By Lindsay

Apple pie and apple sauce are two foods I always enjoy but tend to be super sugary, making them not ideal for littles. So with some adjustments, I found a way for our little man to enjoy them with me.

CROCK POT APPLE PIE APPLE SAUCE FOR TODDLERS

Ingredients

• 1 small crock pot (2 quart size)
• 4 apples of your family’s preference (we chose Granny Smith, pink lady, honey crisp and Fuji)
• 1 1/2 teaspoon Apple pie spice OR 1 teaspoon cinnamon; 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 cup water

Instructions

• Line slow cooker with small slow cooker liner (optional, makes clean up quicker!).
• Core then dice apples into toddler size pieces. Set aside.
• Combine water, vanilla, lemon juice and seasoning in slow cooker.
• Slowly add diced apples, stirring in with a spatula to coat them evenly with seasoning.
• Cook on high 3 1/2 hours.
• When done, mix briskly with a spatula until the apples reach your desired texture, or drain the water to serve soft diced apples.
• Pour into mason jar and refrigerate, serve when cool.

Serve

There are a few different ways to serve this, making it a very versatile dish:

• Serve your toddler the softened diced apples without mashing or stirring into a sauce. Before doing this, test that the apples are very soft and easy to chew.
• Pour into a bowl and feed alone as apple sauce.
• Add baby oatmeal cereal or diced up pieces of Kodiak Cakes whole grain flap jacks to make a healthy version of apple pie.
• For flavor variations, add diced strawberries or clementines (remove seeds) with the apples in the slow cooker.
• Store any uneaten portion in the refrigerator.