I have been reading/hearing a lot about apple sauce for last two years – especially after Ishaan came into our lives. Before that, I had just seen this in grocery stores and never thought of trying it out. Last week, our friends brought a dozen apples for us. Since I am quite lazy to cut them and eat every day, I thought of making something with them. The first thing that came to my mind was apple sauce. I made the no sugar version. I also added couple of spices. It tasted heavenly. Following is the method I followed.
Procedure :
I used red delicious apples which were quite sweet. So I did not add any sugar. I used 8 apples for this and it yielded between 3 to 4 cups of apple sauce.
Wash, peel and core the apples. Cut them roughly into small pieces.
Take the pieces in a large pan, add about 2 cups of water. (I will just use 1 cup of water next time). Add a 3″ cinnamon stick and 2 whole green cardamoms. Cover the lid and let it cook till the apples become soft. At this point, I removed the lid and turned up the heat to let the excess water evaporate.
When the mixture look quite dry, pick up and discard the cinnamon, cardamoms. Switch off the heat. With a potato masher, mash the apples. I did not make a smooth paste because I thought some small pieces of cooked apples in the sauce would be good twist to it.
Let it cool to room temperature and then store in air tight containers. You can also put it in jars and seal them using the method provided here.
Pictorial:
This looks so simple and easy and good for health also. I remember reading in enid blyton books about the characters eating applesauce scones etc… I used to think of something like tomato sauce made with apples, but this is more like jam isnt it?
This is good for Ishaan. I would just peel, pressure cook in big chunks and puree it for my daughter. Quick and easy. Now though she has grown out of it.
Hi Shilpa, Thanks for another wonderful baby food recipe.
Howz your son doing these days? Is he walking? I have a 14 month old son, he is walking now , so quite a handful! I am enjoying these days , I hope you are as well ! Sometimes I feel sad he is grown so big now … where’s that little baby gone? But every age is fun and interesting right?
BTW, need some advice from you. My son is on the lower weight side.. he was in 10th percentile at 12 month checkup. I am trying my best to give him high calorie foods. He is very picky eater as well. He started table foods very late(at 1 year) and he still prefers baby food sometimes. Can you share how you got your son to eat all table foods?? Also, I don’t see you using lot of cheese or ghee in your baby food. Are you trying to cut down on calories for your son?
My son eats few bites of table food and then when he stops I give his favourites like baby yogurt, cheese,fruits to fill up his tummy. I live in the US , so I am always confused if he is eating enough. Like roughly , can you give me an idea how much does your son eats in a day? My son eats all his favourite foods very well but others – some he eats few bites , some he outright refuses! He is not getting balanced diet , I don’t know if it is good for him to eat so much diary products everyday. Do you know if yogurt (yo baby) is fine twice a day or so everyday? And will yogurt help him gain weight? Sorry too many questions. But my mom tells one thing. Doctors in US tell one thing. I am totally confused. I really struggle to get him to eat sometimes. Does your sit and eat all by himself like kids here in US? My son is now using the spoon and everything himself , but mostly I should feed him. I really don’t know how people get their kids to eat so well and so independently at such a young age. From your posts, looks like your son does the same. Would you share some tips for independent eating, high calorie foods , healthy snacks etc . Any information will be helpful.Thanks Shilpa.
Most of the time I come back tired from office , so don’t get to make good food for him everyday. Also days that I do make, he hardly eats anything. How do you manage cooking/cleaning/taking care of him? I have started to miss India very badly after I had my son. There we get help for everything. Here we are only boss and we are only servants as well. lol.
Do post your sons pic … would love to see! 🙂
Sk, I am in the same boat as you are. Ishaan is very low on the weight side. But then, V and I both are thin, so I am sure he will be thin too. I have stressed about his weight for too long. If your son is meeting all his milestones on time, don’t worry about it too much (it is easier said than done).
Ishaan also eats when he wants, some days he does not touch the food. He likes anything that he can pick up and eat. He makes a big mess, which I don’t mind too much. I am sure he will learn eventually. He still cannot eat rice on his own. I try to feed him, but he does not like that very much. He prefers eating on his own.
I usually give him what we eat. I don’t make any separate food for him. Since he likes chapati/parathas, I try to make them as much as possible. I give him fruits in the evening. I only give homemade yogurt to him (I might switch to Yo baby, still thinking about it). He likes chapatis/parathas/rice with yogurt.
No, I don’t try to cut down calories. I use mostly organic fruits, vegetables for him. I try to make fresh food every day for him.
Oh your son is also the same way? It’s so difficult to see these little ones play all day and not eat enough. I guess all Indian babies are like this only..
About yogurt , if you plan on buying from the store you can go for yo toddler – it has both fruits and cereal. My son also loves earth’s best yogurt smoothies. These need not be refrigerated , so I use that always when we are out and about. I did ask the nutritionist at his daycare about eating so much yogurt everyday. Thought I will share this information with you. She told me it’s very good for him. But asked to switch to greek yogurt as it’s got higher protein content and is better for him compared to others. Also my son eats only chicken at daycare , so she told me greek yogurt can be a good protein substitute for him for the days they have other meats.
perfectly done. First time here and following you. Hope you will visit me too.
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Thank you for this. I shoudl do it to my kids. They like apple but I battle to feed them fruit. I jus bought a juicer and will be making apple juice for them as they like the apple juice in teh stores but obviously not as healthy as a home made juice. Thank you
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Homemade applesauce has an awesome flavor and very healthy…. love your detail steps and photos!!
SK,
My older daughter was a very picky eater too as a baby hated yogurt, milk and rice….. I just had to try trial and error to find out her favorite foods. Of all the diary products she loved ghee, cheese and butter.
Finally I found that she loved Moong dal and rice and I started cooking on Saturday for a whole week just her favorites so that I always had fresh food in the fridge. If you can find time to cook very day even better!
is ti suitable for babies for 7 month old?? my son name is also Ishaan!! will the taste of apple dun change if i cook it in water..if u have tips for baby food please do post..
It should be good for that age too. But make a fine paste for the baby and leave out the spices. Also, introduce it very slowly to make sure he does not have any allergies
Shilpa this is so timely 🙂 – I have about 2 kgs of apples at home and I was wondering what I could do with them. I’m going to try this right away. Thanx!
Thanks 🙂 will mail the link to my sis 🙂
THANK U FOR THE RECIPE.MY DAUGHTER IS 11 MONTHS OLD.I WILL PREPARE THIS APPLESAUCE TODAY AND FEED HER.
Hi Shilpa,
I have a toddler myself, steamed apple pulp was part of the staple diet for my daughter who is now a over 19 months.
how much self life does this apple have.
Cheers
Aparna
I keep it in fridge for upto a week
hi shilpa….i think it wil do gud 4 my son also who is 2 years now….thanx 4 updatin such gud recipes….
It sounds nice…but what do adults eat it with? Especially a vegetarian one ? 🙂
Hi Shilpa..Is there any dish that you use more of dryfruits for kids. My son is 2 years and his name is also Ishaan. He is very thin and i want him to put on some weight.. I tried most of them like potato and dairy products..nothing helped…we area veggies..so non veg s out of question..
Sahana, you can try making smoothies by adding dryfruits. My son did not like any dryfruits that age, he started eating them only at 2.5. I add butter and ghee in Ishaan’s food whenever possible (he is also a very thin child, but very active). I also add lot of cheese in his pastas. I try to give him paneer when possible. But more than anything, I concentrate on veggies and try to give him as many as possible. If he is not eating them as it is, I put them in pasta sauces or in chapatis.