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If you are using store bought applesauce skip to step 2.
1. Peel, core, and thinly slice apples. Combine apples in a saucepan with 1/3c water and simmer until the apples are tender, stirring frequently. Add in raw sugar.
2. Mix and bring ghee, ginger, and applesauce to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Serve warm.
How Does This Ayurvedic Recipe Improve Wellness?
CLINICAL AYURVEDIC REVIEW
Discover nature's comfort food in a warm bowl of Apple Sauce with Ginger & Ghee. Snuggling up with a blanket and applesauce is all you need to soften and sweeten your mood. Applesauce takes you back to the innocence and simplicity of childhood. Warming ghee smoothes and soothes your nerves. A warm bowl of spiced apple sauce with ghee and a sprinkle of sugar is the ideal after-school (or after-work!) snack that will satisfy your stomach without hurting your waistline.
Orchard-ripe apples hang heavy on the tree this time of year, and make a tasty golden base for this wonderful autumn treat. If you're so inclined, grab a flannel, a basket, and find a feral apple tree in your neighborhood or local park, and pick them fresh. There's nothing like the smell of simmering, homemade applesauce to make any autumn afternoon cozy.
An Apple a Day
Does an apple a day really keep the doctor away? It's a familiar American adage that deserves a renaissance, but with a twist. In Ayurveda, a cooked apple - not a raw one - keeps the doctor away. Raw apples are cold, drying and might not digest easily, especially when left unskinned. Cooked apples, on the other hand, are warm and soft, like soups. They digest in a snap. Along with cooking, ghee softens the fibrous quality of apples that feels rough to those with sensitive constitutions and promises easier digestion.
The Perfect Autumn Snack
Your digestion works hard throughout the day so Ayurveda suggests snacks should be light and easy to digest. Applesauce with Ginger & Ghee is a near-perfect snack for gentle relief from hunger. When you're ravenous, applesauce will provide relief, without destroying your appetite for dinner. When you're simply stressed, applesauce provides comfort without putting on the pounds. The sour taste refreshes your kidneys and adrenals, as it restores a feeling of juiceyness. In as little as one hour after a bowl of this delicious treat, you will feel pleasantly hungry for a hearty autumn dinner. Applesauce is also a great option for a late-night snack.
Keeps you Regular
One of the main reasons "an apple a day keeps the doctor away" is its ability to keep you regular and stave off constipation. Sour taste warms and stimulates secretions that help you maintain a moist colon and motility. The high fiber content of apples (2.9 grams/cup) bulks up the stool for an easy elimination that cleanses the colon, which in turn keeping your blood clean. A clean colon coupled with clean blood means a clean bill of health!
Gently Clean Your Liver
Malic acid, the constituent responsible for the sour, tart taste of apples, has a particular affinity for liver cleansing and support. Apples are also sweet, a taste that gently nourishes the body and inspires a calm, tranquil state of mind. The tart sourness of apple purifies the liver and cools the blood by drawing bile into the small intestine for elimination. This effect is somatically experienced as a softening of the eyes.
Steady Blood Sugar
A spoonful of applesauce on the tongue registers sour taste, which increases saliva and stimulates the digestive tract which increases your digestive strength. After we swallow bites of the cooked apple, it descends down to the stomach and passes through to the small intestine. Although absorption of sweet taste increases blood sugar, apples have a relatively low glycemic index (38) and calorie count (72), making this a sweet treat that is healthy and safe.
Autumn Immune Tonic
Warm, soft, and comforting Applesauce with Ginger & Ghee nurtures & moistens your body through the dry transition to autumn. It prepares your tissues for winter. Ginger stimulates digestion while keeping you warm. It even makes you sweat out toxins that may be circulating in the blood, expelling these potential threats to your health. Ghee and raw sugar are extra nourishing after loss of fluids from a long, hot summer.
