A few months back, Jim Mullen offered us a sample of Mullen's Applesauce feeling confident that we'd like it. Sure enough we did. The tag “Like apple pie without the crust!” is honesty in advertising. The sauce is chunky with pieces of apple, a taste that evenly mixes tart lemon juice with earthy spices, sugar, and salt. With each bite I was brought back to fond childhood memories of Thanksgiving apple pie and family dinners where I enjoyed apple pie a la mode, the sweetness of ice cream melding with apples and cinnamon. As more Americans worry about what is really in their food, it is refreshing to taste a product that has no additives or questionable ingredients.  

Chilled in the refrigerator, Mullen’s Apple Sauce is a delicious way to enjoy a healthy, low calorie snack. It satisfies both a sweet tooth and helps maintain weight goals. I also doctored it up by heating it and serving with vanilla ice cream and crumbled graham crackers and also with angel food cake drizzled with caramel sauce. It might not be cheating to buy a pie crust, add a jar of Mullen’s Apple Sauce and bake. I might try this next Thanksgiving!

Besides the remarkably fresh ingredients, Jim Mullen’s story is an additional reason why I plan to buy Mullen’s Apple Sauce again. In 1996, Jim was shot in the line of duty while working as a Chicago Police officer. The injury left him paralyzed from the neck down. At the time Jim was 31, newly married, and father of a seven-month old daughter. As a tribute to his family recipes and his Chicago Police heritage, Jim donates a portion of the profits from each jar of applesauce to the Chicago Police Memorial Foundation.
 
Mullen’s Apple Sauce can be purchase and Jewel, Whole Foods, Potash Brothers, Sunset Foods, Fox and Obel and many other retailers. You can also buy via the web. For more information about Jim Mullen and Mullen’s Apple Sauce visit mullenfoods.com.