“This Girl is on Fire” Stewed Apples
By Amalia May
CALM THE VATA DOWN: Manage this year’s VATA season and balance your doshas with this scrumptious, warm and invigorating recipe to break your fast with APPLES!
We’ve all heard the old adage, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away”, heck 99% of us have said it ourselves! Have you ever given a thought to, why? Why does this seemingly ordinary normal fruit that’s growing in many backyards, pack such a “super fruit” punch? Well let’s first consider color. Red, right? Most generally when you think of an apple you think a red, juicy, delicious apple and what body organ do we think of when we see red??? ❤️ The heart.
Vata season stretches from autumn to early winter. Vata dosha’s characteristics are cold, dry, and light. Too much vata can be aggravating, but there are things we can do to calm our vata. Warming foods and spices like what’s in this recipe are a perfect way to start your morning in vata season.
Gut love. It’s important. A healthy gut is a healthy body, a healthy mind.
Did you know most of our immune health is reflected from our gut? So, let’s just make it a duty to take care of it. I don’t know about you, but i’ve spent too many winters being depressed, cold, and gaining too much weight. This winter I’m making sure I tend to my body and nourish it.
We crave warmth in the winter, right? So it’s important to really tend to the inner fire in our digestion. It’s always burning within us, cycling through our food turning it into fuel. But, as we slow down as the sun goes down and sleep, our agni also slows down. This stewed apple is the perfect breakfast (or pre breakfast) to gently wake up your digestive fire while actually supporting your digestive and immune health. Because it’s cooked, it’s much easier to digest.
Apples (and pears) contain pectin. Yeah, how you make jam.
Pectin, found in the fruit’s skin, releases when the apple cooks, giving our gut bacteria something to feed on. Pectin also boosts metabolism and reduces the production of the molecules that cause inflammation. Apples are an awesome source of vitamin C and of course, fiber. Fiber aids digestion by cleaning and eliminating impurities in your body.
This reduction of inflammation has been shown to help prevent heart disease and two other conditions where the arteries become inflamed as well as helping to regulate blood sugar and control appetite, protect against cancer, and safeguard the lungs. A+ for 🍎!!
This is a great breakfast idea to gently wake your body. Cooked apples are warm and soft. In the morning, your tummy isn’t quite ready for a full meal. So, simmering for 15-20 minutes is ideal. I love adding different spices with Ayurvedic health benefits, like cinnamon and nutmeg.
I love eating this in the morning because it satisfies all my cravings while igniting my energy.
This recipe is intended to be eaten in the morning for a light break fast.
Ayurvedic Stewed Apples
Pre-breakfast/breakfast
Ingredient List:
1 apple or pear
1 tbsp coconut oil or ghee
3 tbsp water
Spices:
½ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
1 clove
¼ tsp cardamom
Add ins:
Soaked raisins
Cinnamon stick
Honey
Instructions:
*If using raisins, soak overnight
1. Chop fruit into small bite size cubes (leaving skin on)
2. In a small pan, mix desired spices and ghee or coconut oil.
3. Add chopped fruit and water, bring to boil.
4. Cover and simmer on low for 15-20 minutes, until tender.
5. Transfer to bowl and drizzle honey and cinnamon on top :)
So follow your heart and grab some Golden Delicious, or my favorite, Honeycrisp.
Namaste, Amalia May
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