7 Healthy Apple Recipes + 3 Apple Dessert Tips

Over 2500 varieties of apples are grown in the United States

I made three major lifestyle changes that led to my recovery from fibromyalgia. Making these choices can help moderate symptoms, not only from fibromyalgia, but also from many other chronic illnesses and autoimmune diseases. 

• I got as many chemicals as possible out of my home environment by changing what I used for cleaning and personal grooming. 
• I stopped eating most processed food. 
• I started eating real food with a lot of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory nutrients.

Check out the post from February 8 for info on the health benefits of adding antioxidant rich foods to your diet. Want to make something with almonds? Check out last week's post. This week is all about apples. Buy organic ones when possible. If you are lucky enough to live in an area that grows apples, you may be able to find an organic apple farm that allows you to pick your own fruit.

Apples are on several dirty food lists because of the high concentration of chemical residue in commercially produced apples. If you buy them from the supermarket,wash thoroughly and peel before eating. 

Or try this. Put 1/4 cup of plain white vinegar in a large metal or glass bowl. Add apples. Fill the bowl with water until the apples are covered. Put a heavy plate on top of the apples to keep them submerged. Or turn the apples every few minutes to make sure the whole surface is coated. Soak in the vinegar and water mixture for 15 minutes. Rinse the apples in plain water and dry them with a paper towel. This helps lift chemical residue off the apples. I also soak grapes, lemons, berries and any fruits that may have been exposed to pesticides and other chemicals in the vinegar mixture before eating. 

I have searched the web this week for healthy apple recipes. Here are seven delicious ways to use this antioxidant rich fruit.

Apple Spinach Chicken

Baked Apples

Beet and Apple Salad

Chicken with Apples and Cranberries

Pork Chops with Apples and Garlic Smashed Potatoes

Pumpkin Apple Soup

Updated Waldorf Salad


Apple Desserts

Apple pies, crisps, cakes, and tarts are delicious for dessert. Here are three tips to make your apple dessert recipes a little healthier.

Add healthy ingredients. To increase the nutritional value of the dessert, add healthy ingredients that blend well with the flavor of apples. Try adding chopped walnuts, chopped almonds, raisins, or medjool dates. Add 2 tablespoons of flaxseed or flaxseed/chia seed mixture to the dry ingredients. Replace part of the butter called for in the recipe with organic coconut oil. Replace part of the flour called for with rolled oats.Use unbleached flour and whole wheat flour instead of refined white flour.

Sugar. Consuming too much refined sugar is linked to a variety of health problems. Instead of white refined sugar, use raw organic sugar, raw organic honey, real maple syrup, or molasses for sweetener. Reduce the amount of sweetener called for in the recipe. I have reduced the amount by up to half with delicious results.

Shortening and oil. If your apple dessert recipe calls for oil, always use pure olive oil. Olive oil is much healthier than corn oil, canola oil, or other vegetable oils. If the recipe calls for shortening, try using organic coconut oil instead. Coconut oil looks like solid shortening and works much like shortening in recipes. Try this coconut oil pie crust.

Coconut Oil Pie Crust


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10 Healthy Recipes with Almonds

Raw Almonds

I made three major lifestyle changes that led to my recovery from fibromyalgia. Making these choices can help moderate symptoms, not only from fibromyalgia, but also from many other chronic illnesses and autoimmune diseases. 

• I got as many chemicals as possible out of my home environment by changing what I used for cleaning and personal grooming. 
• I stopped eating most processed food. 
• I started eating real food with a lot of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory nutrients.

Check out the post from February 8 for info on the health benefits of adding antioxidant rich foods to your diet. Almonds are a delicious and versatile food high in antioxidants.They are a great source of Vitamin E, Vitamin B2, manganese, copper and other nutrients. Look for raw unsalted almonds with no additives. They can be eaten by the handful for a snack, sprinkled over yogurt, added to muffin batter, and used in stir-fry recipes. I have searched the web this week for healthy almond recipes to give you some ideas of creative ways to use this nutritious little nut.Click the links to check out some of my favorite finds.

Main dishes with an extra crunch factor.


Almond Crusted Chicken Fingers

Almond and Lemon Crusted Fish with Spinach


If you want to go vegan, try these scrumptious burgers.

