AIP Friendly Cranberry Sauce

Today it is exactly one month before Thanksgiving (don’t panic). For most of the country that means that there is still plenty of time. Most people have the same foods every year, celebrate in the same way, so there is no need to begin thinking about the holiday until it is just a week or two away. However, for someone on a healing diet the thought of either creating a new holiday meal to suite their needs or attending a meal at someone else’s house can be extremely anxiety producing.

Every family celebrates a bit differently. Some roast their turkey and some fry it, some have stuffing/dressing others do not, some have sweet potato casserole covered in marshmallows and others have sauerkraut, however one item that seems to be on most tables without exception is cranberry sauce. That delicious spread that pairs perfectly with turkey and stuffing to create a holiday for your taste buds. While I m sure there are a lot of families out there who make their own cranberry sauce, most Thanksgiving meals that I have attended have included the type out of the can. It seems reasonable enough, you cook the turkey, the mashed potatoes, the vegetables and the breads all from scratch the cranberry sauce is the one thing that is easy to simplify. Right?

Well, ironically that cranberry sauce is one of the easiest things to make healthier and also one of the foods with the least redeeming nutritional value when taken from a can. The ingredients in Ocean Spray Jellied Cranberry Sauce are as follows: Cranberries/ High Fructose Corn Syrup/ Water/Corn Syrup. That is a lot of corn syrup. The good news is that cranberry sauce is so simple to make in general and even simpler to make AIP friendly.

So, as you begin to think about your holiday meal do not panic because many Thanksgiving staples actually lend themselves extremely well to a healing diet, I mean originally it was a meal based around local, seasonal foods and fellowship… think about that.

AIP Friendly Cranberry Sauce:

Ingredients:

3 Cups of Cranberries

¼ Cup of Maple syrup

½ Cup of Fresh Orange Juice

Directions:

Combine all of your ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a slow boil over medium/high heat. When it begins to boil turn down the heat and allow the sauce to simmer until it has thickened stirring often.