Keeping a healthy snack around can sometimes be a challenge, especially when dealing with the extra stress of caregiving. And since an apple a day keeps many bad things away, apparently, why not spice your apples up with just a couple of simple ingredients to create healthy apple sauce.
Caregivers can also use cooking as a way to engage with their senior client. As we are in the middle of apple season here in the Midwest, talking about memories that surround apples and autumn could lead to some interesting stories. Did someone in your senior’s family bake the best apple pie ever? Do they still have the recipe? Or did they instead make an apple crumble or cobbler?
One of my former senior clients told a story about her family farm in Virginia where all the heirs of the 8 children who grew up on the farm still get together every October to do a weekend of apple butter making. They collect apples from the orchard on their farm and build a huge bonfire and cook the apples down all night long. Family members sign up for shifts to stir the apples. Then they go home with jars of apple butter made on their family farm.
Healthy and Easy Apple Sauce
3 Ingredients: Apples, Cinnamon or Apple Pie Spice, Apple Juice
The amount of each of the ingredients varies based on how many apples you use and how much spice you like. Use the below amounts as a starting point and then add more juice if you need a bit more moisture and more spice as needed to please your palate. No sugar needed!
4 Apples
1/4 cup Apple Juice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Peel and core apples and slice. Add to sauce pan on stove top. Pour in 1/4 cup of apple juice and a teaspoon of cinnamon. Cook on medium to medium low, stirring and mashing the apples with a wooden spoon until completely cooked down to sauce.
