Fall recipes: Lowfat warm cinnamon apples

October 18, 4:44 PMBurbank Food ExaminerSarika Chawla

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Granny Smith apple
Photo Credit: Stock Exchange

There’s nothing more epic than the clash between an insatiable sweet tooth and an ever-thickening waistline.

When the sugar cravings come, the cacophony of voices with Very Bad Intentions can easily drown out our inner (and remarkably stick-thin) Jiminy Cricket.

However, there are a few ways around mindlessly munching through half a box of Chips Ahoy.

One is to substitute a healthier treat. Easier said than done, but it’s infinitely more satisfying to find a healthy substitute that still has some of the elements that you crave—i.e. great abundances of something crisp and crunchy. The granola at the end of this dish adds a little bit of fat (feel free to substitute Grape Nuts), but a lot of nuttiness and texture.

The other is to eat something that opposes the original craving, which halts the feedback loop that  makes your brain go, “Mmm…sugar good. Need more sugar.” Using Granny Smiths makes this dessert a little tart, so you’re not supersaturating your taste buds with something overly sweet and syrupy.

The final trick is to curb that habit of instant gratification and eat something that takes a few minutes to prepare. By the time it’s ready, the original powerful craving will have subsided.

Better yet, the smell of apples simmering on the stove will get your digestive juices flowing, and the joy of eating homemade dessert—instead of something packaged and processed—makes it more than worth the effort.

• Lowfat warm cinnamon apples
• 4 Granny Smith apples
• squeeze of lemon juice
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 tbs. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/8  cup light sour cream
• granola

Directions:
Peel, core and chop apples into bite-sized chunks. Mix into a pot with lemon juice, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Cover and simmer over low heat for 30 minutes. Add sour cream and simmer a few more minutes until liquid is reduced.
Serve warm in a bowl. Top with a sprinkle of granola.

Local sources:

The Granny Smith apples came from the Encino Farmers Market. The homemade granola is courtesy of The Peninsula Beverly Hills, but of course the bulk bin at Whole Foods will do just fine.

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