Here in the Midwest, the leaves on our beautiful trees are turning and falling fast, which means we have just a few weeks left to take trips to the local apple orchards and stock up on bushels and bushels of tart, juicy, crisp apples.
Falling For Apples
Apples don’t just taste good, they’re good for your health, too! Apples are high in fiber and rich in vitamins, minerals and antioxidants that may help:
- Lower cholesterol
- Protect against heart disease
- Support digestion
- Regulate blood sugar
Below are six of our favorite ways to enjoy apples and all of the health befits they offer.
6 Ways to Use Apples
Quick Breads and a Baking Substitute – Quick breads aren’t just reserved for banana, zucchini or pumpkin (though we won’t turn any of those down). Add chunks of apple to your favorite fruit bread (like this one) for flavor and texture, or consider swapping some of the butter or oil for applesauce. Check out that method here.
Grate Them into Pancakes – too often, pancakes can leave you feeling heavy and lethargic. That’s not the case with this kefirized recipe for Apple Cinnamon Pancakes! Sip the boxed mix and whip up a batch of these the whole family can enjoy.
Simmer in Hearty Oatmeal – for many, warm, chewy oatmeal is just “blah” and doesn’t really taste appealing. That is until they try our Cinnamon Apple Kefir Oatmeal (noticing a trend with this? We could make way #7 “with Cinnamon). The apple chunks offer variety to the texture and consistency, and just enough sweetness to satisfy your sweet tooth (though a bit of honey is optional).
Add Them to a Salad – crispy and crunchy, apples are a great, cheap addition to any fall salad. We enjoy paring sweeter apple with our Kefir Ranch Dressing on salads to compliment the tang, but adding a few slices to this kale salad would be delicious as well.
Blend them Into a Smoothie – one of the easiest ways to enjoy apples is in a kefir smoothie! We love this one, made with our Lowfat Plain Kefir
Eat them Raw with a Dip – also known as, “eat them as a quick and delicious snack.” This Kefir Peanut Butter Dip makes the snack a grown up version of peanut butter apples, but is kid friendly enough to enjoy as a family.
What’s your favorite way to enjoy and use apples? Let us know by visiting us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. Show us your kefir-ized apple recipes using the hashtag #MadeWithLifeway
Bonus: Food Day is this Saturday and this year’s focus is “toward a greener diet.” Join hundreds of thousands of people (yes, hundreds of thousands!) around the country by participating in Apple Crunch Day and add some more green to your day.