Easy Paleo Strawberry Crisp

Ever seen those runners during a race who so effortlessly can drink water out of those tiny paper cups without spilling a drop?
I'm not one of them.
I can’t even count how many races I’ve completed in my life: Ironman, Triathlons, marathons, half-marathons, 10Ks, 5Ks, etc.
Not a single time I managed to drink from those paper cups.

This is how it usually goes: I approach the water station and I make eye contact with one of the (amazingly-awesome) volunteers. Then she/he holds a cup and I reach for it, but nine times out of ten instead of grabbing the cup, I splash the water into her/his face.
I then grab a cup from the next person. I try to drink but instead I dump all of the water — usually on my shoes, more often on my shirt.
At the third attempt, I remember that it’s better to slow down a little bit. So I grab the cup and I squeeze the top of it together to create a sort of funnel — that way the water comes out more in one controlled stream.
But even then I cannot for the life of me drink the water inside the cup. It just ends up everywhere except for my mouth.

Another method I tried was to just throw a couple of cups towards my face and hope some would get in my open mouth.
It sort-of-worked until I grabbed by accident a cup full of Gatorade and threw it in my eyes. It was not funny.
You only need to throw Gatorade in your eyes once to never do that again.

As a result of all these failures I started carrying with me a thing called Hydra Pouch (a sort of soft water bottle) so that I can drink when I want and not have to worry about water stops.
But I have to be honest here, carrying water sucks.
Though not having water (and not being able to drink from water cups) sucks even more. What a conundrum...
Fortunately in triathlons you don’t really have to worry about water stations, because you can drink during transitions plus I have a water bottle on my bike, and drinking while pedaling is so simple. So, so simple!

You know what else is simple?
This strawberry crisp.
Strawberries are often my fruit of choice because no matter what you place them in — a pie, a crumble, or even a salad — it tends to be bursting with bright, juicy flavor.
They're also the perfect fruit if you are looking for a splash of color.
This is where this strawberry crisp comes in. A perfect, quick dessert that is filled with fruity goodness.
Strawberries are definitely the star of this dessert, they are topped with a delicious almondy crumb that gets super crunchy once baked.
In only 30 minutes of baking time, the strawberries form a sweet, slightly sticky, delicious syrup.
I’m telling you, it’s way simpler to make this strawberry crisp than drinking water from a paper cup while running. Trust.

Easy Paleo Strawberry Crisp                                                                                   Print this recipe!

Ingredients
Serves 6

Fruit

4 cups / 17.5 oz / 500 gr strawberries, halved
2 tablespoons arrowroot powder (or tapioca starch or cornstarch)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon maple syrup (or honey)

Topping

1 cup / 4 oz / 110 gr almond flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill)
½ teaspoon fine grain sea salt
3 tablespoons extra virgin coconut oil (or butter)
3 tablespoons maple syrup (or honey)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C) and place a rack in the middle.
In a large bowl toss halved strawberries, tapioca starch, vanilla extract, and maple syrup. Set aside.
In another bowl mix together almond meal and salt. Add maple syrup and coconut oil and with your hands (or a pastry cutter) cut in the coconut oil until the mixture begins to form crumbs. Set aside.
Grease a 9-inch baking pan or a cast-iron skillet (or 6 individual ramekins).
Scrape the strawberry mixture into the baking pan.
Spread the topping over the fruit in an even layer.
Bake in the oven for about 25 minutes or until the topping has browned and the fruit bubbling.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool 10 minutes before serving.

Nutrition facts

One serving yields 248 calories, 17 grams of fat, 23 grams of carbs, and 5 grams of protein.