Pears, apples and citrus fruits – welcome to 2020

pearsPears – rich in soluble fibre

Pears, apples and citrus fruits are all in season this month, so I’ve highlighted them for a healthy start to the year, writes Dr Susan Aldridge, freelance writer and editor based in London, with an interest in medicine, health, science and food/nutrition.  A recent study from the University of Reading showed that eating two apples a day, over an eight-week period, can lower LDL-cholesterol. The decrease was not as large as that brought about by statins but could be very significant over a long period of time and in combination with other healthy habits.

Meanwhile, pears are a rich source of soluble fibre, which can also lower cholesterol, as well as lowering blood glucose. There are several varieties of apples and pears, of course, but if you check the origins and go for fruit grown in England (Conference and Comice pears for instance), you’ll also be helping the environment by saving on air miles.

All citrus fruits are nutrient dense – being rich in soluble fibre, vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals. If you only buy tangerines at Christmas, maybe try including them in your diet from now on?

Here’s a quick and easy health tip for the New Year – get into the fruit habit. At the start of the day, put out a pear, some easy peel tangerines, and a couple of apples on your desk, if working at home, or pop them into your bag if you’re going out. It’s a good way to push 5-a-day to 7 and beyond!

Total citrus juice
Serves two
The sweetness of the oranges and clementines perfectly balances the sharpness of the grapefruit and limes. And I’ve found that I get more juice from lemons and limes by using a glass squeezer rather than the juicer.
One net of clementines, peeled and segmented
Four large oranges (I used Emperor, which are easy to peel), peeled and segmented
Three red grapefruit, peeled and segmented
Two-inch piece of ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
Two limes
Juice everything but the limes. Halve the limes and extract the juice with a glass squeezer and use to top up the mixture. Give a quick stir, to blend in the lime juice, and drink immediately.

Spinach, pear and Bramley juice
Again, this is a nice blend, where the sweetness of the pears nicely counteracts the taste of the apples and the spinach. I like Bramleys in juice because they’re not too sweet. In fact, in her anti-cancer non-dairy programme (The Plant Programme by Professor Jane Plant and Gill Tidey) Jane Plant recommends juicing Bramleys rather than other varieties because of their high vitamin C and folic acid content.
Serves two
200g spinach
Three Bramley apples, cored and chopped roughly
Three pears, chopped roughly
Two-inch piece of ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
Two lemons
Juice everything but the lemons. Halve the lemons and extract the juice with a glass squeezer and use to top up the mixture. Give a quick stir, to blend in the lemon juice, and drink immediately.

Pear and Bramley crumble
Serves four
500g Bramley, cored and roughly chopped
500g pears, roughly chopped
Sugar and cinnamon to taste
For the crumble mixture
100g nuts, chopped
175g flour
85g butter, chopped into small pieces
25g sugar
One tbsp. cinnamon
First cook the fruit. Add three tablespoons of water to the apples and bring to boil in a saucepan. Cook on a lower heat for about five minutes and then add the pears. Cook for a further five minutes or until the fruit has softened. Set aside while you prepare the crumble mix. Rub the butter into the dry ingredients until you get a crumb-like texture. Top the fruit with this mixture in a baking dish and bake at 190˚C for 30 minutes, or until the top is golden-brown.

Next month: Celebrating celery

A is for apples

Cox's applesGuest blog by Susan Aldridge, freelance writer and editor based in London, with an interest in medicine, health, science and food/nutrition. 

Apples are at their best in October and fit nicely into my juice + salad + main meal formula. They are high in pectin, which is a soluble fibre known to lower cholesterol levels (though given what I’ve been hearing on that topic recently, I am not sure if this should be the number one health goal – but that’s a story for another day). They also contain polyphenols, which can help regulate your blood glucose levels.

Apples can also be used to replace fat and sugar in cakes – try replacing half the fat with apple puree and see if you can do without the sugar altogether.

And here’s what you can do with one bag of apples (take your pick – Cox, Granny Smith, Bramley, Fuji – local, organic, if you can):

CLASSIC GREEN JUICE (serves one)

Two Granny Smith apples
Bunch or bag of spinach
Three celery stalks
Half (or even whole) cucumber
One lemon or lime (I juice mind unpeeled)
Around an inch of peeled ginger
Juice

ENGLISH CURRY (serves two)

This is a bit retro – it dates back from the 60s/70s, when Italian and Indian food really took off in Britain. Recipes for curry tended to include apple and sultanas, which I don’t think they do in India! So I suppose this is a vegetarian version of chicken tikka masala – said to be the UK’s most popular curry dish but unknown in India. I usually make curries with Quorn chicken, but I tried this one with Quorn mince.

2 white or red onions
2 apples
I pack Quorn mince
I tbsp each of cinnamon, turmeric, curry paste
400 g tomatoes
Fresh chopped herbs to finish (mint, coriander)

Cook the onions and apples with the spices in coconut oil (extra virgin cold-pressed, such as Viridian) till soft (around 5 minutes) and add mince. Fry for another 5 minutes and then add tomatoes. Turn down heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes. Sprinkle with fresh chopped herbs and serve with mint and onion raita and a salad of tomatoes, onion, peanuts (spicy peanuts are very good in this) and cucumber dressed with a squeeze of lemon or lime.

APPLE COLESLAW

1 small red or white cabbage
2 apples
¾ carrots
25g walnuts or other nuts
25g mixed seeds
For the dressing
1 tbsp low-fat mayonnaise
1 tbsp low-fat yoghurt
1 tsp mustard
I tbsp flax seed oil  (I have a standing order with The Linseed Farm, formerly known as High Barn Oils for extra-virgin, cold-pressed flax seed, aka linseed, oil so there’s always a bottle of it in my fridge).

1 tbsp cider vinegar (an ingredient that is good for many things – I like Aspall’s vinegar but, of course, as with the flax seed oil, others brands are available).

Grate the cabbage, apples and carrots. Add nuts and seeds. Mix the dressing ingredients, whisk, and pour over the cabbage mixture. Toss and finish with fresh herbs. This is nice with baked potatoes/sweet potatoes, with vegetarian sausages or with a contrasting salad (green, maybe).

For more on the health benefits of apples, check out WH Foods.