Sautéed Apples & Spice…and our 21-day cleanse
I had a funny epiphany a few days into the New Year….this is the first, in MANY years that I didn't create a long list of foods that I was not going to eat after the New Year :). This is huge for me…since I've had one of these lists every year since probably high school. That means…I've really actually made some progress in cutting certain things out of my diet…YAY!But, it's a New Year, and I decided to do a new year cleanse...And as a recipient of my cooking...my husband is indirectly doing it as well. :)So on Wednesday, we started a 21-day Ayurvedic Cleanse Program with an Ayurvedic practitioner named Vishnudas. There are 11 of us participating and the main goal is to "achieve optimal immunity through deep detoxification and rejuvenation" with the main intention really being on lasting change. I recently had a lot of blood work done and my Hashimotos is definitely throwing a wrench in a lot of other areas outside of my thyroid. Actually, like many health related issues, it's a dominoe effect…one thing leads to another and another and another. So this year I'm say hello to OPTIMAL HEALTH..and GOODBYE to HASHIMOTOS :). That's my intention, anyways.So among several things, one of the biggest things we have to do is keep a whole foods diet and "stay away" from inflammatory foods. That includes things like: refined sugars, alcohol, refined grain products, gluten, dairy, excessive salt, deep fried foods, refined cooking oils, coffee and processed foods and artificial food colorings, flavorings and preservatives. The good thing is that over the past year I've gone totally gluten free so that has definitely made it easier…now I have to work on my other two big vices…dairy and sugar:).Oh, how I love a little piece of chocolate here and there…and my husband, he loves anything, I repeat anything that's sweet :). So needless to say, he's a real trooper for doing this with me (definitely winning some big brownie points---no pun intended). :)But, by day two we both had a hankering to appease our sweet cravings, so I made these delicious sautéed apples…simple, satisfying and much better for us. They remind me of apply pie--minus the buttery crust and ice cream on top missing, they are very tasty and definitely comforting. I think you'll enjoy these, too!Today is day 4 and I'm happy to report my sweet cravings are not as strong today, I guess we'll see what happens tomorrow. :)
- 2 apples, cored and sliced*
- 1 tablespoon ghee
- 1/2- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon cardamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- pinch of salt
- In a large skillet pan warm ghee on medium heat.
- Once warm, add the apples and all the spices and then gently stir until all apples are covered in ghee and spice
- Cook on medium heat for 5-7 minutes or until the apples reach a desired consistency. I personally like cooking them so they get a little browned on one side.
