Nourishing Heart Opening Cranberry Sauce

The other night I was craving a Thanksgiving type of dinner; you know roasted chicken, sweet potatoes, brussel sprouts- cranberry sauce- all of the things- While I still had a few remaining things in the fridge from Thanksgiving- I thought this was a perfect way to use up food- while nourishing my cravings-

Cranberry sauce- I loaded all the fixings into the bowl- aka the pile of cranberries- drizzled with the maple syrup and began to squeeze my oranges- and I quickly realized I didn’t have enough- feeling a little frustrated and not interested in going to the store- I made a quick pivot over to my herb stash—-

I grabbed some hawthorn berries and rose buds- and covered them with boiling water- and let them sit-

Meanwhile I put the cranberries on hold until my berries and buds were nicely soaked. I then strained them. I had approx 3 oz of orange juice and 3 oz of hawthorn and rose tea- using about 1 tsp of each- and 8 oz of boiling water.

I poured my 6 oz of orange juice and tea onto the cranberries and maple syrup- tossed in a cinnamon stick and 2 cardamom pods-

Stir and cook, and let the cranberry mixture come to a boil (about 5-10 mins), then reduce the heat and simmer and allow it to cook 5-10 more minutes, stirring and scraping the sides occasionally to prevent the sugar from burning, until most of the cranberries have burst and the sauce has thickened (it will thicken quite a bit while cooling as well.)

Now- turn off heat - remove the cinnamon and cardamom pods- you can add more cinnmamon if you would like- I do ! Add nutmeg- and chopped walnuts- maybe some orange zest- and let the sauce cool-

The cranberry sauce can be reheated as you like, served as a side dish or topping for anything, or used for cooking/baking in other recipes. Store leftovers in a lidded container in the refrigerator. Enjoy!

You will need://

• 3 cups whole cranberries fresh or frozen

• 3 oz Orange Juice - 3 oz Hawthorn and Rose Tea

• 3/4 cup Pure Maple Syrup

• 1/4 tsp cinnamon

• Pinch nutmeg

• Cinnamon Stick

• Cardamom pods

• Optional add-ins:

• ginger, chopped walnuts, orange zest for extra flavor*

Functional Benefits of:

Hawthorn berries: are great for heart health- aka food for the heart. Rich in bioflavonoids, helps increase the flow of blood to the heart muscles. Also a strong antioxidant

Rose buds/flowers : antioxidants that may help to fight inflammation caused by free radicals- rich in vitamin c.

I hope you enjoy this nourishing take on Cranberry Sauce this holiday sezzzz-