Go Apple Picking!! Here are 9 Great Reasons Why!

I LOVE TO GO APPLE PICKING!! Ever since I was a kid, I have loved going apple picking! Over the years, the joy has continued at full strength. Any season where I miss the opportunity, I feel the loss (but know that I will make it back). Apple picking is an activity for which you really are never too young nor too old. Take advantage of autumn, and put a trip to an orchard on your calendar. (It’s even suggested on the mini “bucket list” I shared at the beginning of the year! See #15.)

Admittedly, I am writing this before getting to an orchard this season. Due to scheduling, I plan to get to one later in the season, but I don’t want any of you to forget and miss the opportunity! Sadly, the orchard I normally visit is closed this season due to a poor crop because of the weather, but I will look into other options. We will also hope that the weather cooperates since the season tends to end shortly after the date my family members are all available to go. (A stormy day will mean grocery store apples rather than picked-directly-from-the-tree apples.)

Why I am writing about this now in a blog which now has a large health focus? It is because I believe that going apple picking can be great for your health in so many ways!! ((I have not (yet) gone to another type of U-pick farm, but I am guessing that the same ideas apply.))

1. IT’S FUN!! We all need joy in our lives. I am starting with this back-to-basics concept. Happiness is good for our health.
2. It gets us outside. So much time, especially nowadays, is spent indoors. There is a lot of value is being exposed to natural daylight and fresh air. Benefits include boosting mood and improving sleep among other perks.

3. It gets you interacting with nature and off of your technology. Use the technology to help you choose an orchard and navigate there. Perhaps use it to pay for entrance fees, the apples themselves, or any other purchases (some orchards have more “stuff” than others). Other than that, you really don’t need it (except for some photos perhaps). Enjoy your surroundings. Use all of your senses. What to you see? Hear? Smell? Feel? Taste? You are at an orchard after all! You can taste the apples! Reconnect a bit with nature.

4. Connect with people. As a child, I used to go to the orchard with my sister and parents. As an adult, I go with my family. Some years it is just with my husband; other years, one or more of the kids join in. (As they get older, there tend to be more scheduling challenges.) We all love the time together. Apple picking is a low key, low stress activity in which we can all participate. There may be some “fighting over” who gets to use the picking sticks (sticks with little nets that make it easier to collect apples on higher branches), but we all manage to take turns like people should. There is no competition. There is no racing. We are all there together. Historically, the biggest “debate” has been how many apples we can actually collect in the provided bags before they start tumbling out. I have gotten quite good at piling apples above the top of the bag and holding it against my body to make the most of the haul! (Where we usually go, we pay per bag, not pound.)

5. Connect with people, part 2. I am not expecting you to make deep connections with strangers when out apple picking. Simply, offer to take some photos. Granted, don’t spend all of your time taking photos for other people. If you see a family trying to get a group shot, offer to take the photo. Most people really appreciate the gesture (and final result). As a bonus, they will often offer to return the favor, and you get some great group shots in return. It seems like nowadays, people forget the benefits of just being nice to one another and helping each other out. (Back to basics once again.) Small acts of kindness go a long way. Everyone at an orchard is there to enjoy themselves. It can also provide an opportunity to demonstrate, encourage, and teach kindness just for the sake of it. (There are usually a lot of children at the orchards. They learn a lot by observing the world in which they live.)

6. Use this activity as a starting point to try something else new! When you leave, you will have more apples than you are likely to have in your kitchen at any other time. Find some new recipes to try. Challenge yourself to try a variety of types of recipes. For example, perhaps challenge yourself to find a try a recipe in the following categories: breakfast item, dessert, savory dish, soup, salad, appetizer, beverage. Saying that, I will NEVER discourage making a family favorite apple pie recipe. I encourage that! There is such a great feeling associated with wonderful traditions! Have a twofer: Celebrate the traditions AND try something new! Perhaps, try one of these recipes right after returning from the orchard. For my family, our plan is to go apple picking and then bake with them afterwards. That will involve a little additional planning in that we will want to have at least one recipe chosen in advance so that we can make sure that we have all of the other required ingredients at the ready.

7. Let the apples inspire you to learn some new facts. This does not have to be complex. As one challenge, I suggest learning the names of four types of apples—learn one that is good for snacking, one good for baking, one which tends to be sweet, one which tends to be tart. If you want to learn more, go for it. Just this small amount of information may be useful the next time you go to the grocery store to “pick up apples.” Write down the names. The act of writing helps with memory. Another option is to do this in reverse—the next time you go to the store, write down the names of a few of the varieties of apples there and then look up information on them. As mentioned before, write down the information to help you remember it. (Feel free to also add a cheat sheet somewhere in your phone for future reference.) Word of “warning”–if you are anything like me when you go apple picking, you tend to pick apples from various trees, put them all in the same bag, and then cannot tell them apart. Honestly, though, I do not believe that I have ever used an apple in a recipe and then decided that the result was no good because I chose the wrong apple variety.

8. Make your home smell wonderful! After enjoying the fresh smells from being at an orchard, bring the great scent into your home. This can have a potential positive impact on your stress response. It may bring back positive memories. Plus, it just smells good! Baking with your acquisitions is always a great option. If you want to keep it very simple, dehydrate apple slices. This can be done in a dehydrator (duh), oven, or air fryer. Make some applesauce in a pressure cooker. Something I have not tried yet (but perhaps this is the year to change that) is making an apple simmer pot.

9. Apples are a healthy fruit (assuming that you do not have medical issues which preclude you from eating them). I assume that you already know this; it isn’t news. You can easily incorporate them into your diet without any major preparation. Add some slices to a peanut butter sandwich. Add some chunks of apple into your oatmeal. Just bite and eat. Enjoy!

I hope that you are now encouraged to go out to your local orchard with friends and/or family and pick some apples! (Perhaps also try a different U-pick farm which may have berries or pumpkins available for example. NO LIMITS!) Share your experiences, favorite apple recipes, and another other ideas or projects you have!

P.S. I will hopefully addend this post later this season after my family has our own apple-stravaganza!