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Using a combination of margarine and apple sauce instead of butter significantly reduces the amount of fat and cholesterol in baked goods.  Apple sauce adds flavor and moisture, so your treats won’t taste dry.

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The sweet, buttery flavored cashew nut comes from the cashew apple which is native to Brazil, India, and the West Indies.

Is your brown sugar a hard lump?  Add an apple wedge to the container and let stand for a day or two.

Don’t store soft, chewy cookies in the same container with crisp cookies, or the crisp cookies will soften.  To keep soft cookies moist, add 1 or 2 pieces of apple to the storage container.  Cover it tightly and let the fruit stand 2 days before removing it.

Jason’s Deli is available nationwide. However, this review is being done on the Jason’s Deli in Oak Lawn, IL. (This review is also being posted over at My Road Less Traveled By.)

I went with my two kids on a Thursday night about 6 pm by myself. (Needless to say, my hands were full). I found that staff there the most helpful. When you walk into the door, there is someone there to greet you and let you know how this all works (since this was my first visit, I was pretty clueless). She got me a highchair for Will (my one year old), so I didn’t have to hold him while we were standing there trying to figure out what we wanted. The high chair had wheels, so I was able to roll him around quite easily and get him where we needed to go. I was able to take a menu, sit down with the kids, decide what we wanted, and get back into line, so we could order (which is what I did). Ordering was painless. After you order, they give you a number and your drinks, so you can go sit down. They then bring your food to you when it is done. The restaurant is a very open concept. You can see where they make the food. Another thing that impressed me was that the apples and apple juice that I ordered with the kids meals were organic. Also, everything that they serve is free of artificial trans fats and MSG! I personally found the prices quite reasonable. Granted, it would have been cheaper to take the kids to McDonalds, but we would have been hungry an hour later (and this was not all that more expensive either! Maybe a couple of dollars is it!) They have an excellent kids menu too! If you can’t find something for your little one off their kids menu, they are too picky. They even have a dessert menu! Madison (my 4 year old) wanted an ice cream cone, but since she didn’t finish her food, she didn’t get one, so I can’t comment on how good their ice cream is. Our food came quickly and it was good. The sandwiches were much bigger than I expected! There was always somebody walking around cleaning off tables or checking on how you were doing, so you could definitely get help when needed (for example, 2 napkins just doesn’t cut it when you have 3 people and 2 of the 3 are under 5!). I easily was able to get more napkins for us.

The food was great (and healthy!). The service was great! Jason’s Deli also has a blog which makes them stand out even more for me! If you are looking for a great alternative for fast food, you definitely need to check out Jason’s Deli. It is a five star place in my book!