Crockpot Pumpkin Chai Spice Applesauce

I love apple season. I adore going apple picking, I enjoy going to the grocery store and discovering new-to-me varieties (my favorite find this year is the Gingergold), I love eating plain apples out of hand, putting them in my daily oatmeal, baking with them, making apple chips in my dehydrator….my love for apples is pretty much all-inclusive. One of my favorite apple recipes from last year was this Pumpkin Applesauce from The Novice Chef. I decided to mix it up a little by increasing the pumpkin, adding some maple syrup and chai spices, and cooking it in my crockpot.


 

Crockpot Pumpkin Chai Spice Applesauce

Adapted from here
Makes about 9 1/2 cup servings

2 ½ lbs apples, cored and roughly chopped (I used a mix of Golden Delicious and Gala)
¾ cup water
1 tablespoon lemon juice
6 packets Truvia
1 tbsp Ideal Brown Sweetener
2 tablespoons cinnamon
1 cup pumpkin puree
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
Chai spice, to taste (recipe below)

Place the chopped apples in the crockpot. Add the water, lemon juice, Truvia, Ideal Brown Sweetener, and cinnamon. Turn the crockpot on low heat and let the apples cook for six hours, stirring occasionally. Add the pumpkin puree, maple syrup, and vanilla. If you prefer a chunky applesauce, stir the mixture with a spoon until combined. If you like a smoother sauce, use an immersion blender to mix the ingredients. After the applesauce has reached the consistency you desire, add the chai spices to taste. I used all of the spice blend in my applesauce, but I recommend waiting until the end of the cooking process and tasting as you add since the spices are definitely on the more potent end of the spectrum.
 

Chai Spice Blend

½ tsp ground cardamom
½ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp ground cloves
¼ tsp ground nutmeg



For the minimal effort involved in preparing this applesauce, I was really happy with how it turned out. My apples were perfectly sweet to begin with, but I do have quite the sweet tooth, so I appreciated the extra sweetness from the Truvia, brown sugar, and maple syrup. The pumpkin and chai spices give the applesauce a decidedly warm flavor perfectly reminiscent of fall, and I especially enjoyed the addition of cardamom. This makes quite a bit of applesauce, so in addition to eating it by the bowlful, I have used it in Greek yogurt parfaits, overnight oats, and I think it will also find its way into some apple cinnamon protein muffins in the near future!

Crustless Pumpkin Pie

Fall is easily my favorite season. Although I miss the crisp fall air and beautiful colors of the leaves changing that I enjoyed when I lived in the Midwest, I’m still crazy about so many other aspects of autumn – race season starts here in Florida, there are new tv shows to watch again, and most of all, I love all the flavors of the season. Squash, apples, pumpkin, pears, and root vegetables all rank among my favorite foods. Tonight after eating a delicious brie, peach, and grilled chicken sandwich for dinner, I still had a hankering for something sweet and I was feeling a fall vibe, so I threw together a quick crustless pumpkin pie.

Crustless Pumpkin Pie

Makes 4 Servings

15 oz pumpkin
3/4 cup egg whites
1/4 cup 2% cottage cheese
1/2 cup Unsweetened Almond Milk
6 packets of Truvia
1 tablespoon of Ideal Brown Sugar
1 tsp of vanilla extract
1 tbsp of maple syrup (I used Walden Farms Sugar Free Pancake Syrup)
1 tsp Cinnamon
1/8 tsp of Ginger
1/8 tsp of Nutmeg
1/4 cup Torani Cinnamon sugar free syrup, optional (if you don’t want to use this, increase the almond milk by ¼ cup)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray four ramekins with nonstick baking spray.
Blend all ingredients with a food processor or an immersion blender.
Pour batter into prepared ramekins. Bake about 35 - 40 minutes, or until firm.
Let cool.

Calories: 73
Fat: 1g
Carbohydrates: 10g
Protein: 8g
Calculated on Sparkrecipes.com

I love making this; it’s easy, it’s healthy, and I’ve found that it’s a great pre-workout snack. However, since it was my dessert tonight, a little bit of whipped cream was pretty much mandatory. I was in pumpkin pie heaven!

Elliptical Intervals & The Beyond 300 Workout

Today at the gym I decided I wanted to do whatever I felt like instead of sticking to the schedule I had set for myself this weekend. Running is always my first choice for cardio, but since I didn't want to do my intervals, and I’ve been making a conscious effort to not run too many “junk” miles, I chose to spend a little bit of time on the elliptical.  I tend to get really bored just pedaling along steadily, so I came up with a plan to pass the time.


In addition to breaking up the monotony, I like incorporating forward and backwards motion because it works both my quads and my hamstrings, and completing the last five minutes without holding on increases the engagement of my core. My legs were definitely burning on the last few minutes of high resistance! 

After hopping off the elliptical, I decided to tackle a The Beyond 300 Workout I found while I was perusing old issues of Muscle and Fitness Hers.  The workout, which I followed exactly, is this:



The workout, which was designed by Julie Lohre, is supposed to be timed and completed with as little rest as possible.  In the magazine, she says that her record is 22:39.  I had a blast with this!  It went by quickly (it took me 29:31), my heart rate remained elevated, and I felt like I got a great full body workout.  I highly recommend giving it a shot if you are looking for something fast and fun to do in the gym.

The rest of the day will probably be spent trying not to eat all of this deliciousness at once (the recipe made four loaves twice this size):



I whipped up this Cranberry Pumpkin Spice Loaf from Ingredients of a Fit Chick last night, and it is so, so, SO good.  If you like pumpkin, you need to make this ASAP!