Packing a cut apple in a child's lunch

My son loves either apples or grapes in his lunch every day.  He usually has them cut up and sprinkled with some Stevia drops and cinnamon.  You just mush the apple pieces, cinnamon and Stevia around in a baggie and it keeps your apples from turning brown by lunch!  Not to mention, it is soooo tasty!  Feels like you're eating a healthy version of apple pie.  I eat this a lot when dieting because it makes me feel like I'm cheating, hee hee!

But the other day, he said he wanted a WHOLE apple.  Well, I didn't have a problem with that, but I know he hates biting into a whole apple.  He always eats the peels when I cut the apple up, but has an aversion to eating a whole one by itself.  I never said he was a normal child, lol!  So, remembering an email I received about clever little ways to do things, this came to mind!  I'm sure showing step by step instructions may make it look more difficult than it seems, but it really does take only a few seconds to do.

Take your whole apple and wash it.  Cut a slice down one side, about 1/4 way through the apple.  Excuse my disposable cutting board paper plate.  I've been trying to use less of them, but darn, they can be so handy!

Turn your apple a quarter of a turn and cut the next 1/4 off.  You're trying to avoid the core while doing this.

Turn your apple another quarter of a turn and cut another 1/4 off.

 

Before we turn another quarter of a turn and cut off the last 1/4, I'm going to put my puzzle pieces back together first.  If you don't care if your pieces are small, don't do this.  It's actually a little dangerous because the apple can become slippery.  Don't want to cut yourself.

 Now, if you're extra anal sweet like me, you can  figure out how to make all your pieces nice and easy for your child to eat by making each side look like this.

The next step is to match your puzzle pieces together.  Hopefully your apple-cutting skills are a little better than mine.

Wrap a rubber band around the whole thing.  Pack in a baggie.

So, why would you want to go through all of this trouble so you can essentially create an edible puzzle?  Well, number one, it's cool.  Number two, when the apple is opened up at lunch time, even the next day, the apple will still be nice and white inside because the slices were only exposed to air while you were cutting it.  Neato, huh?

Since my son requested the whole apple, I told him that I want to make sure he eats the whole thing.  I told him to please do not end up throwing half away.  Not so much because I'm a hardass who insists you eat what you take, but because wasting is just silly.  When he came home, I asked him if he ate his whole apple.  He said, "YES! Wellllllll, I didn't eat the core, if that's okay!"   LOL!  What a stinker!

Now, a  few notes about apples that may bore you to tears.  If you don't like mildly interesting facts, feel free to skip this part. Most people agree that an apple a day is essentially good for you.  It's high in fiber and rich in vitamins A, B, C, E and K.  An apple can also help those with acid troubles.  Most people who have acid problems actually have too little acid in their stomach, they just don't know it because they have what feels like an acidy stomach.  Next time you're having an acidy tummy, try an apple or some apple cider vinegar (2T) mixed with water and see how you feel.  I've tried it!  It works!  

A larger apple like this has a glycemic index of around 44.  Shoot, a Snickers candy bar is only 68!  So, you see, even though an apple can be a good choice, it can also raise your blood sugar quite a bit. And if you knew how spazzy and inattentive my child can be, you would watch it, too!  So, while I'm definitely not perfect at it, I try hard to give him as healthy a diet as I can, but still have some of the perks of being a kid.  We're a work in progress.   :)  

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