Easy Baked Apple Recipes

With Fall fast approaching, baked apple and pumpkin dishes are sounding so good to me right now! I decided to focus on apples first and have come up with a couple of delicious, easy and satisfying recipes for anyone doing a Whole30, eliminating sugar from their diet or just simply loves the comforting goodness, warm baked apples have to offer.

You don't need me to remind you all of the nutritional benefits of eating a whole food like apples right? I mean, you probably already know all about the terrific soluble fiber, vitamin A, iron and calcium that is present in baked apples...of course you do...whew, glad I don't have to explain :)

Baked Spice Apples with Coconut Cream

Serves 1

2 small baking apples (I used Granny Smith) sliced into 8 wedges each, preferably peeled (I did not peel mine, too lazy)
1 Tbsp of melted Ghee or butter (I used ghee)
1/2 tsp of Pumpkin Pie spice or Apple Pie spice (I used pumpkin pie spice)
pinch of sea salt
1 Tbsp of Coconut Cream* (or as much as you want)
Optional: chopped nuts

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Add your apple wedges to a 8x8 baking dish.

3. Drizzle melted ghee or butter over the apples.

4. Add Pumpkin Pie spice or Apple Pie spice and sea salt to the apples.

5. Stir apples together with the spices and ghee to coat.

6. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes or until for tender or as soft as you like.

7. Add baked apples to serving bowl, top with coconut cream and nuts if you are using.

8. Enjoy!

*To get coconut cream, put a can of full fat coconut milk in the fridge for 24 hours (sometimes overnight is not long enough to harden the cream). Open can and scoop out with a spoon the white coconut cream that has solidified in the can. Whisk cream in a bowl till nice and creamy and smooth.

If you are not on a sugar detox of some sort and feel the apples themselves are not sweet enough for you, add a little maple syrup or raw honey before topping with the coconut cream.

Baked Cinnamon Apples and Wild Blueberries

Serves 1


2 small baking apples (I used Granny Smith) sliced into 8 wedges each, preferably peeled (I did not peel mine, too lazy)
1 Tbsp of melted Ghee or butter (I used ghee)
1/4 tsp (rounded) of Cinnamon
About 4 swipes on a rasp of whole nutmeg or a good pinch of powdered nutmeg.
1/4 Cup of frozen, wild blueberries (Trader Joe's has some), I'm sure regular blueberries will work just fine
pinch of salt
Optional: Coconut cream, nuts

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.


2. Add your apple wedges and blueberries to a 8x8 baking dish.

3. Drizzle melted ghee or butter over the apples.

4. Add spices and salt to the apples and blueberries.

5. Stir with a spoon to coat fruit with spices and ghee.

6. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes or until for tender or as soft as you like.

7. Add baked fruit to a serving bowl and top with nuts or coconut cream or both.

8. Enjoy!

If you are not on a sugar detox of some sort and feel the apples themselves are not sweet enough for you, add a little maple syrup or raw honey before adding your toppings.

Other topping ideas are:

shredded coconut
yogurt
dried cherries
dried cranberries
raw honey
maple syrup
Caramel Sauce-homemade and without High Fructose Corn Syrup
Coconut Nectar
Brown Rice Syrup

Or you can make the Baked Apples a topping for:

Vanilla Ice Cream
Yogurt
Oatmeal
Porridge
Pork or other meat
Baked sweet potatoes

However you decide to eat these baked apples, I hope you find it yummy!

Steph

My Whole30 was thwarted by a piece of cheese!

Actually it was two pieces!

I'm back to Day 1 on my Whole30,  I mistakenly ate two pieces of cheese in my what-was-supposed-to-be In & Out double patty, lettuce wrapped with grilled onions burger. My poor hubby, felt so bad since he was the one who goofed my order. I trusted that he had ordered correctly when I received my burger, and proceeded to eat it, after a few bites, I knew something was off, as the burger seemed so much more tastier than usual. I took a good look at my burger and saw cheese! Ahhhh, I was only 9 days away from completing my first Whole30! My husband suggested I just don't worry about it and continue on, but I couldn't, my conscience would not let me. In the book It Starts With Food, they state you need to be off all gluten, dairy, legumes, grains and sugar for a whole month at least to let your body heal properly. I really do want to give my body that chance of uninterrupted healing, so that is why I am starting at day 1.

