Homemade (& A Lil’ Bit More Healthy) Apple Pie

Rustic Apple Pie Recipe

By Ellie Krieger

Foodnetwork Recipe Link *Be sure to Save this one in your Recipe Box! Click Here to watch Ellie in action: Recipe Video Link

Here is another great recipe by Ellie to make a classic even better. I followed this one exactly and it turned out perfectly! What a fun desert to bring to your next BBQ. Healthy eating can be a hard change to swallow, but this recipe makes the transition a little bit more sweet. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup whole-grain pastry flour or regular whole-wheat flour
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 2 tablespoons lowfat buttermilk
• 3 tablespoons ice water

Filling:

• 3 medium Golden Delicious apples, unpeeled
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/3 cup dried tart cherries
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Glaze:

• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1/4 teaspoon boiling water

Directions

To prepare the crust, put the whole-wheat pastry flour, all-purpose flour, granulated sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse 3 times to combine. Add the butter and pulse about 12 times, until you get a pebbly coarse texture. In a small bowl combine the buttermilk and ice water. Add the buttermilk-water mixture and pulse 3 to 5 times more to combine. Pat the dough into a 4-inch round and wrap in plastic wrap. Place in the freezer for 10 minutes, or make ahead and refrigerate for up to 1 day.

In the meantime, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F, and prepare the filling. Core the apples and cut them into 1/4-inch slices. In a large bowl toss the apple slices with the lemon juice. Add the dried cherries then sprinkle in the cornstarch, brown sugar and cinnamon and toss until the apples are evenly coated. Set aside.

On a lightly floured surface, roll the chilled dough into a large circle about 9 inches in diameter. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and draping the dough over the rolling pin, transfer it to the prepared baking sheet. If the dough breaks, patch it up with your fingers.

Arrange the apple mixture in a mound in the center on the dough, leaving a 1 to 2-inch border. Fold the border over the filling. It will only cover the filling partially and does not need to be even.

Bake the pie at 425 degrees F for 15 minutes, and then reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F, keeping the pie in the oven all the while, and bake for another 40 minutes, until the apples are tender and the crust is golden brown.

In a small bowl stir together the honey and boiling water to make a glaze. When the pie is done remove it from the oven and brush the honey glaze all over the top of the fruit and crust. Transfer to a plate to cool slightly. Cut into 6 wedges and serve warm or at room temperature.

Per Serving:

Calories 230; Total Fat 8 g; (Sat Fat 5 g, Mono Fat 2 g, Poly Fat 0 g) ; Protein 3 g; Carb 39 g; Fiber 3 g; Cholesterol 20 mg; Sodium 60 mg

Good source of: Fiber, Vitamin A, Thiamin

Kegels ~ For a Lifetime.

Do you Kegel? After doing a little reconnaissance I was surprised to learn just how important these exercises are for the all-important Pubococcygeus Muscle (or PC Muscle for short)! Feel the need to cross your legs when you sneeze? Ever laugh so hard that you pee a little? You may not be concerned with these things just yet, but you will be if you don’t start your Kegel routine now.

There are a variety of reasons that having a strong PC muscle is beneficial for a lifetime of health. From childbirth to sexual intercourse to urination and bowel movements, strengthening your PC muscle is pivotal. I bet you’re doing Kegels right now!

Check out the normal female anatomy to your left. I’ve best heard the PC muscle (aka Pelvic Floor Muscles) described as the hammock of muscles attached to your pubic bone wrapping around your vagina, urethra and rectum.  If your PC muscle is in shape, it will support your inner organs, keeping them up high and in place.   

How to Kegel

First, you must identify your PC muscle. The next time you are urinating, with your knees apart stop the flow without putting your knees back together.  Kegel Exercises are very simple, it is the same squeezing sensation, however you can squeeze stronger and tighter when off the toilet.  Try doing 10 right now. You might find it harder than you would think.

