3 Minute Instant Pot Applesauce

What up, fam! I know you're here for some quick 'n easy apple sauce, but first: THE GUT.

LEAKY GUT

Have you heard that 70-80% of your immune system resides in your gut? It's true.

We bring the outside world into our body through our digestive tract (think about it). The intestinal wall is the border to the outside world, so aside from skin, it’s where we have the most chance of encountering foreign substances. Hence the reason for housing our immune system right there at the lining of the gut.

Now this lining is only one cell thick, so it's susceptible to damage.

The bad news: poor diet, medications, antibiotics, heavy metals and environmental toxicants (including chemicals found in your personal care products!) all break down this barrier, causing it to become permeable or "leaky". And what good is a leaky barrier system? Not very. When the lining of the gut becomes permeable, this can lead to local inflammation, systemic inflammation, and autoimmune processes. 

The good news: your body is amazingly resilient and self-healing. Those cells of the small intestine (the barrier) have the ability to rebuild and repair - they can regenerate every 4 to 5 days.

There are many ways to help your gut repair itself. Removing triggers is the first step. Providing fuel sources for those epithelial cells is another smart move.

PECTIN

Pectin is a fiber and a prebiotic. This means it's food for probiotics—the good bacteria living in your large intestine. When probiotics are well fed with the right foods, they help to modulate the immune system and keep pathogens at bay. When pathogenic bacteria have the opportunity to grow and flourish, this can contribute to 

Probiotics (good bugs) eat pectin and then produce short chain fatty acids (SCFAs). SCFAs support the healing of epithelial cells in intestines, as well as provide a fuel source to build new cells.

Which brings me to applesauce...

When you cook apples, pectin within the apple becomes more readily available. So including this ridiculously easy apple sauce into your diet is one way to help assist your gut health. BOOM.

FYI, I don't know how this recipe translates to stovetop or crockpot. But if you've got some ideas, feel free to share.

APPLESAUCE INGREDIENTS

Makes ~16 ounces

4 large organic apples (or 6ish smaller apples - you don't have to be exact here)

1/4 cup water

1 tsp cinnamon powder

INSTRUCTION

Roughly chop the apples into chunks. Ditch the core (no sticks, no stems, no seeds—just the real sticky icky icky apple flesh). I don't peel my apples, because #pectin. And the peel doesn't bother anyone in my household. But feel free to peel, this recipe will still work!

Place apple chunks into the Instant Pot bowl. Pour in water, and sprinkle on the cinnamon.

Secure top and lock. Hit the Manual button and set to 3 minutes (high pressure)

Allow the Instant Pot to de-pressurize automatically—or at least for 10-15 minutes. This allows the apple skins to soften and will create a smoother sauce. If you de-pressurize manually immediately after cooking, you'll get tougher skins and a chunkier apple sauce.

Mash up with the back of a spoon and transfer to a glass container for storage in the fridge.