I will not however, be doing the Autoimmune Protocol of the Whole30 this time around. But if I start having problems, then I will go back on it again.

Not making any excuses, just letting everyone know why I am starting over. I don't look at it as a failure either, it's just a setback, something to learn from (always check your food before biting into it).

I've had to make an ice cream cake for my son and his cousin's birthday party and guess what!? I felt no desire to eat any of it, or lick the spoon or bowl! I'll be enjoying my Prosciutto Wrapped Dates while everyone else is eating the ice cream cake and I'll be feeling perfectly content! :) If that is not progress, then I don't know what is!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Steph

Prosciutto Wrapped Dates

Since no sugar is allowed on the 21 Day Sugar Detox or the Whole30, I have been searching for sugar free bacon locally with out any luck at all. Online, you can purchase some from U.S. Wellness Meats, but we cannot afford that right now unfortunately.

While reading posts in the Whole30 Forum, someone mentioned they used prosciutto in place of bacon and that the ingredients were only pork and salt...perfect! The person mentioned that he purchased his from Trader Joe's, so the next time I was down there (I love Trader Joe's) I looked for it. They had a few different kinds of prosciutto, only one did not contain sugar, so please always read the ingredients, never assume. I ended up buying two packages, each pack contained 4oz and cost $5.90...yikes I know, but I was desperate lol. I later found the same brand of prosciutto (still be sure to check ingredients) at Costco, you get 12oz for $12.00, so you basically get 4oz free over there, a much better deal!

Anyhoo, the reason I was hoping to find some sugar free bacon or an acceptable substitute was to make these gorgeous, tasty beauties!

Prosciutto Wrapped Dates

Prosciutto Wrapped Dates


Package of Prosciutto
Dates- I prefer the caramel like flavor of deglet, but medjool will work great too.


If you were to use a whole 4oz package of prosciutto, you will need 14 dates. Each slice of prosciutto makes two wrapped dates.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

With a knife (regular of paring), gently press into the flesh of the dates. Then with your thumbs, pry the flesh open as gently as you can and remove the pit.

When all dates have been pitted, carefully remove a slice of prosciutto and gently tear in half with your hands. Then take one half and fold lengthwise. then wrap around the date. Don't worry about the prosciutto tearing while you are removing it, it happens all the time, you can still salvage it easily, just fold as best you can and wrap.

Lay on parchment covered baking sheet seem side down.

Bake in oven for 12 minutes. Let cool, then enjoy!


*If you are able to have dairy, stuff dates with feta cheese before wrapping.

**If you are able to have nuts, stuff dates with almonds, walnuts, or pecans before wrapping.

Here are some photos of me putting them together...

Here is a picture of the brand of prosciutto I used.

I got this package from Trader Joe's. The one from Costco is a two pack and looks a little different.

Some of you might be wondering why I am eating dates when I am trying to avoid sugar. Simple, dates are a whole, unprocessed food, perfectly fine to include in your Whole30 as long as you don't over do it. (Plus they are full of fiber, B vitamins, potassium, etc...)

These dates are perfect for taking on a hike or bike ride, they are little energy bundles! I hope you will give them a try, they are quite delicious!

Steph

Sauteed Cinnamon Peaches with Coconut Cream

As I mentioned in a previous post, I am doing the 21 Day Sugar Detox and the Whole30 simultaneously. They are not the same thing, the Whole30 is much stricter and it's purpose is much more encompassing. I am following the Autoimmune Protocol as outlined in Dallas and Melissa Hartwig's book "It Starts with Food", they are the creators of the Whole30. My list of food that I can eat has been narrowed down by the Autoimmune Protocol, so I need to learn how to prepare tasty dishes with the foods I can eat, luckily, there is still quite a bit to choose from.

I created this dish to add a little flair to my meal yesterday, and found it to be very good, so good I wanted to share it with you all.

Sauteed Cinnamon Peaches with Coconut Cream

Serves 1

1 Tbsp Coconut Oil ( I prefer the cold pressed, flavorless kind)
1 Cup Sliced, Ripe Peaches (fresh is best, but frozen is great too)
1/4 tsp Cinnamon
Pinch of Salt
Coconut Cream
Unrefined sugar, honey or stevia (optional)

Put can of full fat coconut milk in fridge so that the cream will harden and rise to top. Best to leave in fridge overnight, but at least 3 hours will work.