Pregnancy & Childbirth

During labor, once mom has fully dilated and is ready to deliver, the baby is pushed out through the birth canal (or more well-known as the vagina or vaginal barrel).  You know every new mother’s fear and every new father’s worst nightmare for postpartum… ”Will sex be like throwing a hot dog down a hallway?” Thank you for that image Jenny McCarthy. Well, Kegels are the first exercise your doctor will give you the green light to start after delivery. I diverge. 

Your Vaginal Barrel/Birth Canal is supported by the PC muscle. So, if you have a strong PC muscle you have a well-supported tight vaginal barrel and birth canal (more like a hot dog in a bun than a hallway). Whereas if you are lacking PC tone, your vaginal barrel is loose, short and saggy… the hallway issue. When the baby comes down the birth canal, the saggy tissue can be pulled forward causing tension,  making it harder to push your baby through. Potentially causing pinched and torn tissue. With a strong hammock the baby can pass through the well-supported tissue easily. In fact, a strong PC muscle will make this part of delivery easier where the tight canal keeps the babies chin down and in a better position. Stong PC muscles also help mom have more controlled pushing which becomes more important as the baby crowns.

Urinary Incontinence & Pelvic Prolapse

During pregnancy it is normal for ligaments and muscles to loosen. Most pregnant woman experience urine leakage when they laugh, sneeze, cough or run. Kegels will help limit urinary incontinence in this situation and all through life as we age.  Pelvic Prolapse is a bit more serious and is a result of a weak PC muscle. Basically, Pelvic Prolapse is when your pelvic organs slip down too low because the muscle is not supporting the organs adequately. Take a look at the Diagram from Healthwise, Inc. above. In the image on your left, see how the uterus is up and pointing towards the belly button. In the image on the right the PC muscle has started to weaken and the uterus is dropping putting pressure on the bladder and vagina.

Sex

We already touched on this topic a little already with the whole hotdog and hallway metaphor. But there is even more… With a tight PC muscle women can have more orgasms. It makes sense really, if you have a tight barrel, it makes more contact with your partner’s penis. A loose barrel tends to get pulled in uncomfortable ways. In long-term un-supported pelvic floors, as the bladder and uterus drop as shown above, intercourse may become uncomfortable. Need even more incentive: The PC muscle also has two one-centimeter spots in the muscle that are loaded with nerve endings similar to the clitoris. Let the Kegels Begin!

Kegels for Men (The PC/BC Muscle)

Kegels aren’t just for women, they are just as important for men.  A stong PC muscle for men can mean stronger erections and more control over ejaculations, along with of course prevention of urinary and bowel incontinence. “Research published in 2005 issue of BJU International, have shown that pelvic floor exercises could help restore erectile function in men with erectile dysfunction.” AskMen.com has a great article if you’re looking for exercise routines and how to find a man’s PC muscle.

Getting into a Routine

The hardest part of the Kegel Exercise is remembering to do them! Once you get the hang of it you can do them anywhere, anytime. Red lights, washing dishes, watching TV, reading a book… anything you can think of to get your sets in everyday. I have found several differing opinions of what the right routine is for getting into Kegels. Dr. Kegel recommended 300 a day whereas other sites start you off with 50- so do your research and figure out the right amount for you. Concentrating on keeping your buttocks and abdominal muscles relaxed, flex your whole PC muscle deep inside. Try breaking up the sets with 100 in the morning, 100 midday and 100 at night. Once your PC muscle is in good shape start trying to hold for 10 seconds. If you are thinking about the Bradley Method they have a wonderful breakout of kegel exercises for pregnancy in their book, Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way.

 

Will Your Doctor Be Home in Time For Dinner?

Did you know caesarean’s peak at 4pm and 10pm? Oddly the same time doctors’ shifts typically end. ~Dr. Michael Brodman, Chairman, Dept. of OB/GYN, Mount Sinai Hospital referenced this study in the film The Business of Being Born.

I am starting the process of picking my OBGYN or Midwife or Both and I want to schedule my preconception visit within the next month or two.  I think it’s safe to say at this point I clearly want a natural delivery and that I don’t want any interventions unless, well, absolutely necessary. So let the research begin. The question, “Where is the safest place and who is the safest most qualified person to delivery my baby?”

