Healthy Diet: Homemade Apple Sauce and Stewed Apple Slices

Posted on Oct 15, 2015

So you went apple picking with the family last weekend. Now you are stuck with a ten pound bag of apples and there is no way you can eat them all as is. There are only so many consecutive days that you can pack apples in your kid’s lunchbox. If they are like my kids then you have been finding half eaten, brown apples at the end of the day. It’s time for some easy and delicious apple recipes to make use of your glut. Enter these two recipes for homemade applesauce and stewed apples. They could not be easier and they use ingredients you probably already have in your pantry.

Unsweetened Applesauce

4 pounds apples, peeled and cored (I used a mix of whatever I had on hand)
4 strips of lemon peel
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon or 1 cinnamon stick
1 cup water

Peel, core and chop your apples into large chunks, about 8 pieces per apple. Put all of the ingredients in a large pot and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce it to a simmer and cover the pot. Cook for approximately 30 minutes, or until apples are quite soft. Fish out the lemon peels and whole cinnamon stick, if you used one, and let it cool.

*If you like a little sweeter version, feel free to add 1/4 of brown sugar or 2-3 tablespoons of maple syrup to the pot

Stewed Apple Slices

4 cups of peeled, sliced apples, about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick (Again, I used whatever apples I had on hand)
2 Tbsp brown sugar
A sprinkle of cinnamon
1 Tbsp maple syrup

Put apple slices in a glass bowl. Add the brown sugar, maple syrup and a light sprinkle of cinnamon. Give the mixture a stir. Bake in microwave oven for 3-5 minutes on high heat. Adjust the time for your microwave and how many apples you are cooking. I only needed to cook mine for 3 minutes. If you use more apples, you will probably need to cook it a little longer. Start with 3 minutes and then test with a fork for doneness. Be careful, they will be steaming hot. When you have reached the desired doneness, remove and mix well so the syrupy goodness coats all the apple pieces. \Enjoy with whipped cream, ice cream or plain yogurt.