Lentil and Almond Burgers


Side dishes that add a dash of pizzazz to company dinners or family meals.

Wild Rice with Shiitakes and Toasted Almonds

Green Beans with Goat Cheese, Tomatoes,and Almonds


A Colorful salad that complements any menu.

Strawberry Spinach Salad


Delectable desserts.

Flourless Honey Almond Cake

Raspberry Almond Coffee Cake


Snacks that blend the nutritional power duo of almonds and honey.

Almond Honey Power Bars

Honey Glazed Almonds


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Are You Rusty on the Inside? These 15 Super Foods Can Help.

The poor Tin Man in "The Wizard of Oz" became so rusty from exposure to the outside elements that he was unable to move. We hear a lot about the importance of eating foods that contain antioxidants.That's because we get "rusty" on the inside without them.

Oxidation is what happened to the Tin Man. Rust develops when metal is exposed to air. 
In our bodies the rust equivalent is known as free radicals. Free radicals are created when we use oxygen. Eating processed food loaded with harmful additives and breathing air polluted by chemicals from industrial waste, cigarette smoke, cleaning products, etc. increases the damage to our cells from free radicals.

Antioxidants are designed to fight the oxidation process. Fortunately, there are many real foods that are loaded with natural antioxidants like vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, and lycopene. Any nutritional component of real food that fights free radical formation is an antioxidant. Eating these foods not only helps prevent destruction to our cells from free radicals, it also repairs damage that is already there. Foods loaded with antioxidants help prevent disease, repair damaged cells, and boost our immune systems.  

To help fight fibromyalgia, I stopped eating processed food that can accelerate oxidation and free radical formation in our cells. I started eating real food that has a lot of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory nutrients. 

We'll look at anti-inflammatory foods in a later post.Today, I'm focusing on foods that will keep you from getting "rusty" on the inside.There are many delicious foods for you to choose from to up your antioxidant intake Helpful hint: think colorfully. Usually,the foods with the deepest, richest colors have the most antioxidants.

These are some of my favorite antioxidant rich foods.

Almonds. Buy plain raw almonds with no salt or additives. Eat them by the handful for a snack. Add to stir-fry recipes. Sprinkle chopped almonds over yogurt. Add 1/2 cup of chopped almonds to homemade muffins. 

Apples. Buy organic ones when possible. Apples are on several dirty food lists because of the high concentration of chemical residue in commercially produced apples. If you buy them from the supermarket,wash thoroughly and peel before eating. I soak mine in a mixture of vinegar and water to help lift off the residue. 

Beans. Black beans and dark red beans are especially nutritious. I love them mixed with salsa and served over whole grain rice. They are a great addition to chili, soup, and stew.

Bell Peppers. Green, red, yellow, and orange bell peppers add a colorful nutritious boost to fajitas and stir-fry. Red peppers have the highest concentration of antioxidants but the other colors have them as well. 

Berries. Blueberries, blackberries, and strawberries pack a lot of healthy benefits in every delicious bite. Use them in a mixed fruit salad. Add them to cereal and bread. Toss your favorite berry in the blender with almond milk, half a banana, raw honey, crushed ice, and a dash of pure vanilla extract to make a delicious smoothie. 

Broccoli.This crunchy green veggie is on almost everyone's list of super foods. It's great raw in salads. Roasting it in the oven is a delicious and easy way to eat it cooked.Preheat the oven to 425. Cut the broccoli into florets. Put them on a baking sheet brushed with olive oil.Sprinkle with sea salt, ground pepper, and your favorite spices.Brush generously with olive oil. Cook until the broccoli starts to brown and get crispy around the edges. Add chopped onions and garlic to the dish to get an even higher antioxidant boost.

Carrots. Eat them raw or cooked. Eat raw carrot sticks for a crunchy side with a sandwich instead of chips.

Dates.Try whole Medjool dates with no added sugar.They are naturally sweet. Stuff chopped nuts into a whole pitted Medjool for a quick energizing snack.

Grapes. Dark red and dark purple are best. Grapes, like apples, are on some dirty food lists because of high concentrations of chemical residue. If you can't find organic grapes, soak them in a large bowl with 1/4 cup of white vinegar and water to remove the residue.

