Wholesome Goodness From Washington Apples

If I had to pick between a glass of orange and apple juice, I am more likely to pick the latter as I love the tartness of apple juice. There’s so much nutrition in apples and it’s great to know that they contain antioxidants because that’s exactly what we need to fight free radicals.

During the media session hosted by Washington apples, nutritionist Indra Balaratnam and celebrity mum, Sazzy Falak demonstrated a few easy and quick dishes and drink to showcase the versatility of Washington apples. Apples are what we pick up from the fruit basket when we are in a hurry since you don’t need to peel the skin.

Before the demonstration began, Sazzy competed against 2 media persons in the apple eating challenge to see who could eat the most apple within 30 seconds. No surprise the only male contestant won.

Indra and Sazzy created this colourful salad which kind of reminded me of the salad for “lou sang” during Chinese New Year. All it needed was some raw salmon and some crispy crackers. After all, some restaurants offer fruit salad “lou sang” nowadays.

We are so used to drizzling all sorts of salad dressings on our healthy salads. A lot of dressings are laden with calories which defeats the purpose of consuming salads. Indra has a healthy salad dressing recipe which she made combining these ingredients.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Mustard

Honey

Balsamic Vinegar

Black Pepper

Garlic

What an easy vinaigrette which can be whipped up in a few minutes with no fuss at all.

You know how most of us munch on all sorts of crackers and snacks when we are watching tv after dinner? I used to eat “kuaci” or pumpkin seeds when I was a lot younger but I don’t any more for fear or cracking my front teeth but I admit I have the occasional packet of potato crisps once in a very blue moon.

What a simple recipe for a healthy guilt-free snack! Of course you can omit certain ingredients if you are not a fan of them. I am not particularly fond of raisins which is strange since I do like grapes, same family you know. You can find cinnamon sugar in the more upmarket supermarkets or bakery stores. However, you can also make it yourself by adding cinnamon to granulated sugar (much more economical if you ask me!).

Doesn’t it look sooooooo appetizing? Best thing is you really don’t have to worry about gaining weight and calories when you munch on this snack.

So every meal is not complete without a drink, right? We need a delicious smoothie, preferably one to cleanse our system.

I love yogurt in any drink which is why I am always ordering lassi wherever it is available. I know which Indian restaurants in town serve the best lassi. Every restaurant does it a little differently.

What’s oat bran powder? Well just from the name, you would assume it’s healthy and you’d be right because it’s high in dietary fiber, protein, magnesium, iron and zinc and very low in sodium. It doesn’t taste good on its own so you add it to fruit smoothies.

Overall, this was a very informative session and I came out of it much enlightened about the advantages of consuming apples and their use in food and beverage. We all want to feel and look good no matter what age we are at and apples are definitely a fruit that can “positively contribute to health and wellbeing”, as Indra said. Apples are on par with other superfruits such as blueberries and pomegranates yet they don’t cost nearly as much which to me, make it a smart choice of fruit.