Courtesy photos
Siletz Tribal Head Start students in Lincoln City get ready for Halloween (above)
with a trip to a local pumpkin patch. They also participated in Fire Prevention Week
(right) with Safety Officer Jim Kusz from North Lincoln Fire & Rescue.
Sweetness of life not found in sugar
By Nancy Ludwig, MS, RDN, LD,
Head Start Consulting Nutritionist
As part of my role as a consultant
nutritionist to Siletz Tribal Head Start, I
offer information for families. This seg-
ment focuses on the idea of social confu-
sion around sugar and love. The sweetness
in life is not found in sugar – it is in the
heart. Recipe ideas are provided to make
unsweetened gifts from the heart.
The fall tends to be a time of depletion
for many. I know it is difficult for me. We
get so busy and have so many intentions
and unfinished projects as the daylight
grows shorter.
In December, many people compen-
sate for the lack of light with sugar. Think
about your childhood memories. Do you
remember cookies, candies and treats all
through December? If not, hooray!
Please step forward as leaders and
role models. Teach your traditions. If
sweets fill your memories, I invite you
to look for the deeper meaning to decide
what example and traditions you want to
set for your children.
Does sugar really bring you the
happiness you seek? Often it provides a
temporary high followed by low mood,
irritability and a feeling of emptiness.
Unfortunately, overuse of sugar
can rob us of health by decreasing our
immunity, displacing important nutrients,
promoting weight gain and tooth decay as
well as keeping us in an unhealthy cycle
of cravings.
Because sugary foods often are
nutrient-poor, they don’t really satisfy
your body – which leaves you looking for
more food and/or sugar.
Sugar cravings can be difficult to
control. For some people, sugar can be
addictive. When sugar is combined with
the stress of busy schedules, it can be used
as a “pick me up” or a “happy time.” This
is eerily similar to other addictions.
Giving up sugar isn’t easy, especially
when we see it everywhere we look. A
few ideas may help shift us in a healthier
direction, such as a gradual decrease
in sweet foods to make the change less
noticeable.
The use of sour foods may help to cut
sweet cravings. Adding protein to each
meal or snack can stabilize blood sugar,
thereby reducing cravings.
Furthermore, when our habits say “I
love you” with sugar, it is even harder to
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break the cycle. How can you say “I love
you” in a more healthy way?
Well, there are many everyday non-
food ways to communicate love through
gifts of time and attention, such as playing
games, taking walks, coloring and doing
puzzles together.
In December, food plays a big roll in
gifts as well as celebrations. Think about
it: How frequently do we eat and share
sugary foods? What healthy foods would
you like to include in your celebrations
and gift giving?
This year, I had access to many
apples when the November winds blew
all my neighbor’s apples down at once.
They were not prepared to process
them. I picked up and sorted the “intact”
apples for eating later and left them for
my neighbor.
I took the apples with bruises and
punctures that would soon be rotting if not
processed. Some apples were already at
the stage where they should be left to rot
– either beneath the tree or in the compost.
My method of making applesauce and
apple butter has become more efficient
and more flexible through the years. I now
rely on my slow cooker to cook it down
until I have a window of time. I use one
piece of specialized equipment, an apple-
sauce strainer or mill (photo below; these
can be shared in a community).
Apple Butter
Ingredients
Apples – 12 pounds or fill one big
stockpot and cook down to a full
slow cooker, approx. 4-5 quarts (if
it doesn’t all fit in the slow cooker,
you may need to keep some apple-
sauce in the refrigerator to add as
the apple butter thickens)
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1½ teaspoons cloves
½ teaspoon allspice
Lemon peel (optional to taste)
Honey (optional to taste)
equipment
Big stockpot
Slow cooker
Applesauce strainer (see photo)
Canning jars
Paring knife
There is no single best way to make
apple butter. Take note of my journey
and adjust it to make it work for you.
I start with bruised apples and cut
out the problem parts. I do not remove
the core or skin. I wash the somewhat
whole apples and place them in a big
pot with about 2-3 inches of water. I
heat them slowly to allow the liquid
from the apples to come out and make
more water without burning.
If I start this process in the eve-
ning, I keep them on low heat all night
(temperatures are adjusted to make it
convenient for me, as needed).
When the apples are soft, I push
them through the applesauce strainer,
which removes the skin and seeds.
The waste goes into the compost (this
volume is quite small in comparison
to the yield).
I could stop there with my unsweet-
ened applesauce and place it into jars.
When the apple skins are red, the
applesauce is usually a beautiful pink
at this point.
To continue the apple butter, I add
it to the slow cooker to make it thicker
and sweeter (by cooking out the water).
I adjust the heat to cook faster or slower
depending on when I will have time to
complete my batch.
When I like the consistency (thick-
ness), I add the spices. This way I can
taste and adjust if needed (without the
yield changing). I usually find that I
don’t need to add sweeteners or sugar
because the sweetness has concentrated.
Sometimes I add lemon zest to pick
up the flavor. Sometimes I add a touch
of honey to balance the lemon. Then I
place it into jars and process them in a
water bath to assure proper sealing and
a long shelf life. These make excellent
“gifts from the heart.”
Pumpkin Butter Variation
I also like to use winter squash in a similar process of making fruit butter.
Replace apples with roasted squash to create pumpkin butter.
Roast the squash by baking it in the oven to make it soft before cutting it to
remove the seeds. Use a large spoon to scoop out the squash meat from the skin.
Mash or blend the squash (with your choice of a potato masher, the apple-
sauce strainer, a food processor or blender) and cook it down further in a slow
cooker if it is too watery.
Recipes for easy apple and pumpkin
butters follow. Other non-sugary gifts
from the heart can include dried black-
berry leaves for tea (collect them while
pruning in late fall – have your children
snip off the leaves to dry).
Don’t forget that canned or dried
meat or fish also make lovely gifts from
the heart.
December 2014
Season it with the same spices as the apple butter. If sweetening is needed,
consider a small amount maple syrup or honey.
Siletz Tribal Head Start offers my time to support family nutrition over the
telephone (503-588-5446). Please contact me if you have nutrition concerns
about your Head Start child.