What’s so great about

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Cranberries?

Why should we eat cranberries, so we’d need any cranberry salad recipes anyway?

Thanksgiving Tradition

It’s that time of year when people in the States celebrate Thanksgiving.  Considering that cranberries are one of three fruits that are native to the United States and Canada, that makes them quite appropriate for a Thanksgiving celebration.  Cranberries were used as both food and medicine by Native Americans, so it’s not unlikely they were part of the first Thanksgiving celebration.

Originally, this fruit was called a “craneberry” because the Pilgrims thought the spring blossoms on the cranberry bush resembled a crane.  At some point it was shortened a little and became a cranberry.

What makes cranberries good to eat?

These little red fruits are rich in fiber and are an excellent source of vitamin C.  They also have lots of phytonutrients such as flavonoids that are good for your health.  They are high in antioxidants, so a good fruit to eat!

And it’s not just an old wives tale that cranberries are good for bladder infections.  The anti-adhesion properties of cranberries prevent certain harmful bacteria from sticking to cells, and are not just good for urinary tract infections, but potentially also helpful in preventing bacteria that cause stomach ulcers and gum disease.

Since cranberries are such a healthy fruit, albeit a tart one, they are a great part of your diet for life, not just at Thanksgiving!

So where are the Cranberry Salad Recipes?

I hadn’t forgotten!  These recipes don’t use fresh cranberries but instead the cranberry sauce that comes in cans.  I’m not sure how well it rates on the health-o-meter, but you can decide for yourself if you’d like to try it.  If  you want to make your own cranberry sauce, you could better control the ingredients.

However, the nice thing about the first recipe is its simplicity.  Only 4 ingredients are needed to make this cranberry dish.

Cranberry Salad Recipe #1: Quick & Easy Frozen Cranberry Salad

1 16-ounce can of whole berry cranberry sauce
1 small can (about 8 ounces) of crushed pineapple, drained
1 8-ounce container of sour cream
1/2 cup of chopped pecans
Optional: Lettuce leaves

Combine all the ingredients (except lettuce leaves). Make sure they are well blended then pour the mixture into 12 muffin cups. You can use papers to line the cups, or if you have some of the newer silicon muffin cups, even better.

Freeze the mixture overnight. Pop the little salads out of the silicon cups or peel off the muffin papers, and serve at once on lettuce lined plates.
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Cranberry Salad Recipe #2: Layered Chicken-Cranberry Salad

Chicken Layer:

2 envelopes of unflavored gelatin (about 2 tablespoons)
1/4 cup cold water
2 cans (about 2 1/2 cups) of condensed cream of chicken soup
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon minced parsley

Soften the gelatin in the water.  In the meantime, heat about 1/3 cup of the soup.  When it is warm, stir in the gelatin mixture until it is completely dissolved.  Add the remaining soup and stir until well blended. Cool.

Next fold in the mayonnaise and parsley, then pour the salad into a mold that was rinsed in cold water.  Chill until firm.

Cranberry Layer:

1 16-ounce can of jellied cranberry sauce
1 envelope of unflavored gelatin
1/4 cup cold water

Break up the cranberry sauce, smashing it with a fork.  Soften the gelatin in the cold water.  Set the mixture in a pan of boiling water and continue to stir until the gelatin is completely dissolved.

Mix the gelatin mixture and the cranberry sauce until well-combined.  Pour over top of the firm chicken layer.

Put back in the fridge to chill until completey firm.  Unmold and serve. 

So there you have it, two more cranberry salad recipes to add to your collection.

Happy Thanksgiving!

If you’d like to check out some of our other posts on cranberries, here’s a list:

* How To Eat Fresh Cranberries

* Fresh Cranberry Relish Recipe

* Cranberry Ice Cream & Cranberry Sauce Recipes

* Cranberry Pear Brown Betty Recipe

* Fresh Cranberry Gelatin Salad

For even more information on cranberries, visit The Cranberry Institute.

Post from: Health Food Made Easy

Cranberry Salad Recipes

Blackberries nutrition values

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are first class!