Fact #1: Where?

•  According to the 2007 Unicef Innocenti Research Centre Report, of all the developed nations, you don’t want to have your baby in America. “America’s negative maternal and child health outcomes relative to other developed nations ranked [us] 41st in maternal mortality, 29th in infant mortality, and 30th in preterm births.” Based on the report by: Michael C. Lu & Jessica S. Lu  LINK 

Unicef Source Link  

Fact #2:  Who?

Check out The Business of Being Born, it’s on-demand on Netflix, best movie yet!               

• Midwives only attend 8% of births in the US whereas they attend 70-80% in the other countries ahead of us in the pretty blue Unicef chart above. 
• The number of Home Births in the US is only about 0.65% of all deliveries. Whereas the Netherlands, the leading country on infant mortality has 30% of their births at home with a midwife.

Fact #3:   When?             

• November 2009 CDC NCHS Data Brief says: “The percentage of preterm births in the United States has risen 36% since 1984… In 2004, 1 in 8 infants born in the United States were born preterm, compared with 1 in 18 in Ireland and Finland. Preterm infants have much higher rates of death or disability than infants born at 37 weeks of gestation or more, so the United States’ higher percentage of preterm births has a large effect on infant mortality rates.”
• Many American doctors induce an early labor or schedule a cesarean section before 37 weeks. In 2006, labor was induced in nearly 16 percent of preterm births and 36 percent were C-section deliveries. NPR

Fact #3: Why?

• African-American babies are far more likely to die than white ones, which is often taken as evidence that poverty and lack of health insurance are to blame. That’s entirely plausible until you notice another racial/ethnic gap: Hispanics of Mexican or Central or South American ancestry not only do consistently better than blacks on infant mortality, they do better than whites. LINK

So, if money isn’t a factor, then why are American women and our babies worse off? Is it the growing obesity epidemic? Is it our lifestyle? Yes, I think those things can greatly affect fertility and infant mortality.  However, I also think an entire medical infrastructure geared towards interventions might be playing a key role as well.

I am going to look into having a midwife perhaps along side an OBGYN.  Whether it’s at home, a birth center or in a hospital is still up in the air. But, I think we have to rule out a home birth because it’s not covered by our insurance. I am leaning towards a water birth in a birthing center - just the idea of it relaxes me. I am really fortunate to be going through this process in Portland, Oregon. This state is much more accustom to natural births, so if we go the hospital route it will be easier to do the natural thing with the support of the staff.  But it will all come down to whether or not I am low risk. Fingers crossed.

My plan: Interview several OBGYNs and Midwives to figure out who will be my birth attendant. Second interview for my birth educator, these must be two different people not affiliated with the same practice. It’s like creating a built-in second opinion.  I will be using a certified Bradley instructor. Bradley students have a 90% success rate of having a completely natural delivery! Ask your birth educator what their success rate is. Tour hospitals and birthing centers to find a place to labor!

Have another? Love Cocktail Please.

I often hear women talk about their impending labor and the resounding message is, ”I can’t even imagine the experience without drugs… I need my drugs” they say, “What do I have to prove?” My answer, ”It’s not about proving anything. It’s about making the best medical decision for yourself and your baby, something the medical community should be backing.” Somewhere along the line our healthcare providers got off track.  

It’s sad really, how women have lost trust in their own bodies. Women are seemingly terrified of the pain of labor- they want someone else to be in control. I suppose I was one of them until recently. With all the cultural images of horrible, life-threatening labors with terrified, drugged-up, screaming women… I’m not surprised we’re afraid.  But have you ever seen a labor with a woman who has been trained and educated for a natural delivery? A women who has a support staff who know how to comfort and help her during this time?

Imagine if the media’s portrayal of birth looked more like the image to your left than the image to your right? Do you think women would be less afraid?

For me, when you hear about the side effects of drugs so eagerly administered by your doctor, the number one thing that tips the scales is the opportunity to bond with your baby after birth.  I did a little research to see what the difference is between a natural delivery and one with medication.

