Apple Pie Smoothie

A simple smoothie to make, it uses apples, milk, yoghurt, and spices like cinnamon and nutmeg. Add honey or any other sweetener of your choice as per taste. For a healthier, thicker concoction, also consider adding other smoothie staples like chia seeds and a banana. Given smoothies’ highly customisable nature, your smoothie’s protein quotient can be upped with rolled oats or protein powder.

Associated with 4th of July and Thanksgiving in the US, the simple Apple Pie has long been considered an American favourite. But the dessert has distinctly British origins. Apples weren’t native to the US until colonisers who’d settled there started growing the trees. Through cross pollination and experimentation, by 1800, American farmers were growing 14,000 varieties of apples.

The Apple Pie’s first recorded recipe is from 1381 in England, and calls for apples, figs, raisins, pears, and saffron. The crust was cofyn pastry, intended only as an inedible container. But once the British brought the dessert to the US, Americans soon made it their own. It grew in popularity and by World War II, soldiers would say there were fighting “for mom and apple pie”, marking its distinctly American association.

The nutrient-rich apple, which promises to keep the doctor away, is high in antioxidants, fibre and water, and may help with weight loss. The fruit can also reduce risk of type 2 diabetes because of the antioxidant polyphenols quercetin and phloridzin. It's fibres also contribute to lower risk of chronic conditions like heart disease and cancer.

And the Apple Pie Smoothie, a fun, refreshing beverage, combines the emotional association of the Apple Pie with the health benefits of apples.