Simple Savings

 

(10 seconds each to read and are almost that quick to prepare)

By Lisa Messinger
Food and Cooking at Creators Syndicate
(originally published July 2013) 

"As American as apple pie" could be an unofficial slogan for the culinary part of the July Fourth holiday. But why limit it to pie? In recent years, there has been scientific proof attached to another fruity phrase, "an apple a day keeps the doctor away," so why not sprinkle patriotically colored red apples throughout your Independence Day celebration? Try the quick renditions that follow of a slaw that will knock your sandals off, apple-smoked sausage on the grill, apple-soaked iced tea and, when it comes to that pie, an English tradition that's stuck here too: the accessory of cheddar cheese. To boot, apples are usually priced with good old American value in mind, and therefore, almost always make an economical choice.

Fun fare like this also proves cooking can be easy, nutritious, economical, fun - and fast. They take just 10 seconds each to read and are almost that quick to prepare. The creative combinations are delicious proof that everyone has time for tasty home cooking and, more importantly, the healthy all-American family togetherness that goes along with it! Another benefit: You effortlessly become a better cook, since there are no right or wrong amounts. These are virtually-can't-go-wrong combinations, so whatever you - or your kidlet helpers - choose to use can't help but draw "wows" from family members and summer holiday guests.

All-American Apple Slaw
Grate unpeeled apple into a store-bought bag of slaw mix you've placed in a large bowl, as well as fresh blueberries, a splash of apple cider vinegar, chunks of reduced-fat cheddar cheese, low-fat mayonnaise and freshly ground black pepper.

Star-Spangled Sausage
Grill apple-smoked sausage until fully cooked (the USDA recommends an internal temperature of 160 °F). Serve in a whole-wheat hot dog bun with store-bought pickle relish into which you've mixed spicy brown mustard, a dash of cayenne pepper, diced unpeeled apple and kidney beans.

Fourth of July Tempting Tea Cooler
Brew two types of apple-based tea (like apple-cinnamon and apple-cranberry). Discard tea bags and add apple juice, grape juice, finely chopped fresh mint, basil and ice.

Proud to be an Apple Pie
Cheddar cheese served melting atop or in apple pie, popular in New England and the Midwest, is an old English tradition that continues to impress Americans with good taste as well. Emulate a popular San Francisco restaurant with this version: Stir some finely diced green chilies into a store-bought or homemade apple pie (being careful not to touch eyes during or afterward), and let shredded cheddar cheese melt within streusel you add atop the pie.

QUICK TIP OF THE WEEK:  Sometimes pie recipes call for a double crust. "If you are using store-bought commercial crusts, which come frozen and only as bottom crusts, be aware that you can use a bottom crust as a top," writes Robert L. Blakeslee in Your Time to Bake: A First Cookbook for the Novice Baker.  "Just let it thaw out until the dough becomes workable, then place it over the filling as a top crust or cut it into strips to create a lattice top." 

Lisa Messinger is a first-place winner in food and nutrition writing from the Association of Food Journalists and the National Council Against Health Fraud and author of seven food books, including the best-selling The Tofu Book: The New American Cuisine with 150 Recipes (Avery/Penguin Putnam) and Turn Your Supermarket into a Health Food Store: The Brand-Name Guide to Shopping for a Better Diet (Pharos/Scripps Howard). She writes two nationally syndicated food and nutrition columns for Creators Syndicate and had been a longtime newspaper food and health section managing editor, as well as managing editor of Gayot/Gault Millau dining review company. Lisa traveled the globe writing about top chefs for Pulitzer Prize-winning Copley News Service and has written about health and nutrition for the Los Angeles Times Syndicate, Reader's Digest, Woman's World and Prevention Magazine Health Books. Permission granted for use on DrLaura.com.