A new school year will soon be upon us and I have been on the hunt for interesting, yet healthy recipes to send in Trinity’s school lunch. We had problems last year with getting her to eat what was packed. Even when I tried to involve her in the process, she would frequently come home with large portions of her lunch untouched. It seems my “bottomless pit” eater was too worried about getting outside to play to eat more than a few hurried mouthfuls. This year I’m playing dirty. I’ll be making items she thinks are treats but are, in fact, nutritional superstars. This recipe is a total winner. My kids think it’s a special treat but there is no processed sugar. There IS however plenty of potassium, iron, vitamin C, and fiber. Shhhhh! I won’t tell if you won’t. Trinity is already asking me to send it in her lunch. Mission accomplished.

Serve this dip with graham crackers, rice crackers, cinnamon chips, or slices of fresh apple. Crisp, tart Granny Smith’s would be a good contrast to the sweet, cooked apples in the dip. It is great served warm or cold. Oh and your Paleo and Gluten Free friends can enjoy it too! 😀

Apple Pie Dip

• 4 cups apples, peeled, cored, and diced
• 1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 1/4 cup water
• 6 Tbsp date paste, for recipe see: https://sarahsjoys.com/2012/08/18/date-paste/
  
• 1 tsp cinnamon

Place date paste and lemon juice in a medium saute pan and stir until smooth. No heat required yet. Turn the heat on low, then dice the apples and add to the pan. Add 1/4 cup water and cinnamon. Stir to combine.

Raise heat to medium-low, cover, and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring every 2-3 minutes. It will get nice and bubbly like this:Serve warm or cold. It would be great as an appetizer, dessert, or snack of any sort.The inspiration for this dish came from http://www.thepeachkitchen.com