Homemade Applesauce - No Sugar Added

I am always on the look-out for recipes that work for a friend who cannot have any added sugar and that do not require me to keep anything like Splenda or any other sugar substitute on hand.  Today I am taking this friend a meal that consists of ham steaks, roasted root vegetables and applesauce.  Almost every recipe for applesauce has some form of sugar so I decided to just wing it and make my own.

I started with a 3-pound bag of Gala apples. Why Gala? I don't know. They looked good and I am not a big fan of Granny Smith or Red Delicious.  The price was right at the grocery store.  All but three were peeled. I like to leave the peel on three of them for added texture. All were cored, sliced into small chunks and put into a pan with two thin slices of lemon.

Why lemon? Well, I can't add sugar and a squeeze of lemon always makes my tea taste better so I decided it would probably be just the ticket to helping out with the taste of the apples.

Next I added one teaspoon of cinnamon and I grated in some nutmeg. I did not use ground nutmeg. Don't do it. It only takes a minute to run your nutmeg pod over your micro-plane to get that delicious, fresh nutmeg taste. Fresh nutmeg is often my secret ingredient in many of my dishes.

Add to all of the above about 1 1/2 cups of water and set to boil. After it boils, reduce the heat  and cover the pot. Cook for approximately twenty minutes, giving them an occasional stir.

When they are nice and tender remove the lemon slices and use your handy dandy potato masher and mash the apples.

This applesauce is hearty and earthy. It is not the sweet applesauce of your childhood. It is applesauce all grown-up.  My friends love it because he can eat what he wants without worrying about his diabetes.

Chicken and brown rice

Day two of healthier dinners for me and my family.  I am feeling pretty good today. I have not ingested a single "food-like" substance, white sugar or white flour thing so far.  It has taken some serious will power the later in the day it gets because I find myself craving the empty calories of soda and candy.

On a serious note, it has been discovered my husband has diverticulosis.  I am going to have to watch this man's diet a little closer and one of the first things we are going to eliminate is corn. That is kind of sad but kind of not. I reckon I will have it on special occasions but it is empty calories anyway so it is the first item to go!

Tonight is baked chicken.  I have skinless, boneless chicken breast with some Mrs. Dash table blend sprinkled on it in the oven baking.  As I am staying away from white stuff, brown rice is cooking on the stove.  This is a little bit of a problem for me as I have never really liked brown rice.  I am hoping that I will like it better now. It has been about 10 years since I tried it last.  I never realized how much of my eating involved chemicals and process.  Now don't go thinking I have jumped on the band wagon. I highly doubt I will ever give it all up for good. But for right now, it is time to get a lot healthier. I am a 47 year old, overweight woman who has a family history of diabetes and heart disease.  It's time to get real.

Tonight I actually made dinner without any butter.  Yes. I did.  NO BUTTER.  I have discovered something important.  First, I like my green beans just as they are.  I did not miss the butter I usually put on them.  Second, olive oil is a good substitute for butter.  I used olive oil to saute my veggies in and I also added a little bit of oil to the brown rice in lieu of butter.  It was pretty successful overall.

All things being equal, I would really love a nice fat piece of cake or a big bowl of ice cream right now.  I know it is going to take time to get things the healthy way.  I won't always deprive myself of these things, but for now, I will be okay.

Now it is time to go take a walk as I only have 6085 steps on my pedometer and I would really like to hit 10,000 before bedtime.