My Best Easy Apple Pie Recipe + Why You Don't Need to Exercise to "Earn" a Slice
And find out why the TikTok rumor about Cheerios and cancer is a total lie. Go ahead, eat that cereal!
Whether you’re counting down to, or can’t wait to be done with Thanksgiving, I think there’s one thing we can agree on: There’s no such thing as too many desserts on any holiday table. I outsourced my final course contributions this year to the Les Dames d'Escoffier (LDEI) Greater Des Moines Chapter Wine & Pie Drive-By, where I snagged my Whiskey-Apple Pecan Crumble Pie this weekend, and to my friend Alisa at Sift + Sprinkle (fall macarons for the win!).
But I couldn’t resist dishing about my own personal favorite pie recipe, just in case you’re still searching for the perfect sweet ending to your menu. This Cinnamon Roll Apple Pie was one that my friend Sammy Mila and I developed back in our Better Homes & Gardens days. It’s inspired by this Cinnamon Roll Sweetpotato Pie. I saw that creation that was developed for the print magazine, and thought it was begging for a caramel apple cousin online.
So we gave the recipe a makeover using the beloved fall fruit, and after making it about a dozen times at home myself since, it has become my signature semi-homemade pie. When I’m feeling ambitious, I craft it using a homemade double-crust pastry recipe as the base. But get this: Since store-bought is already uniformly flat and round, it actually works even more seamlessly with refrigerated pie crust.
Don’t be intimidated by the length of the instructions. I promise you can totally conquer this—and will definitely steal the spotlight from the turkey if you add this apple pie to the table! It’s best served warm, with a scoop of Pints by Beth Salted Caramel ice cream (or Tillamook Caramel Swirl if you’re not based in central Iowa).
Get the recipe: Cinnamon Roll Apple Pie
What to Read…
Whether you’re traveling for or hosting Thanksgiving this year, I have several new stories this week that are designed to help make the holiday cozier, more comfortable (see the first bullet 🤣), more caffeinated (because I know some people think a red cup and a road trip go hand in hand this time of year) and less stressful.
Not all of it’s Turkey Day-related though; but the remaining topics—including a must-read clarification about misinformation from “health coaches” on TikTok—are stuffed with timely intel.
EatingWell: 5 Reasons Why You Can't Poop When Traveling, According to a Gut Doctor
EatingWell: Giada De Laurentiis Just Revealed Her 2022 Thanksgiving Menu—and It's Full of Italian Flair
HUM Nutrition: The Best Starbucks Holiday Drinks to Celebrate the Season, Ranked By Dietitians
Runner's World: The Truth on Glyphosate in Food—and Why TikTok Made It a Much Bigger Deal 🔒
Better Homes & Gardens: Your Complete Guide to Non-Alcoholic Drinks
Better Homes & Gardens: Our Best Make-Ahead Thanksgiving Recipes to Help You Stress Less on Turkey Day
What’s Inspiring Me…
Fighting back against the “earn” and “burn” Thanksgiving philosophy
I remember vividly many fitness classes—including within the past few years—when instructors would shout “encouragement” during Thanksgiving eve classes like “let’s ‘earn’ that pie tomorrow!” or on Friday, “sweat off that stuffing!”
And as much as I wish this trend expired back in the early 2000s alongside iPods and jeans with bedazzled pockets, news segments and magazine stories still compare physical activity calories to recipe calories. (“Do X burpees to ‘earn’ a scoop of mashed potatoes.”) Headlines like You won’t believe how many days’ worth of calories the average person eats during Thanksgiving! are frustratingly common, too, and there are millions of menu ideas and tricks for how to “lighten up” or make a “thinner Thanksgiving” floating around on the internet.
I spent nearly a decade of my life swirling in this vicious, unhealthy and overwhelmingly unhappy headspace, and can speak from experience: These comparisons are inaccurate, unnecessary and not worth any cell of your brain’s precious real estate. Plus, who are these sentiments and “strategies” designed to motivate to feel positive about their relationship with food, exercise or their bodies?
Whether you have a history with disordered eating, are experiencing more stress due to family dynamics or increased body talk or are on the verge of food fear before the holiday for any reason, know that you’re not alone. But also know that indulging is not shameful and does not need to be “earned” like a merit badge.
The whole point of the holiday is to take a moment to gather with loved ones and be grateful. Pie? Potatoes? Now those are things I’m grateful for and that are very welcome at the table. Guilt? That invitation got lost in the mail.