Spoon out hardened, white coconut cream from can into a small bowl, save rest of coconut milk for a smoothie. Whisk coconut cream until creamy and looks like whipped cream without the stiff or soft peaks. Put back in fridge and keep cold.

Heat a small skillet on medium high heat. Add the coconut oil to skillet and let get hot. Carefully add the sliced peaches to the hot skillet and let sit for a few minutes before stirring. Add cinnamon and stir every so often, but let the peaches sit for a few minutes in between. When peaches are lightly caramelized, turn off heat and put in a serving bowl. If you need to add some extra sweetness, now is the time to add it (I did not use any in mine and found it perfect for me). Put a dollop of coconut cream on top, then sprinkle on a small amount of cinnamon.

This recipe is quite versatile, you could use nutmeg is place of cinnamon if you like. Also in place of the coconut cream, you could use fresh raw cream or regular whipped cream.

I hope you give it a try and let me know if you liked it.

Steph

Last Day of Sugar Detox and a Recipe for Meaty Spaghetti Sauce.

Today is the last day of the 21 Day Sugar Detox that I've been on. I've faithfully avoided sugar except for Easter day and I must admit, sometimes it was pretty tough, especially in the beginning, but now at the end, cravings are pretty non existent. So now what? Well, I plan to only have sweets on our Friday family nights and on special occasions, I also plan to continue eating the way I have been, paying close attention to ingredients in food that I eat, making sure it does not have any sugar or sweet ingredients, you see the 21 Day Sugar Detox not only cuts out sugar, it cuts out anything sweet! For good reason though, studies are coming out that show some people who eat sweets even if it is sweetened with a non caloric sweetener like stevia or Splenda even (yuk) will release insulin anyway, causing our body to store the food as fat. I really believe I was/am one of those people. There have been times when I felt like I gained weight just looking at a delicious chocolate cake :)

I am excited to say that I have dropped 3 lbs. and now fit it in a size smaller jeans! I am now at a weight that I have not been at for almost six years! As I said earlier, my cravings are pretty much gone and that was the real purpose of the Sugar Detox for me anyway, so the weight loss is a nice bonus...a very nice bonus. I am hoping that my hormones may be closer to normal and so I will attempt to get off the Proactiv skin care that I have had to use to keep my skin clear, wish me luck! I will continue to do several of these 21 Day Sugar Detoxes this year and perhaps forever, it will help me keep my sugar craving from getting out of hand again.

Now on to a couple of recipes.

This delicious spaghetti sauce is very easy to make and will feed a family of 5 for 3 meals, so it's inexpensive too!

Meaty Spaghetti Sauce

1Tbsp of olive oil or butter
1 red onion-diced
2 lbs ground beef or turkey or a combo (you actually could use less if you wanted, this amount makes a nice hearty sauce)
2  14.5 oz cans of organic tomato sauce
2  14.5 oz cans of organic diced tomatoes
1 Tbsp of dried parsley or fresh if you like
1 Tbsp or to taste of garlic salt
1 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried oregano

Heat on medium high a large 6qt pot. Add oil and wait till hot, then add your diced red onions, cook for a couple of minutes then add the ground meat and cook till browned. When meat is browned add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil. When it starts to boil, turn the heat down to low and let it simmer till you have finished making your pasta and serve.

Please add spices to your taste, this recipe is easy to play with and customize to your family's liking.
Enjoy!

Meaty Spaghetti Sauce on sauteed yellow squash ribbons with a sprinkling of parmigiana cheese, brown rice pasta is great too!

I made this quinoa pizza many times the past three weeks, it is delicious, easy and does not contain yeast (not that I have a problem with yeasted foods). I imagine you could use buckwheat groats (is not like wheat, and is gluten free despite the wheat in it's name) in place of the quinoa. While I wish I could take credit, the recipe is not mine and can be found on Charity Dasenbrock's For Life Blog, the picture however is mine, I hope it makes you drool :)

Quinoa crust pizza with pepperoni, black olives and cheese. I have made it vegetarian as well and it was equally delicious! 

Tomorrow I will have new pictures of how I look now, I'm not sure there will be much difference, but that's alright, what is important is getting healthier one day at a time!

Would any of you be interested in joining me on another 21 Day Sugar Detox in the future?

Steph