The Thanksgiving feast may seem like a calorie overload, but there is a lot of great nutrition packed onto that table. There are anti cancer fighters in the broccoli and a boatload of vitamin A in the sweet potatoes, but the nutrition king of the Thanksgiving table is the cranberry.
Cranberries have fiber, vitamin C and manganese, an essential mineral. But what makes cranberries a superstar its its antioxidant power. In fact, out of the 277 most commonly eaten foods, cranberrries has one of the very highest anti0xidant levels. Since antioxidants reduce risk of heart disease and cancer and raise immunity, cranberries are a true beauty fruit.
Studies have shown that cranberries can prevent and treat urinary infections, reduce risk of blood clots and in the lab seems to kill cancer cells. Most of cranberries power seem to be its ability to keep things from sticking togetting. It prevent bacteria from attaching to the walls of the urthera so that they can’t cause an infection. In the blood vessels it prevents cells from sticking together so that the vessels remain clear and unclogged. This reduces risk of high blood pressure, stroke and heart attack. And its helpful to remember that healthy blood vessels are essential to maintaining healthy, strong wrinkle busting collagen.
But as gorgeous as they are, cranberrries are not only sour they are bitter. This means that most cranberry drinks and sauces are packed with sugar. To get cranberries health benefits, I sweeten my Thanksgiving cranberry sauce with Agave, a natural faux sugar made from a cactus. It still has calories, but it is absorbed much more slowly, so my blood sugar doesn’t spike. I have type 2 diabetes, so its always important for me to prevent sharp swings in blood sugar, but blood sugar surges are also known to damage collagen and increase skin aging, so its actually important for everyone who wants to look good.
Anti-Aging Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients: 2 cups of cranberries ( one bag), 2/3 cup of water, 1/2 cup Agave syrup, 1 teaspoon finely grated orange peel, 1/4 cup pecans.
Technique: In small pan, toast the pecans on a medium flame for about one minute. Watch them constantly so that they don’t burn. Chop the nuts coarsely and set aside. Now combine the water and cranberries in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil then reduce heat, cooking for 6-8 minutes until the skins are all popped. Take the pan off the heat and add the Agave, orange rind and finally fold in the nuts. Some cranberries can be especially bitter so taste to see if you need additional Agave.
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Sweet potatoes are a close second behind cranberries as an iconic holiday food. While the plain white potato is a high carb time bomb, sweet potatoes are packed with nutrition. They are actually related to morning glory flowers rather than the true potato. Sweets have as much fiber as famous - for- fiber oatmeal and about 30%RDA of vitamin C. For only about 120 calories, 1 cup of sweet potatoes has 500% RDA for vitamin A. This is almost scary high since too much vitamin A can cause bone and nerve problems. But unless some fool invents the sweet potato diet, one or two sweets/week will not cause a problem.
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