Diet baked apples: Make them in the oven or
microwave, eat them warm or chilled. Photo
© J. Volodina | IST.

Personally, we avoid all “reduced calorie” versions of fattening desserts. It’s better to have a small piece of the good stuff less often, then it is to have “light” versions of brownies,, cheesecake, etc.

One of our go-to healthy desserts is a baked apple, made with non-caloric sweetener or low-glycemic agave syrup.

It couldn’t be easier. Use the apples you prefer for apple pie—varieties that hold their shape when cooked. Some examples include the Baldwin, Crispin/Mutsu, Granny Smith, Honeycrisp and Pink Lady.

You can bake them or microwave them. Microwaving is faster, and is the ideal way to cook a single serving. But if you become a fan of these baked apples, try baking them to see if you prefer the consistency.

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. CORE the apples and place them in a microwave-safe dish in a half inch of water.

2. SPRINKLE the cored inside liberally with Splenda, cinnamon and nutmeg. Be sure the apple skin and the water are also sprinkled. The water will turn into a sort of syrup.

3. MICROWAVE for 3-1/2 to 4 minutes or until tender. Microwave ovens vary, so test until you find the right texture. Sometimes we want an al dente baked apple; other times we cook it longer to achieve the consistency of hot applesauce.

4. OPTIONAL: Reduce the cooking water to be more syrup-like. If you’re using agave, you can flavor the syrup with cinnamon and other spices. When ready to eat…

5. GARNISH as desired and serve.
 
Oven Baking Variation

PREHEAT the oven to 375°F. Bake the apples, basting with the pan liquid every 5 to 7 minutes, until tender (45 minutes to an hour).
 

Apples seem like the quintessential European fruit. But they first grew wild in the Tien Shan mountains of Kazakhstan, in Central Asia, millions of years ago.

Those early apples were likely smaller and more sour than modern apples—more like crabapples.

By about 6500 B.C.E., travelers were carrying cultivated apple seeds west, to West Asia, and east to China. Charred remains of apples have been found at a Stone Age village in Switzerland. (The Stone Aged spanned 6000 B.C.E to 2000 B.C.E.) [Source]

By the third century B.C.E., the Greeks were growing several varieties of apples; the ancient Romans also grew and loved the fruit.

Around 100 C.E., the Roman Legions brought apples along as they advanced north through Europe. Gaul (ancient France) became a fertile region for apple cultivation. The Romans also planted apples in Brittania (England). Centuries later, following the Norman conquest in 1066, new varieties of apple from France were introduced to England.

Garnish your apple with low-caloric toppings, like pomegranate arils. Photo © C. Letty | IST.

Apples were a boon to Europeans. They ripened just as it was getting cold and they could keep all winter, a valuable food source when nothing else was growing. Apples were also sliced, dried and stored. And bitter varieties were pressed to make cider.

The word “apple” comes from the Old English word, “aeppel.” Cognates appear in Dutch, Old Frisian, Old High German and Old Saxon. According to What’s Cooking America, there are approximately 10,000 different kinds of varieties of apples grown around the world with more than 7,000 of these varieties grown in the U.S. (only a fraction are grown commercially).

Apples arrived in the New World in 1607, with the Jamestown settlers. The seeds and cuttings they brought from Europe were not all suited for cultivation in Virginia, but they began to mutate to new varieties of American apples.

Many of these apples were fairly bitter—not hand fruit, but important for making cider, which was more valuable than hand fruit or cooking fruit.

Most early colonists grew their own apples. Due to unhealthy water sources, most people, including children, drank beer or hard cider instead of water (the same was true in Europe).

Apples were being grown in Massachusetts as early as 1630. Mutation was continually creating new breeds. The McIntosh mutation was discovered in 1796, by a farmer named John McIntosh.

Sweet apples for eating were grown as well, and today they’re grown in every state. Thomas Jefferson had a part in the development of the Fuji apple.

