Eat All-American without the All-American Waistline

Baseball.

Hamburgers.

Football.

Apple Pie.

Cowboys.

Those things are quintessentially American. If you talk about any of them around the world (except football), they will mean America.

Unfortunately, there is something else that is recognized as American around the world:

Our growing waistlines.

America is easily the fattest country in the world, and that is just so sad. What can we do about it? Well, we can all change our diets, exercise more, and change our lives for the better.

Want an extra 10 years on your life? Me too.

I am on a personal quest for greater health. Since February 8th (when I started on a juice fast), I have been following Dr. Joel Fuhrman's eating plan from his book Eat to Live, and I have had wonderful results.

I've lost 72 pounds in four months.

Cholesterol is down 17%

Blood Pressure is perfect (117 over 72, versus 140/95 previously)

Enough of me harping about health. I've linked the resources, so if you would like to learn more, it's up to you!

Apple Pie that's Good for You?

You probably have no problems eating delicious Apple Pie, but it's not the best thing in the world for you.

Why not make some healthy Apple Pie. I got a wonderful recipe from Carrie over at Carrie on Vegan in her post "A Modern Twist to Vegan Apple Pie"

I made this recently, and I am in love with this dessert. My Mom even made this for me for my Birthday earlier this week!

This pie really will not stick around for long

It has everything - wonderful crust, massive mound of moist apples, sweet taste, cinnamon goodness, and a secret ingredient!!!

Here's the recipe from Carrie. My comments are in brackets.
Make it. Enjoy it. Don't feel guilty about it.

All-American, Guilt-Free Apple Pie Recipe

For the Filling

• 6 Fuji Apples (or other sweet, red apple) [Paul: I had MASSIVE apples]
• 1 cup freshly-squeezed orange juice [Paul: Use store bought if you'd like]
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast [Paul: If you can't get it, still make this pie]

For the Crust

• 1 cup almonds
• 1/2 cup walnuts
• 1 cup gluten-free rolled oats
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups medjool dates, pitted

Instructions

1. Core the apples and cut them into bite-sized pieces. [Paul: I quartered mine and cut out the core. I then sliced them on a mandoline to get bite-sized pieces.]
2. Combine the apples, orange juice, raisins, 1 teaspoon of the cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon of the vanilla into a saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer uncovered for 15-20 minutes, or until apples are softened. Stir in nutritional yeast and set aside to cool off.
3. Place almonds, walnuts, and oats into a food processor and process until finely ground. Add the remaining cinnamon and vanilla. Turn the food processor on, and add the dates through the feeding tube one at a time. Process until mixture is well combined. [Paul: Read below for those without full size food processors]
4. Pour the contents of the food processor into the pie dish and use your hands to spread evenly into the dish. Place the crust in the refrigerator to chill for at least an our.
5. When you are ready to assemble teh pie, pour the apple mixture into the pie crust and serve cold or at room temperature.

That's it. There's your All-American-without-the-American-waistline Pie!!!

For those with small food processors.

I do not have a full sized food processor. I have a mini-prep, however. 

Here's how I handled this.

I processed the almonds into a powder. I dumped them into a large bowl.

I processed the walnuts and oats. I dumped them into a large bowl.

I processed 3/4c. of dates with some of the powder from my large bowl. I dumped them into the large bowl.

I repeated with the last of the dates.

I added cinnamon and vanilla to the large bowl.

I mixed by hand. 

This takes longer. The result works. 

So there you go, not having a food processor isn't an excuse (a blender should work, but will take more work on your part to make it work.)

Seriously, this is one dish that you will be excited to serve to company!

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