So I’m really loving my Vitamix these days.  Juicing for breakfast, and sharing with my son.  (Say goodbye to his multivitamin!)  Warm Vitamix Chicken Tortilla soup on a cool evening.  And now, Vitamix Applesauce, with a twist.

As you may recall, my goofy kids enjoy applesauce and frozen peas.  I don’t know why, they just do.  I’m not complaining, since they don’t normally volunteer to eat anything green.  So, when I set out to make Vitamix appleasauce, I was determined to fuse other healthy foods in to the mix as well.

Here’s what I did:

I found a bunch of pre-sliced apples on clearance at Kroger, so that’s what I used.  You can use whatever kind of apples you have on hand, but I recommend you stick with the sweeter, rather than tart apples.  Also, I use all organic ingredients whenever possible.

First I made  a batch that was JUST apples, lemon juice, and cinnamon.  I used too much cinnamon, and my daughter was not a fan.  So I made another batch, using other ingredients to blend with the cinnamon-y batch, to tone it down.

Remember my meatball debacle from a while back? Yeah, ^^^ this brings back fond memories.

You’ll need:

• 2-3 sweet apples
• a splash of lemon juice
• a small handful of baby carrots (I have small hands, sooo, I’d approximate about 1/2 cup.)
• ~ 2/3 c frozen strawberries
• 1 spoonful of sugar or sweetener (optional)
• 1 tsp cinnamon

Blend all ingredients, starting with slowest speed, working your way up.  If you have a tamper*, use it to help push ingredients down.   If mixture seems too chunky or not “smooth” enough, add small doses of water, as needed.  I believe I ended up adding about 1/4 c water all together.  Blend to desire smoothness and enjoy!

One thing I want to try with my next batch is to freeze it in small containers, or fill an ice cube tray and freeze that way – then I’ll have applesauce handy, and can toss in kids’ lunch bag in the morning, and it’ll thaw by lunch time.  Also, I’m going to try adding a bit of spinach with this recipe.  I’d also like to try a batch with dates, or other nuts, as inspired by The Blender Lady.  What other ingredients would YOU add to Vitamix applesauce?

* I don’t have a tamper so I had to improvise.  (What can I say?  When you get a $9 Vitamix, you don’t always get all the cool accessories!)  When ingredients looked “stuck”, I’d turn off and open the top and push down with long plastic spoon.  Yeah, a tamper would be SOO much easier!

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