So you all know Thanksgiving is approaching and we are all working on mastering our holiday menu. I’ve been in the kitchen all week playing with recipes. Basically, I’ve been eating Thanksgiving food for the last week and there’s another week to go. Good thing there is quite a variety in my fridge. If you took a peek in my refrigerator, you’d find a variety of holiday dishes. From turkey, to stuffing, to cranberry apple crisp, you name it, it’s in there.
One thing I never expected to hold a spot in my fridge is cranberry sauce. All I can picture is the gelatinous sauce still in the shape of the can it came from. You know what I am talking about. Though I am not much of a fan, the hubby is. The guy LOVES canned cranberry sauce. While I was cooking away on other Thanksgiving dishes yesterday, the hubby asked about some cranberry sauce. I pretty much shot him down right away. Not only does the appearance gross me out, it’s full of junk like high fructose corn syrup. But, he looked pretty disappointed with me.
The hubs doesn’t ask for much so I figured I had to get him some cranberry sauce. Luckily I stocked up on a ton of cranberries this week. They are on sale everywhere after all. So to make us both happy, I threw together some Healthy Homemade Cranberry Sauce. With all the goodness of fruit minus the high-fructose corn syrup, I think we came to a good compromise.
I did a little trial and error with this one. The recipe found below features my first recipe attempt and my personal favorite. The combination of cranberry, apple, and orange is lightly sweetened with some honey and stevia. Just enough sweetness without snuffing out all the tartness. I like the bit of a bite the fruits provide. However, the hubby prefers the canned stuff so he suggested it be a little sweeter.
I entertained his suggestion and added a little extra sweetener. Now we’ve got a bit of both, sweet and mildly tart. The recipe below provides suggestions for both sides of the spectrum. If opting for the sweeter version, I suggest adding a little at a time until desired sweetness is achieved. You can always add more, but you can’t take away.
Stay tuned as I continue to post a series of Thanksgiving-inspired recipes. If you all make this Healthy Homemade Cranberry Sauce for your Thanksgiving or throughout this holiday season, let me know by tagging a photo #stephanieleenutrition on Instagram. I’d love to see what you all cook up. Happy eating and happy Thanksgiving!
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- 12 ounces fresh cranberries
- 2 apples, diced
- zest of an orange
- 1 whole orange, juiced
- 2 whole cinnamon sticks
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/4 cup stevia
Ingredients
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- Wash produce before using. Place cranberries and diced apples into a saucepan. Add the zest of one orange using a zester or grater.
- Cut orange in half and squeeze the juice of both halves over the fruit mixture. Then add the cinnamon sticks, honey, and stevia, stirring well.
- Cover the saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. When boiling, remove lid and reduce heat, allowing the mixture to simmer for 30 minutes to allow the sauce to thicken.
- Transfer the mixture to a glass storage container and refrigerate until use.
This recipes maintains a slight bit of tartness. For a sweeter version, increase the stevia or honey by 1/4-1/2 cup, to taste.
