Apples are good sources of fiber, vitamin C and all sorts of phytonutrients. Eating apples on a regular basis helps lower cholesterol and the risk of heart disease and stroke, lowers risk of certain cancers and type 2 diabetes, and helps improve gut health and maintain a healthy weight.
But, one of the main benefits of apples is also why they're passed over too often - they are so universally available that they are almost invisible. So start seeing apples.
Nutritionist Trish Brimhall joined The PLACE with suggestions of some ways to fall in love again with nature's unsung powerhouse:
- Top your toast or English muffin with some nut butter and thin sliced apples, or even add it into your grilled cheese
- Make an apple sandwich for lunch. Spread a cross-sectional slice of apple with some peanut butter, sprinkle with some granola and put an apple on top.
- Pull out your apple-prep tools. Chances are you have an apple slicer, corer or peeler somewhere in the back of a drawer or pantry. And since a lot of the nutritional benefits are found in the peel, let your kids eat the apple "ribbons"as you run them through a peeler.
- No time to bake a pie? Make a batch of baked apples in a crockpot or bake them in the oven and freeze them in individual portions for the perfect snack or addition to breakfast on a cold morning.