Apples – the most taken for granted superfood

Apples… ‘Granny’ told us a long time ago that apples where the secret to keeping the Doctor away. They are widely available and it would seem have been since the beginning of time. In the garden of Eden, Eve whipped one from the tree and apparently it caused a few changes. I suspect that both Adam and Eve had been munching on apples for quite some time before ‘Applegate’ and probably knew it was a good choice on a nutritional level.

I think most of us take them for granted…. there are so many exotic fruits available now with amazing properties, which are completely worthy of our attention, but please let’s not forget this staple powerhouse of nutrition. There are 10,000, nutrients in an apple and counting, but we don’t need to dissect all the nutrients but suffice to say with that huge, wide variety of nutrients, we are getting a lot for our crunch. They have been shown to provide us with the nutrients that we now know prevent degenerative diseases and keep us healthy – full of live enzymes, antioxidants and essential fibre that keeps our digestive system functioning well.

They are so easy to use as a fast food, they are so portable and there’s little risk of them going to mush in the bottom of your bag. They keep well in your fruit bowl unlike some more perishable fruits and are great in sweet and savoury dishes. There is an enormous difference in the taste of different varieties of apples. If you’ve previously found them a bit boring maybe you haven’t tried some of the more tasty varieties like my favourite, Organic Pink Ladies.

Non organic apples have a lot of chemicals sprayed on them, (as insects love apples too!) they are absolutely one of the most contaminated foods – while they are still on the tree they get drenched and then again when they’re in storage.

I often have slices of apple with Houmus (along with carrots, raw courgettes etc.) I also love apple for breakfast, grated into Bircher muesli. They are something that even when my fridge is bare (which is rare) I can always find an apple!
Great as a snack – if you are really hungry and eating an apple, have a few nuts with it as the fat and protein in the nuts will make the apple much more satisfying. On an empty stomach an apple on it’s own can leave you feeling a bit empty, I always keep a supply of Brazils, Walnuts, Almonds and Cashews with me!

My Granny used to swear by having stewed apple if you were poorly – great food for cleansing the system and easy to digest.

I adopted her advice years ago and agree with her… If you cook ‘eating’ apples you don’t need to sweeten them with anything – you might like to give them a whizz to make them into a puree as they don’t ‘fall’ like cooking apples do. If you use cooking apples you might like to add some stevia, honey, agave syrup or coconut sugar as they don’t have the sweetness that eating apples have.

Apples get my vote for all round great value, flexibility, durability and nutritional clout – don’t leave the house without one!

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