Here is a delicious, warming recipe that is perfect for grounding your Vata during the cooler seasons. It is quick to make with simple ingredients you likely already have in your kitchen. This blend of cooked apples, warming Ayurvedic spices, vanilla, and ghee is the ultimate combination for your taste buds and makes an amazingly (healthy) sweet snack for you and your entire family to enjoy!
Apples are the classic “superfood” and for good reason. This perfection of Mother Nature is packed with fiber, polyphenols, vitamins, and minerals. When cooked, apples become even better for your health, especially your gut health. This is due to the pectin that is released when the apple is heated. Pectin is a soluble fiber that has been shown to improve healthy gut flora, promote healthy elimination, lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels, and support overall heart, colon, and digestive health.
Health Benefits of Cooked Apples
- Promotes healthy elimination; reduces constipation
- Binds loose stools and calms diarrhea
- Promotes a healthy gut microbiome; beneficial in dysbiosis
- Rich in Antioxidants and Polyphenols (but keep the apple skin on for most benefits!)
- Anti-inflammatory
- Promotes heart, gut, and colon health
- Protects brain health and mental functioning
- Stabilizes blood sugar, energy, and appetite levels (due to high fiber content)
According to Ayurveda, raw apples are cooling and enhance the air and space elements in the body making them provoking to Vata dosha. Cooking the apples with some warming spices and ghee is a great way to reduce these airy qualities and create a grounding, warming recipe—perfect for calming Vata* and nourishing you for the fall and winter seasons.
*Please note that although this recipe is great for Vata, it is actually tridoshic and great for ALL dosha types!
You have likely heard of the importance of seasonal eating, but this holds especially true when it comes to apples. Apples have a fairly short harvest season (around August to November) and generally cannot grow in America any other time of year. So why do you see apples in the store all year round? Believe it or not, most of the apples sold in the late winter, spring, and summertime are many months old, having been harvested the previous fall season. So I am sorry to say, if you are eating an apple in June or July it is likely to be 9 or 10 months old. So eat seasonally, support your local farmers (when possible), and get the most Prana from your foods!!
Spiced Apple and Ghee Recipe
Click here for a printable copy of this recipe.
Materials
- Cast Iron Skillet – I really like this 8″ Cast Iron! (substitute with any skillet)
- Cutting knife
- Large cooking spoon
- Measuring spoons
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Ingredients
- 1 to 2 tablespoons ghee (use ½ to 1 tbsp for Kapha or for high cholesterol)
- 2 apples, chopped
- 1 tablespoon water
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon powder
- ½ teaspoon Ayurvedic Breakfast Spices*
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
*Ayurvedic Breakfast Spices can be substituted with ½ teaspoon cinnamon powder, ¼ ginger powder, ⅛ teaspoon cardamom powder, ⅛ teaspoon turmeric powder, and a pinch of clove powder.
**All Amazon links are affiliate-based, but genuine recommendations. By ordering directly from the Amazon links above, you are helping to support Svastha Ayurveda.
Directions
Click here for a printable copy of this recipe.
1. Place a skillet over low-medium heat. Add the ghee.
2. Chop the apples into small bit size cubes. Make sure they are fairly similar in size for even cooking.
3. Add in the chopped apples and water to the hot pan. Sauté the apples uncovered for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring every minute.
4. Sprinkle on the spices. Stir well until the apples become evenly coated. Cook for an additional minute.
5. Take the pan off of the heat and drizzle on the vanilla extract. Stir one last time making sure all of the ingredients are evenly blended.
6. Enjoy this sweet treat as a healthy snack between meals. Ayurveda recommends to always eat fruit by itself for proper digestion. Aim to eat this dish at least 30 minutes before other foods or at least 2 hours after.
7. Store any extra in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days; gently warm before eating.
I am very excited to be recently chosen as one of Feedspot’s Top 30 Ayurveda Cooking Blogs! You can find the full list here.
Try our Ayurvedic Cooking Spices!
Discover more healing recipes with my 30-Minute Ayurvedic Cookbook!
Discover over 100 herbal remedies in my Ayurvedic Herbal Medicine for Beginners book!
*All Amazon links are affiliate-based, but genuine recommendations. By ordering directly from the Amazon links above, you are helping to support Svastha Ayurveda.
