Every Thanksgiving and Christmas I always volunteer to make the traditional cranberry sauce. For many years, I have done away with the canned version, preferring to make this dish from scratch. With canned food filled with chemicals such as BPA, phthalates, and polybrominated diphenyl ethers, among many other chemicals I am happy to just buy the cranberries and cook them from scratch at home. Our regulatory system that oversees the use of chemicals in food packaging falls far short of ensuring that the chemicals are safe. From much research we know that the chemicals present in food packaging leach into food and enter people's bodies. BPA or bisphenol A, an endocrine disrupting chemical linked to adverse health effects, has been on the hot seat lately and many companies have worked to phase it out of their products. What is not discussed is what they are substituting it with. As consumers demanded BPA free products and packaging, companies have need to use replacement chemcials and often do not reveal the identity of these particular chemicals. Many BPA replacements are similar to BPA and as such are also endocrine disrupters. So, making your cranberry sauce from scratch is always the ideal solution to helping your body steer clear of these pesky hormone disrupting chemicals! I also love to substitute maple syrup or honey in my cranberry sauce as opposed to using sugar. Honey and maple syrup contains trace minerals that our bodies need to stay healthy and happy! So, here is my traditional and healthy cranberry sauce recipe...
Ingredients:
1 12 ounce package cranberries
1/2 - 3/4 cup maple syrup or honey
1 cup filtered water
1/2 lemon
Put cranberries in a small pot. Add water, maple syrup and juice of 1/2 lemon. Bring to a boil and them simmer on low until the mixture thickens. As it is cooking, use the back of your spoon to crush the berries. Simmer for 10 minutes and you have an amazingly healthy cranberry sauce! Enjoy!
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