You are what you eat. This means that after Halloween, I become a very round, nauseous blob, containing the Pacific Ocean’s worth of high fructose corn syrup and enough sugar to replace all of the sand in the Sahara Desert. The levels of unnatural flavoring and coloring in my body are so repulsive that even the sexiest of Halloween costumes would be unable to mask the fact that I transform into Jabba The Hutt when I eat Halloween-themed junk.
The phenomenon where unwise food choices make me feel disgusting is not exclusive to me. According to Andrew F. Smith, author of “Fast Food and Junk Food: An Encyclopedia of What We Love to Eat,” eating junk food increases teenagers’ risk of depression by 58%. He said, “A healthy diet plays a part in keeping hormone levels on an even keel, while a diet high in junk food falls short of these requirements.” I concur with Smith’s theory, because I definitely feel depressed when I feel like Jabba the Hutt.
Halloween isn’t the only time of year when we are susceptible to the evil entity of junk food. It is constantly looming over our heads, beckoning us with its irrisistable promises of amazing taste, aiming to catch us in a weak moment when we cave to desire and consume it. Only in the aftermath of such affairs do the consequences of our passionate engagements with junk food begin nauseating us while putting us at risk of diseases and depression.
As a seventeen year old speaking from my personal experience and limited research, I believe that completely removing treats from one’s diet is not a way to live. I prefer maintaining a reasonable limit on food that is not nutritionally significant, and that replacing artificial, processed goodies with home made foods is satisfying. Baking your own deserts allows you to know what they actually contain, and to be honest, they taste better. Especially when it comes to holidays, depriving ones self of food is unnecessary. Embracing what that holiday and that season has to offer and channeling it into a quality desert offers a more enjoyable experience than chowing down some Kit-Kat bars and lollipops.
The following recipe is healthy in comparison to your younger sibling’s trick-or-treat bag, and a great way to enjoy autumn.
Cinnamon Apple Strudel
| Ingredients: | Directions: |
| -1 package of frozen fill dough, thawed-6 tablespoons of melted butter (make sure you have extra though)
-5-6 apples-3/4 cups of medium or small pieces of walnuts. – 1 tablespoon of cinnamon -1/4 cup of brown sugar – a splash of vanilla and/or almond extract. -3 tablespoons of plain bread crumbs -1 egg, beaten |
1.Peel all of the apples.2. Shred or slice 3 of the apples into extremely thin slices into a large bowl.
3. Shred the remaining 3 apples using the largest holes on the grater. Add walnuts, cinnamon, brown sugar, vanilla and/or almond extract to the apples. Stir until everything is evenly distributed throughout the mixture and set aside. 4. Melt butter 5. Working gently with the filo dough, take one sheet from the roll and put it on a flat, dry working surface. Using a pastry brush, drizzle a small amount of butter onto the dough and then use the brush to spread the butter out. Now, put another layer of the dough on top of of the drizzled one, and drizzle it in the same manner. Continue this, using about seven layers. 6. Take about 1/3 of the Apple mixture and spread it evenly over the buttered filo dough. 7. Sprinkle the mixture with 1 tablespoon of plain bread crumbs. 8. Starting at one end, roll up the dough so that the apple part will be on the inside. 9. Preheat oven to 350 degrees 10. Repeat with remaining filo dough and apple mixture. It should make two more strudel rolls. 11. Place all of the rolled up strudels on a greased cookie sheet. Using the baking brush, paint over the entire exposed surface of the strudels with the beaten egg. 12. Using a fork, poke holes going along the top of the strudels about a centimeter apart. 13. Bake for 20 minutes or until the strudels appear a nice golden color.
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