Baked Apples

for 8-30-92

Back to Breakfast

What are those three little words that parents love to hear?

"Back to school."

After an entire summer, everyone is usually ready.

But if the words "back to school" sends hearts aflutter, it may not be only because of desire. Having to get children ready for school creates some stress and anxiety in even the most organized households. One of the biggest problems is making sure students are well nourished before they start the day. "Back to school" frequently means a battle over breakfast.

One of the things that parents learn over the years is the importance of being reasonable. Studies show that brekfast helps the brain to function better. Students do better on tests and they are less lethargic in genera l if they have had something to eat. But that "something" need not be an eight course meal. And while no one would seriously advocate that children be allowed to eat high-sugar, high-salt, high-fat foods of their choosing just to "get something into them," neither is it advisable to harp on the words "wholesome" and "nutritious" while they are struggling to get something down. You can't fool kids. If it doesn't taste good, they won't eat it.

Fortunately there is a treasure trove of delicious foods that are reasonably suitable for schoolday breakfast. As a bonus, they are also easy to make -- many can be prepared in advance -- so that working parents an also take advantage of them (and older children can whip up the recipes themselves).

One category to consider are fruit breakfasts. Baked Apples, for example, are appropriate, filling and well-liked by most children. They can be made in advance. Properly wrapped, they will last for 4-5 days in the refrigerator. A fresh crop of apples becomes available in the fall, which means that there will be several varieties to choose from. Apples have ample supplies of natural sugar, so they don't need much, if any, sweetener to make them taste good.

Baked apples -- you could also use pears for a change of pace and taste -- can be served hot, warm or cold. They needn't be cloaked with cream. They are delicious as is or when topped with vanilla or lemon flavored yogurt. To make sure that baked apples don't become boring, you can season them a different way each time you make the recipe: cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon, orange, ground coriander, ginger and cloves are just a few of the flavors that partner well with apples. Stuffings also provide variety. Dried fruit, nuts, granola and hard cereals such as grape nuts can be used alone or in combination as fillers.

Applesauce is another good bet for breakfast. You can prepare it with one or a variety of apples. You can include other fruits such as pears, cranberries, raspberries or dried apricots in the formula. It is easy to make. So easy, in fact, you don't even have to peel the apples. The skins of red apples gives the mixture a pleasant rosy hue and the fibrous portions can be strained out at the end.

Applesauce can be eaten as is or on top of graham crackers, pancakes or toast. It makes a perfect breakfast "parfait" when layered with granola or grapenuts and plain or lemon and vanilla flavored yogurts.

Other appropriate fruit breakfasts include stewed fresh and/or dried fruit, fruit "sandwiches," fruit kebabs and grilled fruit. Fresh Italian prune plums are in plentiful supply as the school season starts. These are easy to cook and their rich color makes them more appealing to youngsters. The flesh is soft and sugary (only a bit of sweetener is needed). While prune plums makes for a sweet and tasty stew, other plum varieties can be used also, alone or in combination. Or you could add end-of-season peaches, apricots or nectarines to the mixture. Dried fruit or raisins could be included. All sorts of flavor enhancers are appropriate from citrus peel to cinnamon to crystallized ginger. Stewed fruit lasts about one week in the refrigerator.

Fruit sandwiches can be made by slathering pear or apple slices with a small amount of peanut butter or vanilla-extract spiked cottage cheese. Fruit kebabs could include chunks of almost any fruit: melon, strawberries, banana, orange segments, etc. Placing the fruit on a skewer makes it more attractive and inviting to eat. The process doesn't take much time. Grilled grapefruit or orange slices and peach or nectarine halves require only a sprinkling of sweetener and some seasoning to give them appeal for back to school breakfast.

Below are several recipes to help make the back to school breakfast routine less of a conflict. Let us all enjoy those three little words, "back to school" to their fullest.