Rhubarb and Strawberry Compote

One of my favorite food memories as a child was my mom making rhubarb.  I LOVE rhubarb and in my adult years am surprised how few people enjoy the tartness and tang of this beautiful plant.

Rhubarb is a colorful vegetable, not a fruit, and grows quite similarly to celery. 

The edible part of the rhubarb plant — the stalk — contains anthocyanins, which is where the bright pinkish red color comes from. Anthocyanins are a type of flavonoid found in foods such as berries, red onions, black beans, red grapes and black plums.

While they act as antioxidants in test tube studies, in the human body their protection seems more likely to come from their role in cancer-preventive cell signaling.  Anthocyanins have demonstrated protective effects on blood vessels and blood pressure, and recent research suggests that anthocyanins may offer anti-cancer benefits, too.
Rhubarb is also a great source of vitamin K1, which is important for blood clotting and 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, some calcium and vitamin C.
If you grow your own rhubarb, be careful to avoid the leaves, as their high levels of oxalic acid make them poisonous. 

If you are used to strawberry rhubarb pies, you are going to love this tangy sweet but not insulin spiking treat!

​How did I manage to bring this childhood favorite into the 2020's leaving the sugar behind?  I used coconut palm sugar which has a glycemic load of 1... compare that to a banana with a glycemic load of 12.4 or agave syrup of 9.6 or of table sugar at 6!  

If you are looking to balance your sugars and take control of your sweet tooth tiger, join me in a 5-week Sweet Stuff intensive where we learn all about control and balancing our blood sugars and transforming our sweet tooth tiger from wild animal to obedient pet!  More information can be found here!

Instructions

• Add rhubarb to a pan over medium heat with a bit of oil to coat
• Cook, stirring constantly, until starting to brown
• Add in strawberries and lemon juice, continue to stir and cook for about 1 minute
• Add in water and coconut sugar, stir to mix, bring to a light boil then reduce heat and simmer until at a consistency you enjoy. 
• Serve over top of whatever you like!
  • serve on top of sweetened sticky rice with a good pour of canned full fat coconut milk (in mango sticky rice fashion)
  • use as a topper to pancakes or waffles
  • use in your plain greek yogurt as a lower sugar high flavor alternative
  • use on top of ice cream
  • chill and eat out of the bowl!

Ingredients

• 4 stalks of rhubarb, cut into 1" pieces
• 1/2 C strawberries, hulled and halved
• 1 Cup of water
• Juice of 1 small lemon (or 1/2 of a large lemon)
• 1/4 C raw coconut palm sugar