As the story goes, the French minister to the United States gave Jefferson a gift of apple cuttings; Jefferson donated them to a Virginia nursery which cultivated them as the “Ralls Genet.” In 1939, Japanese apple breeders crossed the genes from the Red Delicious apple with the Ralls Genet, resulting in the now-ubiquitous Fuji apple. [Source]
  

Top: Purdue Short Cuts, ready to heat and
eat. Center: Rebel Fish salmon fillets
microwave in 90 seconds. Bottom:
Swanson Flavor Infused Broth, flavorful by
themselves or with added veggies and/or
protein.

Now for the bad news:

 
Many of us sabotage a good eating plan because it’s usually easier to make bad choices than good ones. But it’s really easy to make small fixes. Just pick three better-for-you foods to incorporate into your diet, using the new USDA Nutrition Guidelines.

Here are some of the foods we rely on: tasty and good for you, and either ready to eat or ready to heat and eat. We promise: You won’t be disappointed.
 
9 OPTIONS THAT ARE READY TO EAT OR READY-TO-HEAT & EAT

When you’re tired and/or pressed for time, it’s easy to microwave something. Stock up on good-for-you products to microwave:

 
What are your go-to, good-for-you foods? Let us know!

Top photo: Flavored tuna pouches are really yummy. Second photo: Low-sodium canned beans can be served at breakfast, lunch or dinner. Third photo: Oatmeal cups are convenient and so much better than bagels and doughnuts. Bottom photo: The best sweet snack with no added sugar.

Kale is the current nutrient-dense darling, but collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens, Swiss chard and watercress have the same top score on the Aggregate Nutrient Density Index (ANDI). Top: kale chips (here’s the recipe). Bottom: Use collard greens instead of other sandwich wraps. Here’s how. Photo courtesy Good Eggs | San Francisco.

None of it will be news to anyone. Here’s what you should eat:

More fruits and vegetables; grains, especially whole grains; low-fat or fat-free dairy products; seafood, lean poultry and meats; beans, eggs, and unsalted nuts. Limit solid fats, cholesterol and trans fats; consume less than 10% of calories from saturated fats. Limit salt (sodium) and added sugars. And exercise regularly.

Here’s the summary of the guidelines:

THE GUIDELINES

1. Follow a healthy eating pattern across your lifespan. All food and beverage choices matter. Choose a healthy eating pattern at an appropriate calorie level to help achieve and maintain a healthy body weight, support nutrient adequacy, and reduce the risk of chronic disease. (Editor’s Note: It’s never too late to start.)

2. Focus on variety, nutrient density, and amount. To meet nutrient needs within calorie limits, choose a variety of nutrient-dense foods across and within all food groups in recommended amounts. (Editor’s Note: Nutrient dense foods are those that provide the most nutrients for the fewest calories. Here’s a guide to the most nutrient-dense foods in every category.)

3. Limit calories from added sugars and saturated fats, and reduce sodium intake. Consume an eating pattern low in added sugars, saturated fats and sodium (salt). Cut back on foods and beverages higher in these components to amounts that fit within healthy eating patterns.

4. Shift to healthier food and beverage choices. Choose nutrient-dense foods and beverages across and within all food groups in place of less healthy choices. Consider cultural and personal preferences to make these shifts easier to accomplish and maintain.

KEY RECOMMENDATIONS

The Dietary Guidelines’ Key Recommendations for healthy eating patterns should be applied in their entirety, given the interconnected relationship that each dietary component can have with others.

1. Consume a healthy eating pattern that accounts for all foods and beverages within an appropriate calorie level.

A healthy eating pattern includes:

Fish is the most nutrient-dense protein, with wild salmon at the top of the list. Second- best is chicken breast. Shown here is baked salmon atop a bed of quinoa; photo courtesy Nestlé.

 
PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

In tandem with the recommendations above, to help promote health and reduce the risk of chronic disease, Americans of all ages—children, adolescents, adults, and older adults—should meet the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Americans should aim to achieve and maintain a healthy body weight. The relationship between diet and physical activity contributes to calorie balance and managing body weight.

Editor’s Note: You knew all of this; now you just have to make small adjustments to get closer to the ideal. Good luck to us all.