Touring Michigan’s apple orchards
October makes me think of certain foods and one of those foods is apples. Did you know that Michigan is the third largest apple producer in the country? (We are behind Washington state and New York). We have about 950 family-operated apple farms in Michigan’s Lower Peninsula and this year’s apple crop will be one of the biggest in recent history – around 26 million bushels. I was especially happy to learn that Meijer was the number one seller of Michigan Apples in the world!
A few weeks ago I went on a tour of apple country – right up Fruit Ridge road off of I-96. The site of the orchards with tree branches full of bright red and green apples was truly amazing! Our tour took us from the orchards, to the packing houses and finally to a kitchen to create delicious apple recipes.
Chef Paul Penney had us participate in a hands-on cooking class and I wanted to share one of my favorite and easiest recipes with you. I made it the other night in my crock pot and woke up to the smell of cinnamon apples.
Easy Apple Breakfast Cobbler
- 4 medium-sized Michigan Apples (try Gala, Ida Red, Jonathan or Cortland), cored and sliced (I prefer not to peel for the extra fiber and nutrients)
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon trans fat free margarine
- 2 cups low-fat granola
Place the apples in a crock pot and stir in honey and cinnamon. Top with granola and drizzle with margarine. Cover and cook on low 7 hours (overnight) or on high for 2 hours. I like to serve this warm topped with low-fat milk or vanilla Greek yogurt – yum!
-
kristen aidif
-
Maranda
I always had an interest in food and nutrition and attended Central Michigan University to earn a Bachelors Degree in Dietetics. Several years later, I went back to college to obtain my Masters degree in Human Nutrition from Andrews University. I have been a Registered Dietitian for 27 years and have spent the last 20 years working with Supermarkets. I discovered years ago that grocery stores were a great place to reach consumers and help them obtain accurate nutrition information. I also realized that busy families are looking for quick, affordable, and healthy ideas for meals. In my position as Healthy Living Manager at Meijer I spend a lot of time working with food manufacturers and commodity groups to search out and create easy recipes that can become part of family-pleasing menus. Although my two daughters are now grown and married, my husband and I continue to enjoy cooking together and creating new recipes with nutritious ingredients. I hope my information provides you and your family with easy ideas to live a healthy life!