In a natural labor, the mother’s Oxytocin neurons start releasing oxytocin into her brain. Oxytocin is the bonding, protective, love hormone. Those hormones then travel down the blood stream and into the uterus triggering contractions. This is when science believes the switch to the maternal brain gets turned on - where the brain love cocktail was developed by mother nature to keep the new mom focused on her helpless infant. The result; a state of complete and total dependence.

But what happens if nature doesn’t take over and doctors step in to use drugs to induce labor? Remember Pitocin? Pitocin is an extremely common drug given to mothers in their IV to help move things along.  It is also the synthetic version of Oxytocin.  But Pitocin doesn’t act like normal oxytocin would in the brain, perhaps preventing the natural hormones from working the way they are supposed to.  Perhaps preventing the love cocktail from being switched on.

So what would happen if these hormones weren’t released? Looking at other mammals for some clues, the bond between mother and infant is almost always compromised if labor is not done naturally.   For example, if a monkey has a caesarean they completely lose interest in their infant and make no attempt to take care of it.  Now don’t get me wrong, if you must have an emergency c-section it doesn’t mean you are making the wrong choice for your baby and it doesn’t mean you’re not going to be the best mother. But if it does come down to choice… I’m not going to choose a synthetic version of something I produce naturally.

If you need more proof! Ruth Feldman, psychology professor at Bar-Ilan University in Israel, did a study to demonstrate the link between Oxytocin levels in a mother during pregnancy through postpartum and it’s relationship to bonding with her baby.  The study found that the “increase in {higher levels of naturally occurring Oxytocin} from early to late pregnancy correlated with higher maternal-fetal bonding.”

How We Ended Up Flat On Our Backs- The Domino Effect of Interventions

The Natural Alternative to Intervention

Movement. Did you know lying on your back actually makes your pelvis smaller? It also makes it much more likely you’ll need an episiotomy or forceps or the vacuum to assist in your delivery. It is however more convenient for your doctor if you are lying down. Once you have been administered any drugs most hospitals require you to be hooked up to fetal monitoring 24/7 because you are now considered high-risk, hence wired-in bed restriction. Otherwise, should a woman in labor accommodate her doctor by lying down on the job? Dop! Standing, walking, squatting, moving your hips helps maneuver the baby…out!

The Domino Effect of Interventions             

 How can we expect a mom to follow her birth plan if her support is more comfortable with the path of intervention? Any time you tell a mother, especially one that is in labor, your baby could die if we don’t do this, of course the mom is going to do whatever you are asking/telling her to do.       

1. Begin first with Pitocin to quicken the pace of labor or administer an Epidural to help mom relax.
2. Downsides: Pitocin makes contractions longer, stronger, faster and closer together than they would be in a normal, natural, childbirth. 
3. Downsides: Epidurals slow down the process of labor.
4. So, if you started with an Epidural, doctors will want to give you Pitocin to quicken the pace. But that means you’ll probably need to up the epidural to deal with the increased pain.
5. If you started with Pitocin, they’ll want to administer the Epidural to help mom cope with the increased pain. But this will slow down your progress so you’ll need to up the Pitocin.
6. So guess what?! Let’s ping-pong back and forth between upping the Pitocin and upping the Epidural! It’s the domino/snowball effect, and once you start there’s no turning back.
7. Downside: Now your baby is going through the birth process faster and harsher than mother nature intended. The result:  your baby is being deprived oxygen and blood flow during these longer and stronger contractions… potentially causing your baby to go into distress.
8. All resulting in the growing statistic that your labor will end in a C-Section, Forceps or Vacuum delivery.

But Thank God the Doctors were there with all their interventions!!!

Let’s not forget all of the side-effects of these medications. Read this great article on the Pros and Cons of getting an epidural. Look especially at the effects on the fetus and newborn. The risks far outweigh the benefits for me.   

It doesn’t just end with Pitocin, here are some more drugs you should be aware of before going to the hospital… there is always a side effect.

