Happy New Year!
For those of you following along at home, I don’t tend to make New Year’s resolutions. :) Nothing wrong with them, they simply don’t appeal to me for whatever reason.
Instead, early this new decade, I want to talk about cranberries.
I’m not talking about the musical group, although I like their music.
I’m talking about that bright red fruit that seems to end up mostly in juice or relish, or the SHLORK of the canned cranberry jelly that everyone loves to hate at Thanksgiving and I not-so-secretly adore. Honestly. The sound is fun, the shape of the can in the jelly is fun, and it is sweet-tart-tasty goodness. At the same time, I also love my mom’s homemade cranberry relish with orange & cranberry and just a touch of sugar. Good stuff!
Everyone knows (or so we think) that cranberry juice will help prevent urinary tract infections. In fact, it would be more effective to take cranberry capsules, as it takes a high concentration of cranberry extract, containing antioxidants, instead of drinking the juice. The antioxidants in cranberries can help prevent certain bacteria from taking hold in your system. Combining cranberry extract with certain oils, including oregano and coconut, helps eradicate e. coli. (I learn something new every day!)
Cranberries are good sources of dietary fiber, calcium, magnesium, vitamin C, and B vitamins. Did you know that they may help prevent some kinds of cancer, reduce blood pressure, and improve your immune system? (If only they weren’t so tart!) Low-calorie cranberry consumption would be best, so find ways to add cranberries to your diet without a bunch of sugar, for example, by adding frozen cranberries to smoothies, or dried cranberries (without much sugar, if possible) to cereal, oatmeal, trail mix, or salads.
How do you like your cranberries? What could you add cranberries to in your menu this week?
Cheers! Here’s to your health!