This is the great time of year to enjoy apples!

Making your own apple sauce is really easy and it’s a great thing to make with
your kids! They can wash the apples, peel the apples and if they are comfortable with a knife then they can help you chop up the apples too! We sometimes like to have apple sauce as a treat after dinner and sometimes we just love having it as a little snack We prefer to make our apple sauce without sugar, we just choose a naturally sweet and juicy variety of apple like red or golden delicious!

All you need:

• 1 pound of apples
• 5 -6 tablespoons of water
• cinnamon (to taste – we like to use a lot of cinnamon!)

Wash the apples. Peel them, remove the core and then slice into small chunks. Place your apples into a saucepan and bring to boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and sprinkle in your cinnamon. Simmer the apples until soft. Be sure to stir often to prevent burning!!! We learned that the hard way Once they are nice and soft you can serve the apple sauce warm or cold!

Happy Healthy Eating

Kia

Kia Robertson is a mom and the creator of the Today I Ate A Rainbow kit; a tool that helps parents establish healthy habits by setting the goal of eating a rainbow of fruits and vegetables every day. Kia is passionate about creating tools that help parents raise healthy kids!

by Wendy

They say an apple a day keeps the doctor away. Sweet and refreshing, they’re a healthy snack that is easy to eat at home or on the go. Nutrition wise, it’s low in calories and a good source in fiber and vitamin c. But sometimes apples start to brown too quick, forcing you to throw them away and waste money. Okanagan Specialty Fruits, a company dedicated to taking the tree fruit industry to the next level, has created a new breed of apples that solves this problem.

They’re called Arctic Apples. Using biotechnology, Okanagan Specialty Fruits has created a way to stop the enzymes in apples that cause brownness from triggering.  They’re raised and harvested the same way as all other apples. And keeping the fruit from browning helps retain some the antioxidants that are lost when bruising and browning does occur.

Arctic Apples are still under review with government regulators and should be available for purchase in the near future. In the meantime, here are some apple products you can purchase that don’t brown and are organic:

Bare Fruit Organic Fat Free Dried Cinnamon Apple Chips – lighted dusted with organic cinnamon; these baked organic apple chips are a great healthy snack that is low in calories, high in fiber and naturally sweet.

Organic Dried Apples – these dried apple rings are certified by CCOF and contain no additives or preservative.  They also make similar versions with other fruits. Enjoy and store them in fridge for up to 6 months.

Santa Cruz Organic Apple Sauce – Certified organic apple sauce packed in cute snack size containers, which make packing lunches a breeze

Cadia Organic Gravenstein Apple Juice – made from 100% organic Gravenstein apples from Somona County, California

How do you like to eat your apples?

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Wendy Yu is a digital marketing professional living in New York City. When she’s not using the power of social media to share ideas on how to be more environmentally friendly, she is exploring the city, trying local foods, and learning more about how she can reduce her carbon footprint.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of Green Halloween® or our partners.

Looking for something fun to do with your kids? Try cooking together! Sure it can mean a little extra time and clean up when you have little “helpers” but it’s worth it. Of course this isn’t something that needs to happen for every meal, even if you just cook together once a week, it can create cherished memories and traditions that will last a lifetime! Getting your kids involved in preparing meals is a fantastic way to develop healthy eating habits. Kids are far more likely to dig into a new dish if they helped prepare it!

There are lots of things even very young children can do in the kitchen. Toddlers can wash and rip lettuce, preschoolers can measure and stir, and older kids can find recipes and help create meals.

Here are a few ideas that don’t require much “actual cooking” but they are fun recipes for kids!

Rainbow Fruit Sticks

Need a colorful, tasty, healthy item to bring to your next potluck or school event?!? Try these easy to make Rainbow Fruit Sticks!  They are a huge hit at any event with kids of all ages.

All you need is a collection of colorful fruit and some skewers! I like to use: Pineapple, Green Grapes, Cantaloupe, Raspberries, Honeydew Melon and Blackberries to give the skewers a nice rainbow effect!

1. Wash your fruit and let dry a little so that they are easy to work with.
2. Arrange your fruit and skewer them in the same order.
3. Display your Rainbow Fruit Sticks on a platter and get ready for the compliments!

Cinnamon Apple Slices

All you need is an Apple and some Cinnamon

This is an easy snack.  Wash and slice an apple then sprinkle with cinnamon.  Adds a yummy twist to eating apples!

Kids want to have fun…that’s part of what makes them such great people to be around! So when you want to get your kids on board for something, try making a game out of it! Look at your kitchen through the eyes of your little one and suddenly the salad spinner becomes a merry-go-round for lettuce and the sink turns into a car-wash for vegetable vehicles! Use mini cookie cutters to cut out fun shapes in fruits and vegetables. Get them involved and have fun!!

Happy Healthy Eating!
Kia Robertson

Kia Robertson is a mom and the creator of the Today I Ate A Rainbow kit; a tool that helps parents establish healthy habits by setting the goal of eating a rainbow of fruits and vegetables every day. Kia is passionate about creating tools that help parents raise healthy kids!

Making your own apple sauce is really easy and it’s another great thing to make with your kids!  They can wash the apples, peel the apples and if they are comfortable with a knife then they can help you chop up the apples too!  We sometimes like to have apple sauce as a treat after dinner and sometimes we just love having it as a little snack

We prefer to make our apple sauce without sugar, we just choose a naturally sweet and juicy variety of apple like red or golden delicious!

All you need:

1 pound of apples
5 -6 tablespoons of water
cinnamon (to taste we like to use a lot of cinnamon!)

Wash the apples.  Peel them, remove the core and then slice into small chunks. Place your apples into a saucepan and bring to boil. Reduce the  heat to a simmer and sprinkle in your cinnamon. Simmer the apples until t soft. Be sure to stir often to prevent burning!!!  We learned that the hard way   Once they are nice and soft you can serve warm or cold!

Happy Healthy Eating
Kia

Kia Robertson is a mom and the creator of the Today I Ate A Rainbow kit; a tool that helps parents establish healthy habits by setting the goal of eating a rainbow of fruits and vegetables every day. Kia is passionate about creating tools that help parents raise healthy kids!

Here is a quick and healthy snacks that is also easy on the budget!  Cinnamon Apples!!!!  All you need is an apple and some cinnamon!  This is one of my daughters favorite after school snacks and since she’s been in practicing her knife skills for years she’s actually able to prepare this for herself.

Step 1. Wash the apple

Step 2. Place the apple on a cutting board and make four cuts so that you are left with a square core

Step 3. Cut the slices to the thickness that you prefer and place apple slices on a plate and sprinkle with cinnamon

Step 5.  Enjoy your yummy and healthy snack!

Some snacks really are a snap

Happy Healthy Eating,
Kia

Kia Robertson is a mom and the creator of the Today I Ate A Rainbow kit; a tool that helps parents establish healthy habits by setting the goal of eating a rainbow of fruits and vegetables every day. Kia is passionate about creating tools that help parents raise healthy kids!