Toffee Apple

Tonight, we've put a little bit of a twist on an old friend. The Baked Cinnamon Apple is delicious, but even the best things in life get tedious after a while. It's time for a new take on that old favorite. I actually have a two-fer for you this evening, depending on your choice of tart or sweet. The addition of the lemon to the one recipe turned out a very different taste - delicious and like a sweet tart candy. The other was very toffee and just as delicious as the first.

The milk gives it just enough creaminess that you feel really spoiled and I honestly couldn't tell you which I like better! I'm sure you'll love both, too.

I give you the sharesies of the night:

Tart Toffee Apple (80 calories)

1 gala apple (80 calories)

1t lemon juice

1t butter buds

16 drops Toffee Stevia

1/2t cinnamon

1/4t nutmeg

dash salt

1T milk

Core and cut apple into quarters, then slice them about 1" thick. Add slices to a bowl and pour lemon juice over the top of it. Let sit for at least 1/2 hour. Put apple in ramekin. Sprinkle with butter, toffee stevia, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Pour milk over the top of all of it. Place in oven, uncovered 30 minutes at 350* then broil an additional 10 minutes.

Sweet Toffee Apple (80 calories)

1 gala apple (80 calories)

1t butter buds

16 drops Toffee Stevia

1/2t cinnamon

1/4t nutmeg

dash salt

1T milk

Core and cut apple into quarters, then slice them about 1" thick. Put apple in ramekin. Sprinkle with butter, toffee stevia, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Pour milk over the top of all of it. Place in oven, uncovered 30 minutes at 350* then broil an additional 10 minutes.

Zippy Baked Cinnamon Apple

Zippy Baked Cinnamon Apple (80 calories)

1 medium Gala apple (80 calories)

1/4t cinnamon

1/4t nutmeg

1/8t chili powder

1/2t cloves (if you like)

6-10 drops Stevia (or Vanilla Stevia)

Cut apple (I used the Gala apples because they're a little more tart and juicy than other apples right now, at the beginning of September) in half and core so there's no seeds and you have a little hole in the middle. Sprinkle the seasonings over the top of the apple halves, then add the Stevia, one drop at a time until you think it's going to be sweet enough. Bake in the toaster oven (yah, it's still summer here and we use this more often than the big oven cuz it doesn't heat the whole house up) at 350* for 30 to 45 minutes.

Apple Day

Today is the sixth day of being on a plateau while on this protocol *and following it to the letter.* I figure that six days of being at the same weight makes it time for a shake down. Or maybe it's a shake up, I'm not sure. I think it's a shake down though, as I want to drop the weight rather than gain it. It's an apple day and I'll have apples coming out my ears!

My chosen apples are one of my all time favorites, Gala. I enjoy Honeykrisp and green (so they're tart) Golden Delicious. Mostly, I like all those because they have a nice satisfying crunch and an elegant sweetness followed directly with a tangy tart. It's a symphony in your mouth if you listen closely. I know what I'm talking about here because I grew up in AppleLand (Hood River Valley in Oregon) where the apples and pears grew everywhere there wasn't a house. I got so sick of them that I didn't eat them for a long time, in fact, because every time we were hungry as kids, Mom would tell us to eat an apple. :) It's kind of like oatmeal for me. We had oatmeal for breakfast nearly every day.

My memory of that could certainly be faulty, but about food, I recall vividly trying to choke down oatmeal that I was just so tired of eating it was making me green around the gills ("But it's good for you!") and apples coming out my ears.

The "Apple Day" concept feels a lot like that, but I'd rather feel like that than keep the weight on. :) Wish me luck!

Desert tonight!

Tonight, we decided we'd have desert instead of "just fruit." It's been done before, but I've not found the way I just did it. So, here's the sharesies:

Baked Apple (80 calories)

1 medium Gala apple (80 calories)

1/2 t cinnamon

1/2 t nutmeg

1/2 t cloves (if you like)

6-10 drops Stevia (or Vanilla Stevia)

Cut apple (I used the Gala apples because they're a little more tart and juicy than other apples right now, at the beginning of September) in half and core so there's no seeds and you have a little whole in the middle. Sprinkle the seasonings over the top of the apple halves, then add the Stevia, one drop at a time until you think it's going to be sweet enough. Bake in the toaster oven (yah, it's still summer here and we use this more often than the big oven cuz it doesn't heat the whole house up) at 350* for 30 to 45 minutes.

I think, after the dissappoinment that dinner was, this will be a very refreshing treat. :)