This buttery, nutty, sweet, and delicious Old School Apple Crisp came in 2nd place in a recipe taste test on thekitchn. 🏆

Normally, I would not be too happy coming in second place, but it was to King Arthur Baking Company! WOW! It beat out both the Neelys’ and Ina Garten, so I am pretty darn happy. Not a bad place to be!☺️

I know you will love my Old School Apple Crisp, too. It comes in at only 300 calories a portion and is packed with heart-healthy pecans, high fiber oats, and a sensible amount of brown sugar — just enough to enhance the apples. 🍎

Welcome to the Good and Good for You™ newsletter, a quick 5-minute read with ideas and info on ways to help improve your life – including a tasty and healthful recipe.

This issue shares:

• Best Life Living Tip: Getting Out of Your Comfort Zone📍
• Self-Care Strategy:  Delay, don’t Deny⏰
• Ideas and Inspiration: The Frontline for our Future🇺🇸
• Good and Good for You™ Recipe: Old School Apple Crisp🍎

Thanks for reading! If you’ve made it this far, I know you are the type of person who wants to improve your life. It’s awesome to see that this newsletter is making life a little bit better in some way for so many folks.

Read on for more — including this Old School Apple Crisp. Simple, easy, and good. I know you and your family will love it.

Best Life Living Tip

Old School Apple Crisps are friendly and familiar. And, it’s okay to stay in your comfort zone with a traditional dessert sometimes,  but it’s also important in all areas to try new things.

Balance your comfort zone with discomfort! It’s important to try something fresh and new — especially with physical fitness. (No, you don’t have to hang upside down from a bedsheet, but you do need to try something!)

Step Out of Your Comfort Zone

Trying something new with fitness isn’t just good for your body – it’s great for your mind.

• Breaks plateaus: New moves challenge your muscles in fresh ways.

• Boosts brain health: Learning new skills fires up mental focus and memory.

• Beats boredom: Variety keeps workouts fun and sustainable.

• Lifts mood: Fresh challenges spark energy, joy, and motivation.

• Builds confidence: Doing something hard proves you can handle more than you think!

Growth doesn’t happen in the comfort zone — but good things do. You can do it.

Self-Care Strategy

We all know a piece of cake is often more tempting than an apple. Here’s the deal: you can eat the damn cake! However, it does mean you have to eat the apple more often than the cake.

My strategy with temptation is to postpone “scratching that itch” as long as possible. Putting off temptation isn’t about denial — it’s about delay.

Delay, don’t Deny

• Builds self-control: Every pause strengthens your willpower.

• Clarifies desire: Waiting helps you see what you really want.

• Boosts satisfaction: When you finally indulge, it feels earned.

• Removes guilt: You chose it mindfully — and that’s freedom.

Waiting can make the “yes” even sweeter – and that’s Good and Good for You™.

Ideas and Inspiration

We need to keep beating the drum to protect our public lands and national parks. Click HERE to reach your elected officials. 🇺🇸

American Hunters & Anglers is on the front line in the war on public lands. They are a nonpartisan, national network of public land advocates. Follow @americanhuntersandanglers for more information and how to let your voice be heard.🇺🇸

Red or blue, we are all red, white, and blue, and these are OUR public lands.🇺🇸

The Republican-led Congress and Administration are gutting what they can during the shutdown. Just this month, Trump signed off on a 211-mile road through the Alaskan wilderness for mining projects. This is not okay.

Save our Public Lands

These are NOT lands to be sold off to the highest bidder.  Laws can be changed, and funds can be restored.

• Once the trees are cut, they are gone.
• Once the road is paved and an animal migration that has existed for centuries is altered, it will not return.
• Once the delicate ecosystem is disturbed, it is diminished forever.

This is our land, this land is your land.

And, I sure as heck hope you know that when they sell it, you are not getting a check.

You’re getting robbed. 

Good and Good for You Living Spotlight

Life is too short not to eat the damn cake! (Or Old School Apple Crisp!)

Yes, eat the piece of fruit, but make sure you savor life and eat cake, too. Deprivation doesn’t work long-term. We’re human. Healthy living isn’t about perfection — it’s about balance.

Deprivation leads to burnout, not wellness. Sometimes the healthiest choice is to say yes to joy, to celebration, to cake. Because one slice doesn’t undo your progress — it reminds you why you started.

Click HERE to purchase — it comes in white, blue, and grey.

Wear it proudly! A little sweetness is Good and Good for You™.

Make it Count

Thank you for reading! Love an apple crisp — especially one coming in at less than 300 calories per serving! Wow!

If you want to give a couple of savory apple recipes a try, please check out my piece in the AJC, “It’s Easy to Have An Apple a Day the Savory Way.” 

You can also check out the other apple crisp recipe on thekitchn.com

For more tips, inspiration, and healthy recipes, follow @virginiawillis on Instagram. You can also check out more merch at GoodandGoodforYouLiving.com

If you choose what’s Good and Good for You™ most of the time, you’re headed in the right direction. You’ve got this!

Bon Appétit Y’all!
Virginia Willis

PS, Want to try apple in liquid form? Give my Bourbon Apple Cider a try!

Print Recipe

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Old School Apple Crisp

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time40 minutes mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: apple, Crisp

Servings: 10

Calories: 277kcal

Author: Virginia Willis

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces, plus more for the baking dish
• 2 1/2 pounds apples peeled, cored and sliced 1/4-inch thick
• juice of ½ a lemon
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup plus 1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup quick oats
• Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/2 cup pecans finely chopped
• 1/4 cup brown sugar firmly packed
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Pinch of fine sea salt
• Vanilla ice cream for serving

Get Recipe Ingredients

Instructions

• Heat the oven to 375°F. Butter a large baking dish and set aside.
• Place the apples, lemon juice and vanilla in a large bowl and toss to coat. Add the granulated sugar, 1 1/2 tablespoons flour, and nutmeg. Stir to combine.
• Place the remaining 1 cup flour, nuts, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl. Using a pastry cutter or 2 knives, cut the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle the mixture over the apples.
• Bake until golden brown, about 40 minutes. Serve warm with ice cream or frozen yogurt.

Nutrition

Calories: 277kcal | Carbohydrates: 39g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 24mg | Sodium: 76mg | Potassium: 174mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 24g | Vitamin A: 348IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 22mg | Iron: 1mg