Healthy Apple Walnut Purée Recipe

This recipe came about unexpectedly, as most of them do. Every week, while visiting Toronto, I take a trip to Lakeridge Road to fill up my glass bottles with spring water and buy fresh local produce from a couple of farms.

I had been craving apples and was buying them by the basket each time. While my adventures constantly change, I happened to go up north leaving the basket full of apples in Toronto. Now, one must understand that when you buy fresh apples, with no wax, no pesticides, no methods of preservation, the apples go bad fairly quickly. For those of you who don’t know me well, I am a huge advocate of mother nature and her goodies. Which means, I do not like things to go bad. When you have lived and worked on a farm, know the labour that goes into growing fruit and veg and have seen third world countries where even a single fruit can make a difference, then you have a whole nother perspective and appreciation for food. Especially when the farming is done the right way!

When your apples start to go bad, there are only so many baked apples a person can eat. So I began to listen…to my inner voice. Yes, my inner voice that no longer wished to have baked apples and wanted to spice things up a bit. So instead of throwing out the apples that were starting to go a little soft, not crunchy enough to eat and certainly not bad enough to throw out, I began to get creative.

Here is my delicious Apple Walnut Purée Recipe:

Apples (local, organic and starting to get a bit old)
Walnuts (preferably soaked)
Sprinkle of salt (Celtic or grey or himalayan)
Cinnamon (Ceylon)
Small amount of raw coconut oil
Half of a small beet or a full one (this will give the Purée a beautiful colour and sweet flavour to the mix).
Spritz of lemon (no seeds)

Simple and easy recipe to satisfy a sweet craving “the healthy way” and to minimize waste. Even though composting is good, it should not be for items which could be eaten!

Peel apples and place in a saucepan with a small amount of coconut oil. Cook on low heat until it softens. Sprinkle a little salt to help the apple give out its juice. Then add a spritz of lemon for flavour and to help with preservation. The peel can be used as a snack if you wanted to dry it out but that is another recipe for another time.

Cook the small beet in another saucepan with a bit of water until soft.
Rinse your walnuts. The nuts should be soaked for 12-14 hours before consumption to help with digestion and to unlock more of its nutrients.