GLUTEN-FREE APPLE AND RHUBARB CRUMBLE
Rhubarb is a great source of vitamin C for immunity, magnesium, potassium and calcium. Rhubarb is rich in vitamin K1, important for bone health. A half cup of cooked rhubarb provides more than one-third of the recommended dietary intake of vitamin K1, along with two grams of fiber (great for overall gut health, constipation, and lowering cholesterol).
Then there’s the apple – incredibly nutritious and offering multiple health benefits including fibre and a rich load of antioxidants. So what could be better than combining the two into a delicious gluten-free crumble?
This deliciously warming apple and rhubarb crumble is the perfect healthy winter dessert, and even better served with some creamy natural yoghurt or your favourite icecream!
Ingredients
• 4 apples peeled and cored
• 3 cups fresh rhubarb
Topping
• 2 tbs soft butter
• 4 tbs coconut sugar
• 4 tbs almond meal
• 4 tbs rice flour
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tbs pumpkin seeds
• 4 tbs shredded coconut
• 2 tbs sliced almonds
• Juice of 1/2 fresh lemon
Method
• Preheat oven to 160c
• Place diced apple and rhubarb in a large pot
• Squeeze lemon juice over these two ingredients
• Cook over low heat until soft.
• Place cooked fruit mixture in an oven proof dish. A glass Pyrex dish is perfect.
Topping
• Place all dry ingredients in a bowl. Mix through. Rub the soft butter through the mixture to form a slightly lumpy crumble using clean fingers.
• Spoon crumble topping over cooked apple and rhubarb and place in fan forced oven for 20 minutes or until brown.
Most of all…..enjoy! x
Kate Smyth is a sports naturopath, nutritionist and female-centric running coach. She is the founder of the Athlete Sanctuary - a holistic healthcare clinic for athletes of all levels and sporting codes.
Kate has a thirst for knowledge, with two bachelor's and a master’s degree under her belt. She has been involved in sports for many decades and competed for Australia in the Commonwealth Games and Olympic Games marathons with a personal best time of 2 hours 28 minutes.
Kate’s path into high‑performance sport didn’t follow the traditional script. A late bloomer and recreational runner, she found her spark during the Sydney 2000 Olympics, watching her idols surge into the stadium. That moment ignited a commitment that would quietly and profoundly reshape the course of her life.
Eight years later, she realised her own Olympic dream, representing Australia in the women’s marathon at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
Her running career spanned the Commonwealth Games, multiple Australian representative teams, and national‑level competition across cross‑country, track, and road racing. With a marathon personal best of 2:28, Kate was one of Australia’s all time fastest female marathoners.
But her journey was far from linear. Significant health challenges forced her to question conventional medicine, sports nutrition and traditional training models. What felt like setbacks at the time became turning points, pushing her to explore deeper, listen more closely to her body, and ultimately develop a more sustainable, female‑centred approach to performance.
These experiences now form the foundation of the work she shares with other women: how to train smarter, nourish deeply, honour physiology, and build resilience from the inside out.
She holds three degrees including a Masters and Bachelor of Health Science (Naturopathy). Kate is an accredited athletics coach with Athletics Australia and a member of NHAA.
Kate’s expertise is widely recognised, leading to regular invitations to speak on podcasts, at seminars, within industry education forums, and across corporate and women’s health initiatives.