Oranges.They have a lot of Vitamin A and Vitamin C. Eat the whole fruit, instead of just drinking orange juice, to get the most nutritional value.

Sweet Potatoes. Get in the habit of eating them more frequently than white potatoes since they have many more nutrients than white. Toss them in the oven to bake. If you love fries, try this recipe. Sweet Potato Fries

Tea. Green or black. Drink several cups a day.Tea starts to lose its concentration of antioxidants about an hour after it is brewed. So try drinking hot tea. Add raw honey, freshly grated ginger, ground cinnamon, and lemon to hot tea to get even more antioxidants out of each cup. If you love iced tea, drink it is as soon as possible after brewing.

Tomatoes. They are versatile raw or cooked. Small varieties like cherry tomatoes pack more nutrition per bite than larger varieties and are an easy addition to salads.

Walnuts. A lot of nutrition is packed in this delicious nut. Use raw unsalted walnuts with no additives. Add them to salads, stir-fry recipes, and baked goods.

Yogurt. Greek yogurt has the most protein. It is full of riboflavin which helps us utilize antioxidants in our cells to get rid of free radicals. Yogurt tastes great topped with a sprinkle of crunchy granola and raw nuts. Whirl it in a blender with crushed ice and your favorite fruit to make a delicious smoothie.

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Is Invisible Fat Making You Sick?

Hiking to walk off the visible fat. Eating real food to get rid of the visceral fat.

Researchers are unsure what causes fibromyalgia. Check out the post from Jan. 18 for a discussion of three possible triggers. Although the disease may be set off in different people by a different convergence of events, one thing that all fibromyalgia patients have in common is increased inflammation throughout the body. And one thing known to cause widespread inflammation is visceral fat.

Visceral fat is fat that you cannot see. You don't have to appear obese to have it. Many thin people have a significant amount of visceral fat. This type of fat wraps itself around your internal organs, especially organs in the digestive tract including the stomach, liver, and spleen. Visceral fat causes chronic inflammation on a cellular level that leads to a host of diseases including autoimmune diseases like fibromyalgia. It also contributes to aging, heart disease, diabetes, depression, sleep apnea, some types of cancer, and many other illnesses. 

I am working to get rid of my visible fat and increase my overall stamina by walking, using a fitness tracker, light weight lifting, doing Tai Chi, and stretching. To recover from fibromyalgia, it was important for me to understand the harm that invisible visceral fat causes and find ways to increase my overall well-being by getting rid of it.

One of the main causes for developing visceral fat and the subsequent inflammation it creates is eating too much processed food full of corn syrup, artificial dyes, trans fats, preservatives, and other potentially harmful chemical additives. Researchers studying the link between visceral fat and inflammation say that we should never eat anything that comes out of a box, bottle, can, or package. They recommend eating real whole foods with antioxidants and anti-inflammatory nutrients.My personal goal is to eat real food at least 90% of the time. I heard one physician say that if he could get his patients with autoimmune diseases like fibromyalgia to eat real food for at least 80% of their diet they always showed significant improvement.

People who eat processed food, drink soft drinks, and consume other packaged products have high levels of visceral fat even if they are not visibly overweight. I had been eating processed food mindlessly for decades when I developed fibromyalgia. When I changed my diet to include mainly whole real foods and eliminated as many chemicals as possible from my daily routine, my symptoms completely resolved.

• I stopped eating processed food with harmful additives.
• I stopped drinking all soda. 
• I eat a wide variety of fresh fruit, vegetables, nuts, and whole grains.
• I eat foods that have a lot of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory nutrients.

The trade off of giving up certain foods for the blessing of feeling better is certainly worth it. Nothing that I have eliminated from my diet tastes as good as it feels to be well. I would love to get your feedback in the comments section. What do you think might keep someone from eating real food? Why would the processed food industry not want people to understand how harmful many of their products are? What else would you like to know about fibromyalgia recovery?


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Like my Facebook page Practical Healing in a Toxic World  to find practical ways to move toward a healthy life, recipes, tips on chemical free living, fibromyalgia facts, and spiritual encouragement. 

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