Winter is just a few months away, and it’s time to start thinking about supporting your body during what’s arguably the toughest season of the year.
One of the biggest struggles we face during the colder months is the temptation of holiday and seasonal sweet treats. Whose mouth doesn’t water for grandma’s triple chocolate cake or pecan pie with graham cracker crust?
My holistic solution: find creative ways to spice up nutritious whole foods for delicious holiday treats. Focus on fruits; nuts; natural sweeteners like honey, molasses, and dates; and festive spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove.
So instead of inducing yourself into a processed sugar coma this winter season, try my nutritious (and naturally sweet!) recipe for Baked Winter Pears or Apples:
Baked Winter Pears or Apples
Ingredients:
Organic winter pears or apples: 4
Local raw honey: 2 tablespoons
Organic cinnamon Cinnamomum zeylanicum: 1 teaspoon
Organic cardamom Elettaria cardamomum: ½ teaspoon
Sea salt: ¼ teaspoon
Optional: organic raisins, nuts, dates, and/or cranberries
Optional: unsulfured black strap molasses: ½ teaspoon
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Wash and dry pears or apples. For apples, cut out the core, leaving as least ½ inch of the bottom of the apple intact. For pears, cut in half lengthwise, and then core.
- Optionally, you could core the pears as you did the apples and leave them whole. Leave skin on both the apples and pears.
- Arrange apples or pears in a baking dish.
- Mix together the raw honey, cinnamon, and cardamom. Optionally, you can also add molasses to this mixture.
- Drizzle honey and spice mixture in cores and over the tops of the apples or pears. Sprinkle just a touch of sea salt over the honeyed fruit.
- Optional: If you would like to add raisins, dates, cranberries, or nuts, mix together ½ cup of your dried fruit and/or nut combination. Then combine with the spiced honey mixture. Divide this evenly, and place in the apple or pear cores. You can set aside extra spiced honey to drizzle over the stuffed apples or pears.
- Bake apples or pears for 35 to 50 minutes, until they are fork tender. Some recipes call for adding a small amount (1/4 to 1/3 cup) of apple or pear juice in the bottom of the baking pan to help keep the fruit moist while baking.
- Serve warm. This recipe can be served as dessert, a breakfast item, a snack, or a side dish.
How this Recipe Supports Your Winter Wellness
All of the ingredients in this delicious recipe have nutritional as well as herbal therapeutic properties that support our systems holistically during the winter season. The winter apples and pears are seasonal fruits providing vitamin C, fiber, and several types of antioxidants that support digestive and immune system functions.
The warming cinnamon and cardamom also have antioxidant and other therapeutic benefits for digestion and circulation. Finally, the raw honey and molasses are wonderful alternatives to sugar. They both contain an amazing variety of vitamins and minerals, which we need during the harsh winter months.
If you enjoyed this recipe, and you’re ready to start supporting your body for a healthy winter season, this is just a little taste of what I will be covering in my upcoming lecture on Seasonal Wellness: Winter Wellness on October 13, 2015 at the ACHS Portland Campus.
The class will also cover the key aspects of holistic nutrition, herbs and essential oil recipes and blends, and core nutrition recipes—all to help support your health and wellness during winter.
You can sign up here or by clicking the graphic below. I’d love to see you there!
This article is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to treat, diagnose, cure, or prevent disease. This article has not been reviewed by the FDA. Always consult with your primary care physician or naturopathic doctor before making any significant changes to your health and wellness routine.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I am a faculty member of American College of Healthcare Sciences (ACHS), the Institution that publishes this blog. However, all opinions are my own. This blog may contain affiliate links. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