*All cervical-ripening and induction agents can cause uterine hyperstimulation, which can negatively affect the blood supply to the fetus and increases the risk of complications such as uterine rupture.

Butorphanol (aka Stadol) Part of the Opioid Drug family. Used to manage pain during labor.

Side Effects: Vomiting and nausea are common.

Methergine (aka Methylergometrine) Properties similar to LSD. Used to prevent or control excessive bleeding following childbirth and to help deliver the placenta after childbirth.

Side Effects: Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, cramping, dizziness, pulmonary hypertension, coronary artery vasoconstriction and severe systemic hypertension (especially in patients with preeclampsia)

Naloxone (aka Narcan, Nalone or Narcanti) Is a drug used to counter the effects of an opioid overdose.

Pitocin (aka Syntocinon or Oxytocin)

 Side Effects: Fetal distress- Overstimulated uterus, too frequent contractions, resulting in reduced ability of placenta/fetus to re-oxygenate and process waste products. This increases chances of Caesarean section.

Cervidil (aka  Prostin E₂, Propess or Glandin) Softens the cervix and causes uterine contractions.  

Side Effects: Ultimately induces fever. Which causes a string of tests to be done on your newborn to check for possible infection (that was never really there because your fever was caused by the drug in the first place).

Opioids Decreased perception of pain, decreased reaction to pain as well as increased pain tolerance.

Side Effects:  Sedation, respiratory depression,  nausea and vomiting, drowsiness, itching, dry mouth, miosis, and constipation.

Yutopar (aka Ritodrine) Used to stop premature labor.

Side Effects:  Increase in heart rate, rise in systolic pressure, decrease in diastolic pressure, chest pain secondary to MI, and arrhythmia. The passage of beta-agonists through the placenta does occur and may be responsible for fetal tachycardia, as well as hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia at birth.

Hemabate (aka Carboprost)  Induces contractions and can trigger abortion in early pregnancy. It also reduces postpartum bleeding.

Side Effects: Exert caution in asthmatic patients. The most common side effect is diarrhea, which may be sudden in onset.

Meperidine (Pethidine or Demerol)  A fast acting opioid used to moderate pain.

Side Effects: Nausea, vomiting, sedation, dizziness, diaphoresis, urinary retention and constipation.

Brethine (aka Terbutaline, Bricanyl, or Brethaire) A treatment for premature labor, however, its not approved by the FDA 

Side Effects: Maternal – tachycardia, nervousness, tremors, headache, hyperglycemia, hypokalemia, and rarely, pulmonary edema. Fetal – tachycardia and hypoglycemia.

Procardia  (aka Nifedipine, Adalat or Nifedical) Used in premature labor.

Side Effects: Rapidly lowers blood pressure, and patients are commonly warned they may feel dizzy or faint after taking the first few doses. Tachycardia (fast heart rate) may occur as a reaction.

Misoprostol  (aka Cytotec) Used for early abortion, to treat missed miscarriage, and to induce labor. However, in 2000 the manufacturer distributed a letter warning against the use of misoprostol in pregnant women.

Side Effects: In addition to citing the abortifacient nature of the drug, the letter cited reports of uterine rupture and death associated with using misoprostol to induce labor.

There is frankly so much to talk about here, if you want to learn more about a drug free delivery check out the Bradley Method. Joe and I will definitely be taking these classes to prepare us for a natural childbirth. Just check out the price difference for this 12-week class compared to some of the other options. You will be amazed! Find an instructor in your area by clicking here.

Are you too Posh to Push?

Even with all the information out there and with the most intelligent group of women on the planet, how can the majority of American women think it is feminist mauchoism to have a natural birth?? Are You too Posh to Push?? I am strong. I am classy. I am educated. I am not too posh to push.

