I love the idea of making some of our family’s favorite recipes a little healthier. So I’ve been experimenting with replacing all or part of the fat in certain recipes with applesauce for a long time. My degree of success has varied depending on the recipe and the type of applesauce used, but I haven’t given up on the experimenting. In fact, it’s something I’ve wanted to work on more and write about here for a long time.

When Mom Central provided me with the opportunity to test out some Tree Top products (applesauce, apple juice and apple juice concentrates), I jumped at the chance. Unfortunately with the move, I haven’t had time to do as much experimenting as I was hoping for. However, I do plan to go through my archives here and attempt an applesauce swap for several of the recipes. Once I do, I’ll let you know how they turn out.

I’m also very excited to try Tree Top’s suggestion of using 3/4 cup of apple juice concentrate in place of 1 cup of sugar. I’ve never heard of that as an alternative in baking and I can’t wait to try it out in my kitchen. If you’ve ever used this substitution, I’d love to hear how it turned out for you!

Although I didn’t get to all of my experimenting, I did get to a few recipes. So far, I have successfully swapped out the fat completely in favor of applesauce in both my Morning Glory Muffins and my Oatmeal Breakfast Bars. Next on the list is my Ditch The Box Brownies. I think I’ll start with half applesauce and go from there. I haven’t yet decided which recipe to attempt the concentrate for sugar swap though. So many decisions!

In addition to the little bit of baking I’ve done, I’ve also been using apple juice as a sweet snack for the kids. We have made several batches of apple juice ice cubes that they just love to suck on. We’ve also made smoothies with apple juice and even one batch of apple juice slush in the ice cream maker. They’ve all been a huge hit. Am I missing any other good ideas for keeping the kids cool with apple juice?

You can visit the Tree Top website to learn more about the 50th Anniversary of “America’s Secret Ingredient” as well as enter their recipe contest or download some other fantastic recipes.

I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Tree Top and received products necessary to facilitate my candid review. In addition, I received a gift certificate to thank me for taking the time to participate.