Clean Eating Cranberry Sauce Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the healthiest way to eat cranberries? ›

There are lots of ways to add this fruit to your diet. Some varieties, such as dried cranberries, cranberry juice, and canned cranberry sauce, are available year-round. The healthiest way to enjoy cranberries is to eat them fresh. Raw cranberries take about 16 months to fully mature and are gathered in early fall.

Lose weight while eating great

Cranberry sauce is naturally low in fat and has no saturated or trans fats, both of which have been linked to heart problems and high cholesterol. It also means it can protect you from packing on the pounds.

It's perfectly fine to serve up cranberry sauce — whole berry or jelled — straight out of the can. But in my experience, heating the canned sauce up takes its flavor to the next level. Plus, it becomes a little more aesthetically pleasing.

Health Benefits

Cranberries are also rich in vitamin C and fiber, as well as the metabolism-boosting mineral manganese. And yes, you reap all these benefits whether the cranberry sauce on your holiday table is homemade or canned, jellied or whole-berry.

Yes, raw cranberries are safe to consume raw, but you probably don't want to eat them that way. "Cranberries are safe to eat raw. However, usually they are cooked and have sugar added because of the bitter and sharp taste they have when raw," says Kelly West Keyser, a registered dietitian in Alabama.

The presence of several potent antioxidants in cranberry juice like Proanthocyanidins have a strong iron chelating capability, which make it easy for the liver to remove toxins from the body.

Because cranberries are naturally quite tart, cranberry sauce is cooked with a large amount of sugar added to it, including the canned varieties.

Research suggests that there are multiple, powerful elements found within cranberries that are linked to a variety of health benefits. Besides helping consumers meet their recommended daily fruit intake, cranberries work hard for your whole-body and can support urinary tract, stomach, oral and heart health.

First, most traditional cranberry sauces have lots of added sugar, so offer to make it yourself for the holiday gathering so you can control how much is added. Or, only take a small amount, about one or two tablespoons, and pair it with the turkey or other vegetables for a balanced meal.

Mix with cream cheese for a tasty topping on crackers and bagels! Dollop a spoonful on baked sweet potato in place of butter. Top off your yoghurt with a spoonful for extra fruity flavour! Swirl it into your cake batter for delicious marbled muffins.

Is canned cranberry sauce better than homemade? ›

Slight edge to homemade. Ocean Spray's sauce is sweetened with high fructose corn syrup, whereas homemade uses cane sugar. I spent an hour making the homemade cranberry sauce. Prep for the store-bought one, for those unfamiliar, goes: open can, pour onto serving plate, eat.

Why I Choose Canned Cranberry Sauce. Not only do I not want to depart from tradition, but I also prefer the canned cranberry sauce to any homemade recipe I've ever tried. I love the texture, shape, ridges, and dependability of the cranberry sauce that comes from a can.

Cranberry sauce can be served either as a gooey liquid or as a solid jelly. The jellied version is solid enough to retain the shape of the container in which it's placed whereas the sauce version is much more fluid.

Cranberry sauce contains plenty of antioxidants that will help fight off free radicals that try to harm the body. Having regular servings of the stuff, not just on Thanksgiving, can help fight heart disease and worse.

Because of the antioxidant content, cranberries help to protect the liver from free radicals by neutralising these liver cell-damaging compounds.

Rich with antioxidants and high in fibre, cranberries have serious health benefits including promoting digestion and helping control blood sugar. But before you load up on extra cranberry sauce over Thanksgiving, it's important to note that raw cranberries are the most nutritious variation of the fruit.

You can add them to smoothies or salads, or eat them whole. Eating raw cranberries is safe and easy, though their sharp, bitter flavor isn't for everyone. Be sure to clean and sort them thoroughly.

Cranberries contain nutrients to help your body ward off infections and boost overall health. You get the highest level of nutrition when you eat them whole, but the juice is still chock-full of benefits.

Both forms of cranberries will offer you the same nutritional benefits and medicinal value. However, dried ones are high in carbs, calories, and sugar than fresh ones, but they still contain most of the essential vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants found in fresh ones.