Product Review and Giveaway: Musselman’s Applesauce
Musselman’s recently sent me some more applesauce to taste-test! I was only too happy to oblige.
They gave me two kinds: Natural Unsweetened (ingredients: apples, water and ascorbic acid), and Chunky (ingredients: apples, high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, water, lemon juice and cinnamon. Ascorbic acid added to maintain colour). I was shocked to see the high fructose corn syrup listed on the Chunky variety. The Natural kind has 8g of sugar per 1/2 cup (all of that is the naturally-occurring, good sugars from the apples), whereas the Chunky kind has 21g of sugar per 1/2 cup! In fact, I was so disappointed by the corn syrup and the high fructose corn syrup that I haven’t even tried the Chunky variety. I don’t eat foods with high fructose corn syrup, because it’s a man-made ingredient that spikes blood sugar and is absolutely terrible for the body (if you want to learn more about eating a diet free of high fructose corn syrup, check out A Life Less Sweet!). I’m not entirely sure what I will do with this big bottle of Chunky Applesauce that I now own, but I won’t be eating it, myself.
On the other hand, I did try the Natural Applesauce that Musselman’s sent me, and I can honestly say that it’s some of the best applesauce I’ve ever had! I’m not a big applesauce person; normally I only really use it for making baked goods. But this applesauce I have been using as a spread on toast with peanut butter, and I’ve even eaten it on its own, which I never do, and it’s really tasty like that as well. Whereas I was not at all happy with the nutritionals of the Chunky variety, I can promote the Natural variety wholeheartedly. Moreover, the Natural variety supports the fight against breast cancer, which is always wonderful to see.
If you would like to win a Holiday Giftbasket of Musselman’s Applesauce, leave me a comment telling me how you like to eat your applesauce! Alternatively, tell me what kind of interesting spreads you like to put on your toast/sandwiches. Applesauce is a great way to get in plenty of flavour in a sandwich without the added sugars of jam or jelly. As always, comments that “stand out” (ie. make me smile or are particularly clever) will have a higher chance of being the Holiday Giftbasket Winner! Winner will be announced one week from today, on Monday, December 28th.
Day 21 of the 200 Reps Challenge
20 Reverse Pendulums (targets the obliques)
20 Upright Rows (targets the medial delts and biceps)
Perform this set ten times for a total of 200 Reverse Pendulums and 200 Upright Rows!
For the Reverse Pendulums:
1. Lie on your back with your arms flat on the ground at your sides, palms pressing into the floor, and your legs straight up in the air above your hips. Keep your legs and feet “glued” together.
2. Lower your legs to the right side, feeling the movement in your abdominals, and then reverse the position and lower your legs to the left side, keeping your legs straight the entire time. Return to the centre. Only lower as far as you feel comfortable going. This is one rep.
TIP: Keep your back flat against the floor the entire time so that your obliques get a better workout.
For the Upright Rows:
1. Stand with feet hip width apart, dumbbell in each hand. Keep your arms down at your sides and in front of you, so that your palms face your body and the dumbbells rest on the front of your thighs. Bend your knees and elbows slightly and keep your back straight.
2. Raise the dumbbells so that your elbows reach almost the same level as your shoulders; your upper arms should be parallel with the floor and the dumbbells should reach chest level. Slowly lower your arms, feeling it in your arms, chest and shoulders. This is one rep.
TIP: Keep your abs engaged to prevent your upper body from swinging back and forth with the movement of the exercise.
don’t need to enter me in the giveaway as I should be hosting my own, but i had the same thought with the chunky! I donated it to a food pantry…
I love plain applesauce and LOTS of cinnamon :-D! On sandwiches I like natural peanut butter! I’m not a big jelly fan – too sweet. And I never even thought of substituting applesauce. Sweet idea 😉
I don’t want to be part of the giveway.
But I want to say that lately I have been baking with applesauce and whole wheat flour. I have to say that it gives a lot of my muffins, cookies, and cupcakes a flavor and texture that you cannot find at a pastry shop. I think next year, I might be moving away from sugar to Splenda. I know a lot of people bake with Splenda now, but I always hated using fake sugar because I can taste the difference.
Applesauce is sweet on its own. It doesn’t need added sugar, let alone HFCS!
BODA weight loss
Actually, I don’t eat applesauce, though I do use it in baking. 🙂
I’ve come across a few products that has “surprise” ingredients like hydrogenated oils or HFCS. For a while, I struggled with whether to donate them to the food bank, but then I decided some food is better than NO food. I’m sure someone would appreciate the chunky variety!
I’ve never like adding applesauce to recipes; it changes them unexpectedly. I just eat mine from a bowl, but then I mostly make my own. I never thought of putting it on peanut butter toast, though. I’ll have to try that in the morning. Sounds great.
Shannon- That’s a nice idea. I have a feeling I might be donating mine to the food bank, too.
Ashley- LOVE LOVE LOVE the all-natural nut butters 😀
Asithi- If I’m adding sugars to a recipe, I prefer to use agave, honey, maple syrup, or organic cane sugar to regular sugar (or any kind of artificial sweetener). But even then, I add VERY small amounts… even if they are slightly “healthier” kinds of sugar, they’re still added sugars, and that’s never healthy!
Stephanie- Agreed, it most certainly is.
Cammy- I tend not to eat it, either. But It’s a good one for baking! And yes, I think most people won’t mind eating those things at all. It goes to show just how much luxury we have that we can pick and choose the kind of stuff we eat.
Mary Anne- I tried making my own a few times, it was a lot of fun! But mostly I just want to eat the whole apple rather than turn it into applesauce. Hehe.
dont fall over BUT this is the one thing I actually make pretty regularly from scratch.
SHOCKING I KNOW…
You kknow what? I have never used applesuace on a sandwich!! I have used them to dip my potato pancakes in, which is always fantastic, but never as a sandwich spread. I love that idea! I think it would be especially good on a ham and cheese sandwich. That sounds reallllly good!
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My son, who is working on his master’s degree in anatomy says that applesauce is the perfect pre and post workout food since it has simple carbs and natural sugar. It is my plan to try to lose 65 pounds this year (fingers, toes, arms AND legs crossed) so I could sure use this for my workouts-to-be.
By the way, how do you make an apple turnover? Push it down a hill.
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