While cranberry sauce is often made in a saucepan over the stove, I love this oven method because it is very hands-off and it allows more time to perform other tasks in the kitchen while the cranberries cook. The end result is less of a thick cranberry sauce and more of a "cranberry cobbler filling consistency." I find it to be a delicious addition to my favorite Thanksgiving dish, my Autumn Harvest Pie. 

Most cranberry sauce is filled with nutrient-devoid white sugar. This recipe allows you to enjoy the traditional holiday side without the empty calories. Using maple syrup as the sweetener, add many trace minerals and many beneficial ant-oxidants to the dish. 

Let's take a closer look at the nutrition that's packed into this delectable holiday treat: 

• Cranberries are a great source of Vitamin C, manganese, Vitamin A, and even Vitamin E, but they are also extremely rich in antioxidants. They contain quercetin, a highly anti-inflammatory compound that also provides the body with immune-supporting benefits. They are rich in anthocyanins, which gives the cranberries their dark red color. These anthocyanins are free radical scavengers that protect the body's cells from oxidative damage. Finally, cranberries are known for their help in preventing urinary tract infection due to a unique sugar found in cranberries, d-mannose. 
• Maple syrup contains a surprising amount of minerals. For example, just 1 Tablespoon of maple syrup gives you 33% of the daily recommended amount of manganese. It also contains zinc, copper, calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium. Maple syrup also contains antioxidants, including gallic acid (anti-cancer, anti-microbial), cinnamic acid (anti-cancer, anti-diabetic), catechin (cardiovascular health), rutin (cardiovascular health), and quercetin (anti-inflammatory and immune-boosting). 

Once again, I highly recommend serving this sauce with the Autumn Harvest Pie. The two dishes complete each other and provide the full Thanksgiving experience - just without the turkey!

Let me know what you think below!

Yours Truly, 

Drs. Susanna