Easy Strawberry Granola Tart (Super low-calorie/Gluten-free/Vegan)

This is a glorious time of year for fruit and dessert lovers!  I take full advantage of all the wonderful, fresh fruit summer has to offer.  Chocolate can wait until fall.  The time is now!

I made this wonderful, super low-calorie dessert and it was gobbled up in a couple days.  I used organic strawberries from the Torrance Farmer's market (they were in my fridge and a couple days too old to eat fresh, so I decided to bake them up).  What came out was perfection!

Oh, and you only need about 10 minutes to make this.  Yippee!

Ingredients

3 cups fresh strawberries, chopped and drained

juice of half a lime or lemon (~1/8 cup = 3 Tbsp) - I used lime

1/2 cup vegan cane sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp cardamom

2 Tbsp arrowroot powder (or cornstarch)

Topping

2 cups granola (use gluten-free granola if desired)

2 Tbsp coconut oil

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. In a large bowl, toss strawberries with sugar, lime/lemon, cinnamon, cardamom and arrowroot.

3. Spread berry mixture into a pie dish.

4. In a small bowl, combine granola with coconut oil.  Spread across berry mixture and bake 20 minutes, or until tart bubbles and topping turns golden.

5. Let cool a few minutes, then enjoy!  Store on countertop for 3-4 days, or in fridge for longevity.

**Get creative and take advantage of the bounty of local fresh, sweet summer fruit from your local farmer's market.  I'm making this again tomorrow - this time with fresh, organic peaches and nectarines!  

**Please note that if you're counting calories, berries and peaches are wonderful low calorie fruits.  Try blackberries, raspberries, peaches, or mix them all together!  

1 cup raw raspberries = 64 calories

1 cup raw blackberries = 62 calories

1 cup peach slices (raw) = 64 calories

1 cup raw strawberries (halves) = 49 calories

1 cup raw strawberries (sliced) = 53 calories