On the fourth day

For our fourth day of fruits and vegetables I decided to do an in-season fruit that always seems to make an appearance during the holidays: Cranberries!

When I first started trying to increase my fruit and veggie intake, I went to the green market and laid claim to any fruit and vegetable I've never tried to see how I could diversify my meals. One of those was a bag of fresh cranberries. Well, I don't know about you, but my previous experience with cranberries has been good - dried cranberries in my salad, cranberry juice, cranberry sauce on my turkey. So, I thought, well if cranberries are so good in those forms, then surely I can eat them straight! You should have seen the look on my friends face when I took a handful of cranberries and stuffed them right into my mouth! They are so tart!

Still, cranberries are another excellent fruit in the fight for your health. Cranberries, along with many other berries, are highest on the list of fruits/vegetables rich in antioxidants.Cranberries also help create a hostile environment for certain bad bacteria. Cranberries are used to treat urinary tract infections (UTIs) because they contain proanthocyanidins, which inhibit bacteria, such as E. coli from sticking to the walls of the urinary tract. They were also found to inhibit oral bacteria related to dental plaque and dental cavities. The bacteria H. pylori is often the cause of peptic ulcers. Cranberries may play a role in the prevention of peptic ulcers by blocking this bacteria from our intestinal walls. Check out more at The Cranberry Institute.

Boiling Cranberries

Tonight, I decided to make Cranberry Pear Bars via Better Homes rather than try to eat them straight again! It made a delicious dessert but definitely not something I'd eat everyday. I need to figure out how to use the rest of my cranberries without adding tons of sugar or fat to them so I can get the best health benefits.

I can't wait for Christmas dinner to see all the ways cranberries will be used this year. But while I wait for the 25th, I decided to add a little more Christmas cheer to the home. It's getting colder and colder down here in South Florida, so what better way to warm up then to cuddle up to a few good Christmas movies? On my list so far is Serendipity, The Nightmare Before Christmas, A Christmas Story, The Grinch, Muppet Christmas Carol, A Charlie Brown Christmas, Home Alone, Bad Santa, Die Hard, and maybe I'll Be Home for Christmas for a little Jonathan Taylor Thomas. Do you have any Christmas movies you think I should add to my list?