close eye) until the topping crisps up again. Worked great for me!
YUM! I just used one of my mangos in a coconut rice dish today, which was incredible. I have one more that needs to be eaten pronto. I’ll have to give this a try in the morning. Thankfully, I have some organic strawberries in my fridge. Thanks for the great recipe idea.
This was absolutely beautiful! Congratulations!
Congrats on the baby girl!! :)
She will be so sweet just like your recipes! :)
I can’t wait to make this for Mother’s Day brunch. I don’t have and have never used arrowroot powder. Do you think cornstarch would be a good sub? Thanks!
Congrats, Angela! There were definitely a few tough years (Isn’t being a teenager fun?) but now I’m proud to call my mom my best friend. I just know that you’re going to be a wonderful momma; your future daughter is one very lucky little girl.
This recipe just felt so right to me. I enjoyed it for breakfast this morning with a dollop of your whipped coconut cream, and I can’t wait to make it for my mom the next time I see her. Thanks, as always, for the inspiration!
Congrats on the baby girl! Thank you for sharing that sweet letter to your mom. It brought tears and a few smiles as I remembered a few groundings I received myself. (Back before I ever knew just how much I would come to appreciate my mom.)
This recipe is amazing. I think I ate it for 3 meals in a row. Yikes! Very good, Thank you!