Do you end up looking at your fruit bowl and seeing one or two sad, wizened apples? You know they’re starting to go mushy and aren’t exactly enticing you with a “pick this up and chomp on it” appearance. Do you sometimes let them age for another week or two before giving up and chucking them in the garbage?
Ya, me too.
We end up with “well traveled” apples that have been in a lunch bag for a week or two, without being eaten because we weren’t hungry. They get soft spots and bruises and seem to age at a much faster pace. I would venture that about half of the time, I end up throwing them out.
The other half of the time, I do find uses for them, which are good for the pocket book and they still taste delicious, as long as you use them properly.
Here are a bunch of uses for sad apples, so you can eat some healthy food, reduce your eco footprint and keep your pocketbook and budget intact.
Apples and Pork
This is a very simple use for sad apples. Get some pork, maybe a tenderloin, slice up your apples and fry them in a dutch oven with some oil or butter. Add a few spices, sear the tenderloin on all sides, then pop the lid on until you reach your desired internal temperature. Viola!
Stir Fry with Apples
Make a stir fry, just like you normally would, but add in some apples along with your veggies. They add a nice, sweet flavour, some fibre and you’ll never know they were questionable in texture beforehand.
Mashed Sweet Potato and Apples
Peel them, or don’t, chuck them in with your sweet potatoes to boil and then mash them all together. Leave the skins on for extra nutrients, but make sure you’ve sliced your chunks up small.
Roasted Veggies and Apples
Dice up your apples, some potatoes, sweet potatoes, turnips, peppers, etc., toss them with some olive oil, garlic or spices and roast them all together in the oven.
Applesauce
Clean and core your apples, dice them, then place them in a saucepan with a bit of water and simmer until tender. Drain them off, saving the liquid, and put them all in a blender until smooth. Add in the saved liquid to get to the texture you would like. You can add maple syrup, brown sugar, cinnamon or nutmeg, as well. Eat it for breakfast, or serve it with pork.
Baked Apples
You can even make these in the microwave! Core your apple, stick it in a bowl, fill the centre with oatmeal, some brown sugar, cinnamon and top with a little pat of butter. Pop it in the microwave for 2-4 minutes, depending on your microwave, and dig in. Add a scoop of ice cream to make it even better.
Stewed Ice Cream Topping
Mmm, caramel apples! Dice up your apple nice and small, while gently heating butter until melted on the stove. Add a healthy dose of brown sugar to the saucepan and keep stirring until it is melted and caramel-y. Add a few drops of vanilla, then mix in your apples and stew until they are all cooked through. Serve it on top of ice cream!
There you have it – some delicious uses for sad apples, to keep your grocery budget happy!
What do you do with sad apples? Do you never have any in your household?
I hate to admit it, but I throw them out :0 I have a terrible habit of throwing away food that looks even remotely bad. I will have to use your tips to be less wasteful.
DC @ Young Adult Money recently posted…4 Ways to Avoid Being Pressured to Spend at Work
I still do that occasionally, shhh! But, I have become a LOT better in the past year or so.
One or two diced apples thrown into a hearty beef and barley (or Guinness) stew makes it simply amazing!
That’s a fantastic idea, too. I’ve never tried that one.
I tend to eat my apples before they start to get sad but I like the suggestions you made, especially the roasted veggies and apples.
Kassandra recently posted…The Moment I Outgrew My Money
Good on ya… the bag in my office is starting to get grainy at the moment, talk about crazy timing!