In fact, blackberries are a nutritionally dense food and worthy of being on the Superfoods List.  One cup, or 144 grams, of blackberries has only 62 calories, no fat, and is 31% fiber.

A blackberry by any other name. . .

According to Wikipedia:

“the blackberry is an edible fruit produced by any of several species in the Rubus genus of the Rosaceae family. The fruit is not a true berry; botanically it is termed an aggregate fruit, composed of small drupelets. The plants typically have biennial canes and perennial roots. Blackberries and raspberries are also called caneberries or brambles. It is a widespread, and well known group of over 375 species, many of which are closely related apomictic microspecies native throughout the temperate northern hemisphere and South America.”

Even though blackberries may not be a true fruit, they are truly good for you!

Fighting Radicals with Antioxidants

 One of the best parts of blackberries nutrition is the fact they are high in antioxidants.  According to the USDA, raw blackberries have a Total-ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity) value of 5,347 which is nearly as high as raw blueberries.   However, according to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, blackberries are HIGHER in antioxidants than blueberries.  Whichever way you look at it, blackberries are chock-full of antioxidants.

What’s so great about antioxidants?  Well, they are helpful in fighting many chronic and degenerative diseases, so it’s important to include lots of them in your diet for good health! 

Additionally, blackberries have a specific antioxidant called quercetin, which can reduce the risk of heart disease and stop the action of histamine for people with allergies.

So blackberries not only taste good, they are good for you!

More Blackberries Nutrition Goodness

Not only are blackberries rich in antioxidants, they have other great nutrients like vitamin C and fiber.  If you have problems with regularity, a combination of distilled water and blackberries will promote elimination.  It also may help provide relief from bleeding gums and sore throats.

For health food made easy, add some blackberries to your diet.  Blackberries nutrition values make them a great addition!

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REFERENCES. . .

http://www.ars.usda.gov/sp2userfiles/place/12354500/data/orac/orac07.pdf

 http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=faq&dbid=42

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackberry

101 Foods That could Save Your Life

Post from: Health Food Made Easy

Blackberries Nutrition

Want a great source of protein and fiber?  Try healthy almonds!

They’re an easy addition to your diet, a truly easy health food.  You can eat them as a snack, put them in salads, on cereals… whatever!

Almonds are not nuts!

While we commonly class almonds as nuts, in reality the almond is a seed.  The fruit of the almond tree has stone-like seeds like its cousins, apricots and peaches.  So the seed of the almond fruit is what we call almond nuts. 

Almonds are freshest in mid-summer, because that is the height of the almond season.

Reasons to eat almonds. . .

As mentioned, almonds are a good source of protein and fiber.  However, there are even more beneficial nutrients in healthy almonds.  They also have:

• Vitamin E
• Manganese
• Magnesium
• Copper
• Riboflavin (vitamin B2)
• Phosphorus

The two trace minerals, manganese and copper, are essential parts of superoxide dismutase which fights free radicals produced within the mitochondria, the energy producing factories within every cell.  Also, vitamin B2 helps the body produce energy, so almonds are full of substances to help rev up your energy levels!

Almonds also are a source of heart-healthy monounsaturated fat.  (This is the same kind of fatty acids found in olive oil.)

More Healthy Almond Benefits

Almonds have been found to lessen increases in blood sugar after eating which helps protect against diabetes and cardiovascular disease.  They also contain antioxidants to promote health.

Other benefits from eating almonds include fighting obesity by increasing the sense of “satisfaction” after eating, which helps produce greater and longer sustained weight loss.

Some studies have also shown a link between an almond-rich diet and decreased problems with Alzheimer’s Disease.  Almond consumption has also been shown to have an effect on the prevention of colon cancer.

Watch Out for Imposters

If you are buying imported almonds, be careful that you are truly buying almonds and not apricot kernels.  The two look very much alike and even taste a lot alike, but apricot kernels do not have the same health benefits as almonds do.

Get hold of the real deal, and enjoy healthy almonds for an easy, healthy addition to your diet!  They’re one of the items on the Superfoods list you don’t want to miss!

Post from: Health Food Made Easy

Healthy Almonds