A little birthing history…                 

• In the beginning of the 1900′s 95% of all births in the United States were at home.
• During this time the medical community began to produce the first real crop of OBGYN’s, who all needed patients. Lobbyists began a very effective smear campaign against midwives to help convert those patients out of their homes and bring them into the hospitals. They claimed that midwives were the local witch doctors, unclean, uneducated grannies from the old country etc… versus the cleaner, safer and educated doctors and their facilities.
  • It occurs to me that perhaps cleaner was an important factor during the early 1900′s. However it was much riskier to be delivered by a MD at this time than a midwife. But is clean still a concern today?
• In the early 1900′s the  Twilight Sleep (aka Scopolomine Method,  Freiburg Method, or Dämmerschlaf Method) was introduced. The combination or morphine  and scopolomine  ”induced a semi-narcotic state which produces the experience of childbirth without pain, or without the memory of pain.” Remember at this time women were still taught that the pain of child-birth was God’s punishment for Eve taking the apple from the Garden of Eden. But what also came with the loss of memory was a loss of self-awareness and control.  Women were strapped to beds with lambs wools to protect them… protect them from themselves. This method was of course discontinued.
  • Can we say Twilight Zone anyone? Woman were strapped in with Lambs Wool specifically so their husbands wouldn’t know they were restrained. Remember, fathers still waited in the waiting rooms until the 70′s.
• In the 1930′s every pregnant woman’s pelvis was x-rayed. In the 1940′s they found out the x-rays were giving babies cancer and this method was finally discontinued.
• By 1938 only half of all births were at home.
• In the 1950′s and 60′s there was a drug called Thalidomide which had the unfortunate side effect of causing babies to be born without arms and legs. Once doctors realized this relationship, this method was discontinued.
• By 1955 less than 1% of births took place at home. Which is still the case today.
• In the 1970′s we came so close to moving back out of the hospital with the hippy era when woman realized the horrors of Twilight Sleep. But the medical community reacted and came out with the electronic fetal monitor and cesareans rose from 4% to 23%.
  • More to come on fetal monitoring as I do more research. But one study found that in two groups of premature babies, ”the incidence of cerebral palsy was 20% in the EFM group and 8% in the group that was monitored by auscultation.” Ask your OBGYN or Midwife about Auscultation as an alternative. But most hospitals have some sort of policy so work on a compromise with intermittent monitoring if all looks good, perhaps with a doppler.
• In the 1990′s Cytotec was given to induce labor in women who have already had a cesarean. This caused hundreds of ruptured uterus’ and many infant deaths.  In 1999 this method was discontinued.

So, clearly, I advocate for a drug free labor. Don’t get me wrong, when something goes wrong, thank god for the drugs! I’m just not willing to take a chance with all the potential side-effects and messing around with mother nature if it’s not absolutely necessary.  I just wonder what are they going to discontinue next… Some hospitals are up to 45% of all deliveries are done via C-Section. It’s a growing trend towards convenience.

Becoming a Women’s Health Advocate

As I continue on my journey towards a more natural existence I am finding it more and more difficult to talk to other women about taking on the natural side of women’s health. Mostly because 90% of American Women are choosing drugs and interventions over the granola, hippy, old school, feminist machoism, ahem, I mean a more natural path.  It’s not that I don’t understand them- I was one of them. But now I feel as if I am trying to convince a Democrat to become a Republican or a Republican to become a Democrat when I use word “natural” for anything other than food.  So I have been working on my “one-liner” to use when someone asks the inevitable question.           

Person: So, what do you do?           

Me: I am an advocate for Women’s Health.           

Person: Wow! That is so cool, so what do you actually do? (Okay, okay, I am just hoping for this response.)          

Me: Well, it started during my preconception months. I wanted to figure out what health choices I was willing or able to make to help give my baby the best odds. I assumed it would end with what pre-natal vitamins I would choose, but my research led me to realize that American women and our newborns have one of the highest mortality rates of any developed country. My passion has branched from here.    

There are three components to a woman’s health. I want the Trifecta.  Nutrition, Exercise, and the Process (Drugs vs. Natural) There are the choices you make and the choices that are made for you.

Step One: Enroll in a Nutrition program.

Step Two: Have a baby, naturally of course.

Step Three…. I am still working on that.

 

PS. Check out this fun ETSY store featuring the maternity tee above.