A quick and easy festive superfood cranberry sauce that is kicked up a notch with ingredients high in anti-oxidants, anti-inflammatories, and over-all health improving qualities. Cinnamon, Goji berry powder, and acai powder are powerhouse foods that all protect your body against free-radicals, which ultimately lead to chronic illness and systemic stress. You get a delicious side dish plus tons of health benefit from this recipe.
You all know I love quick and easy recipes. This one is not only both of those but also packed with an extra dose of healthy ingredients.
I’ll discuss acai berry powder first (I used this Organic Acai Berry Powder). This superberry is quite impressive as it delivers tons of health gain in a very small amount. Their ability to attack free radicals is three times as powerful as blueberries. Free radicals are atoms with an unfilled outer shell, so they travel through the body looking for other atoms to bond to in order gain what is needed to fill the outer shell. If this persists, the body experiences oxidative stress (any stress, as you know, is not good). Oxidative stress leads to chronic illness, wrinkles, and systemic stress, and affects many areas of your body in a negative way, like your inflammatory system, central nervous system, and auto-immune system.
The acai berry is rich in a specific antioxidant called anthocyanins that are shown to attack free radicals an, thus, aid in preventing certain cardiovascular, neurological, and chronic diseases. This berry is also surprisingly high in healthy fats and low in sugar.
Instead of using white processed sugar like traditional cranberry sauce calls for, I instead used organic coconut sugar. I actually think it adds a richness to the dish that otherwise would not be there. Coconut sugar has its benefits as well – it offers a higher content of antioxidants, potassium, iron, and calcium. It also has a low glycemic index which helps the body manage blood sugar surges/spikes.
Superfood Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients
- 4 cups fresh cranberries
- 1 cup water - see note
- 1 cup coconut sugar - see note
- ¼ cup orange juice
- 1 tablespoon goji berry powder
- 1 tablespoon acai powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Rinse and drain cranberries.
- Place water and coconut sugar in a large saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves.
- Add remainder of ingredients to saucepan.
- Stir to combine and let ingredients simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until berries are soft and mixture has thickened.
- Remove from heat and pour into serving dish. Let cool then serve.
Notes
- For extra orange flavor, substitute water with orange juice,
Since the recipe uses coconut sugar, it’s not as sweet as traditional cranberry sauce. - You can add more coconut sugar for a sweeter result or substitute It with honey or maple syrup.
