An apple a day…

One of the few left still on the tree!

There is a 25-lb. bag of apples sitting on my kitchen floor. And I am all smiles.

Yesterday, I went apple picking with my daughter, Siobhan, who is home from college for a long weekend.

The day was perfect for it—although the winding, one-lane roads were clogged leaving the orchards in New York State. No big deal, though. It was a small price to pay for a day of fun and a bag of apples that was so heavy my daughter and I each held a handle.

Actually, about 8 of those 25 pounds of apples are now sitting in my slow cooker, liberally coated with cinnamon. Oh, boy.

I’m like a new mom, checking on her baby every ten minutes. The aroma is just that amazing.

I’ll be the first to say, I am not particularly adept in the culinary arts. But homemade applesauce is idiot-proof. Plus, I get to make it as chunky and heavy on the cinnamon as I like.

My "catch"

The health benefits

Ha. You knew that was coming, didn’t you?

Apples contain fiber (some of which is pectin) and polyphenols—both of which help fight disease. Studies show that apples improve your blood sugar and your lipids (blood fats) and reduce your risk for asthma, cardiovascular disease, certain cancers and macular degeneration. Apples may also strengthen your bones and lower your risk for dementia.

Why spend a bundle on exotic fruits when you can get tremendous benefits form the modest apple—fairly affordable when in season?

But for an in-depth look, I’ll refer you to The World’s Healthiest Foods web site. An excellent resource!

I don’t stress about the natural sugar in apples. They have so many beneficial qualities I tend to eat them—usually whole and uncooked—on a regular basis.

At the grocery store, I buy organic apples, since they’re sprayed and pesticides remain on the skin.

One caution: As a general rule, the more you process any type of produce, the more you destroy nutrients.

Here, Dr. Andrew Weil suggests that using a slow cooker helps preserve nutrients if temperatures are low and water content is retained.

Similarly, George Mataljan at The World’s Healthiest Foods says nutrients lost in prolonged cooking may be available to us as long as the cooking vessel is sealed and we consume the liquid in which the food is cooked.

Now, if I could only refrain from opening the lid and inhaling!