What’s a Thanksgiving dinner without cranberry relish? Adding cranberries to your holiday menu is an attractive addition to your dinner table. But these little red berries are more than just festive. The nutritional and healing benefits are worth their weight in gold for your body. Most traditional recipes for cranberries are for the cranberry sauce that cooks the nutrients out of the dish. So here is a raw cranberry relish that I got from my sister a few years back. It quickly became my families’ favorite Thanksgiving dish.
It is not only loaded with cranberries, but also contains walnuts that are a superfood for your brain, oranges that give you added vitamin c, and apples for that apple a day mentality. All raw and filled with the healthy enzymes it takes to metabolize the nutrients.
Why We Love Cranberries
Referred to as a “super food”, cranberries are at the top of the healthy food list because of their high nutrient and antioxidant content. The antioxidants contribute to your whole body health in numerous ways.
Cranberries are well known for reducing the risk of urinary tract infections, but the other health benefits include prevention of certain types of cancer, lowering your blood pressure and improving your immune system.
Cranberries are a good source of vitamin C, fiber, and vitamin E. The number one way to get the most antioxidants, is to eat them fresh or make a raw dish using cranberries as the star ingredient. Dried cranberries come in second and bottled cranberry juice comes in at number three for getting the most healing benefits. Be sure to watch out for added sugars in your juice and read the label to verify it’s 100% juice and not a “drink.”
With all the food and festivities around the holidays, consider incorporating a few raw dishes into your menus to help keep you and your family healthy this season.
Enjoy and here’s to a happy, healthy Thanksgiving!
Raw Cranberry Relish Recipe:
2 bags fresh cranberries
1-1/2 cup walnuts
2-3 red delicious apples
2-3 oranges peeled (remove seeds)
1 orange peel
2/3 cup sugar* (more or less for taste)
*If you want to avoid the sugar, use a healthy substitute like Xylitol.
Put everything in a food processor and blend.
Peace and be well,
Founder of Maty’s Healthy Products — a line of natural & organic health products made from whole food ingredients
Carolyn Harrington