Favorite Snack: Apple Slices

We’ve all been taught that an apple a day keeps the doctor away.  So how do you eat your apple for the day?  Whole or sliced?  When fall comes around, I’m sure you are consuming more apples in a day than you did all summer long.  After we do our traditional family apple picking outing, I use up most the apples we pick for homemade applesauce and apple pie, but I do make sure there is enough for afternoon snacks.  And my kids are all about slicing and dicing and how creative I can get with a sliced apple.

A quick and easy way to slice apples is with a mandoline slicer.  The apples are sliced thin and the center makes a pretty flower design.  My kids love these apple discs, or apple saucers as we say in our home.

Another favorite way we slice our apples is with an apple peeler, corer and slicer.  This kitchen tool has a permanent spot on my kitchen counter during the Fall months.  My kids love to use this tool, so what I do is keep a bowl of apples out and they will reach for an apple every time they need something to munch on.  They turn the handle and watch the apple become a spiral ring.

Once your apples are sliced and if you are packing them in your child’s lunchbox, don’t forget to preserve the apples slices from browning.  Place the apple slices in a bowl of cold water and squeeze fresh lemon juice in the bowl.  Add a dash of salt if you’d like.  Lemon juice and salt are natural preservatives.  Let the apples sit in the bowl for about 5 minutes.  Then pack them away, and they should still look good to eat when lunch rolls around.

The most kid-requested, easy apple-sliced snack in our house is apple cinnamon. Did you know that cinnamon can help keep the doctor away too?  There are many health benefits that come cinnamon.  One that is very well known is regulating blood sugar–good for someone who has diabetes.  All you do is sprinkle cinnamon on apple slices and serve!

Add some protein and energy to your apple slices.  I like to layer it with natural, organic peanut butter, chopped dark chocolate chips then unsweetened shredded coconut.  It is so good and is just the right amount of sweetness to get you through the rest of the afternoon.

When I have extra apples on hand or apples that might spoil, I use my mandoline slicer and pull out my dehydrator.  I place the apple slices on the tray after preserving them in lemon water (to prevent browning).  The drying time differs, but I dry them until they are leathery and very dry, but not too crisp.  It usually takes about 12 hours.  If you don’t have a dehydrator, use your oven.  Bake at 225 degrees for about 1 hour.  Check and feel the texture of the apples.  Bake longer if it’s not dry enough.

Dried apple slices are not only good to eat by the slices, but also good to add to a homemade trail mix, granola or on top of oatmeal.  I like to dice the dried slices into little apple bites.

Whichever way you prefer, make sure you get your apple a day in every day and don’t be afraid to get creative with your apple slices!

For even more APPLE inspiration, check out some of our favorite apple recipe ideas below: