Food! Homemade Organic Sneaky Strawberry Applesauce

I just can't bear to buy those evil little PLASTIC containers of pre-made applesauce for my kids' lunches anymore.  The guilt was overwhelming once and for all:-(  Just buying a 6-pack every two weeks ads up to soooooo many little plastic bits that will never bio degrade, and recycling them just seems lazy when I can make my own 'sauce.  My family loves it with some sort of berries mixed in.

You will need a large sauce pan and blender.  I love my Vitamix because it completely purees out any chunkiness which my texture-sensitive children absolutely can't tolerate.

Sneaky STRAWBERRY APPLESAUCE:

• Clean and cut into 2" chunks an entire bag of Organic Apples - variety of your choice.  I used Granny Smith this time (which require more sugar as these are tart) but any variety works.  One bag will yield 6-10 servings depending on how big the serving size; approximately one serving/apple.
• Clean and remove tops of 6-8 strawberries or a handful of other mixed berries.
• Place everything into a big sauce pan.
• Simmer about 10 minutes with 1Cup of water.  If you prefer to eat raw, you can skip this step or shorten the time.  I prefer the carmelized flavor that comes about as a result of cooking with a bit of sugar.  
• Let cool as long as you have the patience to wait. 
• Scrape into your blender.  If it doesn't hold the whole batch, make sure you reserve some of the liquid for the second blending.  
• Blend until as smooth as you prefer.
• Sweeteners - here's where you can be as creative as you wish!  A bit of sugar is important as it acts as a preservative giving you a good 7-10 days in the 'fridge to finish off your batch - if it lasts that long;-)  I recommend sweetening to taste AFTER you blend the sauce, as you may not need any added sugar.  If your apples are tart you will need about 1/4c. of organic sugar or an equivalent liquid measure of agave, rice syrup, maple syrup, etc.  Here's the SNEAKY part - try some dates for extra nutrition (fiber, magnesium, B6) but blend them well so the brown bits disappear!  So - start by adding a couple tablespoons of your sweetener, blend and taste.  Repeat until it has the flavor you desire!

Pour into reusable containers* and dole out for lunches as needed.  If your sauce is not cool before you put the lids on - let them sit out for a bit otherwise the cooling lids contract so much in the fridge they may be too difficult for small hands to open.  

Cooling:

Kids Konserve containers from Reusit.com

*I happen to LOVE the stainless reusables from Kids Konserve which we ordered from a fantastic website called Reusit.com.  Unfortunately the lids are still plastic, but at least they are very hearty and you will get many, many years out of them before recycling.  They do leak a bit with some things so I bag them in baggies for extra protection (yes, plastic again:-( )  Reusit has a huge selection of every container you could ever need, including water bottles and bags.  

If anyone knows of a truly leak-proof container, please, please let me know!! Thanks. 

Cooked and cooling.  I feel like they are done with the skins start to fall off and the berries are fading, as shown, about 10 min. on low heat.

If you use red apples and/or more berries you will get a much prettier pink color than this.