Weathering the Fall
The two most challenging times of year are the temperature u-turns of August and February. August illnesses tend to arise from deficiency, and February, from excess. Warm, soft, and comforting "Applesauce with Ginger & Ghee" nurtures the body through the transition to autumn and prepares our tissues for winter. In addition to the healing benefits of apple described above, ginger stimulates and enhances digestive efficiency. Ghee and raw sugar are extra nourishing after loss of fluids from a long, hot summer.
If you're so inclined, grab a flannel, a basket, and find a feral apple tree in your neighborhood or local park. These "Johnny apple-seed" trees are abundant and often underutilized. "Applesauce with Ginger & Ghee" is like an apple pie without the crust. Enjoy a warm cup on a cool autumn morning.
WHY EAT AN AYURVEDIC DIET?
Eating Ayurvedically makes you feel nourished and energized. An Ayurvedic diet is
tailored to your individual body type and the specific imbalances you are working with
at any given time. Ayurveda shows you your specific body type’s needs and what
should be favored in your Ayurvedic menu. Watch as you eat less but feel more satisfied because what you
are eating truly nourishes you. Since Ayurveda believes all disease begins in the digestive
tract, food is your first medicine. By eating a healthy diet that’s ideal for your body, you
experience optimal health.
Functional Ayurveda helps you assess imbalances through 20 main biocharacteristics
(gunas).
Aggravating these characteristics weakens your body and causes imbalance.
By knowing which characteristics are habitually imbalanced in your body, you will be able to identify and correct imbalances before you get sick.
Every characteristic has an opposite which balances it (i.e. hot balances cold).
You restore balance by favoring diet and lifestyle choices that increase the opposite characteristic.
Taste is used to sense the most basic properties and effects of food.
Each taste has a specific medicinal effect on your body.
Cravings for food with certain tastes indicate your body is craving specific medicinal results from food.
Taste is experienced on the tongue and represents your body's reaction to foods.
Sweet taste causes physical satisfaction and attraction whereas bitter taste causes discomfort and aversion.
Kapha should use less sweet taste while Vata and Pitta would benefit from using more sweet taste.
One of the first signs of illness is that your taste and appetite for food changes.
The six tastes are sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter, and astringent.
Do you crave foods with any of the tastes below?
According to the biocharacteristic theory of medicine,
people tend to get sick, over and over again, due to habitual causes and imbalances that are unique to the person.
Your body type summarizes this tendency, showing you the 'type' of conditions and imbalances that frequently challenge your health & wellness.
Using body type, you can also identify remedies likely to improve your strength and resiliency.
Your body type identifies physical and mental characteristics as well as your personal strengths and weaknesses.
The calculation of your body type is based on your medical history.
The 3 functional body types
(doshas),
are Catabolic (Vata), Metabolic (Pitta), and Anabolic (Kapha).
Catabolic individuals tend to break down body mass into energy.
Metabolic individuals tend to burn or use energy.
Anabolic individuals tend to store energy as body mass.
Catabolic people tend to be easily stimulated, hyperactive, underweight and dry.
Metabolic people tend to be rosy-cheeked, easily irritated, focused, driven, and easily inflamed.
Anabolic people are heavy, stable and grounded, but if they store too much energy, they could gain weight easily and have congestion.
Experiences vary according to the person and constitution. Individual results may vary.
The list of herbal-actions below has not be approved by the FDA and should not be used to treat a medical condition.
Here are the herbal actions of Apple Sauce with Ginger & Ghee:
A sialogogue increases saliva. Sour foods are often great sialogogues, and increase output of all exocrine glands. Salty taste is very moistening as well. Bitter, pungent and sweettastes also increase salivary output but to a
lesser degree. Astringents.
An herb that softens stool that is hard and difficult to pass. They are the safest and most gentle type of laxative. Some foods are even stool softeners, such as warm milk with ghee.
Encourages feelings of stability and heaviness. Makes you feel settled, mentally relaxed. Mildly sedates the nervous system to ease stress. Can bring a spacey or anxious person back to earth.
