It’s the fall in the United States and a fantastic time for fresh apples. This delicious fruit is everyone’s best friend, but especially for those of us who are gluten free. There is a reason why they say, “An apple a day, keeps the doctor away.”

First of all, apples are rich in natural fiber. As you know, getting enough fiber in the diet is a real challenge for anyone on a gluten-free diet. A medium sized apple has about 4 grams of fiber – a heck of a lot more fiber than most cereals and breads have.

If you are trying to manage your waistline, a recent study showed that a group of women who ate apple wedges before a meal, lost more weight than the group that did not. This is because the fiber in the apple was filling and caused them to eat slightly less then their counterparts. The fiber in apples is also known to help lower cholesterol.
This fantastic little fruit does not stop there! Apple peels are high in quercetin, a compound with antioxidant properties that is more powerful than vitamin C. High intake of quercetin may reduce the risk of asthma, respiratory conditions and even Alzheimer’s disease.

But wait, there is more!! The peel of the apple also has cancer-fighting compounds. The Red Delicious apple is shown to contain triterpenoids, powerful compounds that have shown strong anticancer potential against breast, liver and colon cancers.

The moral of this story is to eat an apple or two a day. Instead of skipping breakfast, at least eat an apple. Have the munchies around 11 am or 5 pm? Grab an apple and a cup of tea. The fiber and water will fill you up. Hey, don’t blame me if you have to buy smaller clothes.

Allergic to corn? Buy organic apples that do not have that artificial waxy substance on them. Food companies add the waxy substance to apples to keep them fresher for a longer time (it prevents the apple from breathing). The waxy substance contains a corn derivative. So, select your apples carefully.

Living in Washington, DC, close to the Chesapeake Bay and home of the Maryland crab, crab cakes are bountiful from May until October. As much as I love these things, I rarely get to eat them. You see must cooks mix the crab with breadcrumbs. It is the gluten in bread that helps bind the crab mixture together and keeps it from falling apart. Not good if you are allergic to gluten like me and 1% of the world’s population.

That is until, drum roll please, Chris’s marketplace. Yes, that is Chris in the picture making his famous crab cakes. Oh, and did I mention he makes gluten-free crab cakes as well? I see Chris every Sunday at the Dupont Circle farmer’s market. I often stop by to get some of his gluten-free crab cakes. But, you have to get there early or he sells out. Unless, you call ahead and ask him to make a batch for you, in which case he saves them until you get to the market.

Chris has regular crab cakes and ones with lump crab meat – luscious large chunks of crab that melt in your mouth. He also has mini crab cakes that make great hor’d oeuvres. The crab cakes freeze well and can be brought out in the dead of winter for a quick meal.

You can catch Chris at the Dupont Circle Farmer’s market on Sundays (9 am to 1pm), Annapolis on Sundays (check times), Penn Quarter market on Thursdays (3 pm to 7 pm) and in Falls Church on Saturday. If you want to order your crab cakes, call him at 301-565-1681. But, save some for me!!