Once the holidays are over and I’ve gone wild, eating all the foods I try to eat rationally during the year, I love making these yummy, diet baked apples to fill my craving while I detox from all the sugar. Apples are incredibly good for you, and eating them is linked to a lower risk of many major diseases. This means I don't feel guilty about snacking on a dessert that tastes like Apple Pie!
Classic Diet Baked Apples
Time: 45 mins to 1 hour
Yield: Makes 6 servings
Ingredients include:
- 6 large baking apples – I like Rome Beauty apples
- Cinnamon sticks – 6 small or 3 large, halved (Substitute: Ground Cinnamon)
- Raisins – I like Jumbo Mixed Raisins from Trader Joe’s
- ½ liter Diet Soda – Choose Fresca, Lemon/Lime, or Cherry
Prep:
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees
- Carefully core apples (I find that using a melon scooper is easier to get the core and seeds out)
- Place apples in an oblong baking pan (I use a porcelain baking dish)
- Fill apples with Raisins
- Place a cinnamon stick into each apple (or dust with cinnamon powder to substitute)
- Pour soda halfway up the baking pan
- Bake until fork slides through apple easily
That’s it!
Some fun benefits:
Cinnamon:
o Can help lower cholesterol
o Boosts memory
o Fights bacteria
o Improves digestion
o Helps lower blood sugar
Apples
o Low calorie
o May lower blood pressure and reduce risk of stroke
o Help promote good gut bacteria
o Help lower cancer risk
o May promote bone health