A vasodilator is an herb that widens the blood vessels by the relaxation of smooth muscle cells within the vessel walls, thereby increasing circulation systemically or to a local area.
Cholagogues stimulate the production & release of bile from the liver & gallbladder. This refreshes and cleanses these organs, as well as increases bile in the small intestines.
John Immel, the founder of Joyful Belly, teaches people how to have a
healthy diet and lifestyle with Ayurveda biocharacteristics.
His approach to Ayurveda is clinical, yet exudes an ease which many find enjoyable and insightful.
John also directs Joyful Belly's School of Ayurveda,
offering professional clinical training in Ayurveda for over 15 years.
John's interest in Ayurveda and specialization in digestive tract pathology was inspired by a complex digestive disorder acquired from years of international travel,
as well as public service work in South Asia.
John's commitment to the detailed study of digestive disorders reflects his zeal to get down to the roots of the problem.
His hope and belief in the capacity of each & every client to improve their quality of life is nothing short of a personal passion.
John's creativity in the kitchen and delight in cooking for others comes from his family oriented upbringing.
In addition to his certification in Ayurveda, John holds a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Harvard University.
John enjoys sharing Ayurveda within the context of his Catholic roots,
and finds Ayurveda gives him an opportunity to participate in the healing mission of the Church.
Jesus expressed God's love by feeding and healing the sick.
That kindness is the fundamental ministry of Ayurveda as well.
Outside of work, John enjoys spending time with his wife and 6 kids, and pursuing his love of theology, philosophy, and language.
Comments & Impressions of 'Apple Sauce With Ginger & Ghee'
Do you like 'apple sauce with ginger & ghee'?
Why or why not?
What makes it unique? Is there something you'd like to know about 'apple sauce with ginger & ghee'?
Tried this using lime instead of lemon, Bramley's [British cooking apples], 2 tbsp date syrup instead of raw sugar and added a handful of raspberries - delicious! - Charlie, York
Hi,
Would it be okay to replace these:
Lemon with Lime
Dry ginger with Fresh Ginger?
Yes, high pitta, but love to try this recipe!
Thank you for all you do!
Namasthe~
Sanghee Sonoma, Calif.
Oh nooooooo, I feel another addiction coming on!!!! After the recipe for the Almond Fudge (which I eat every day) I think this new recipe for applesauce will be an every day food for me in autumn. Love your recipes and wisdom. Thanks. Kathleen Lewis, Columbus Ohio
I just picked a bunch of pears & apples this week -- more pears than apples. How would this be for a vata-prone person if made with pears + apples, or pears only?
My husband kept asking me to bake some chocolate chip cookies. I am trying to lose weight so i made this instead. This satisfying for both of our pittas. I have more kapha than he so I omitted the sugar. This was perfect.
Tried this using lime instead of lemon, Bramley's [British cooking apples], 2 tbsp date syrup instead of raw sugar and added a handful of raspberries - delicious! - Charlie, York
Hi,
Would it be okay to replace these:
Lemon with Lime
Dry ginger with Fresh Ginger?
Yes, high pitta, but love to try this recipe!
Thank you for all you do!
Namasthe~
Sanghee Sonoma, Calif.
Oh nooooooo, I feel another addiction coming on!!!! After the recipe for the Almond Fudge (which I eat every day) I think this new recipe for applesauce will be an every day food for me in autumn. Love your recipes and wisdom. Thanks. Kathleen Lewis, Columbus Ohio
I just picked a bunch of pears & apples this week -- more pears than apples. How would this be for a vata-prone person if made with pears + apples, or pears only?
My husband kept asking me to bake some chocolate chip cookies. I am trying to lose weight so i made this instead. This satisfying for both of our pittas. I have more kapha than he so I omitted the sugar. This was perfect.
* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.
The information and products on this website are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any
disease.