No refined sugar, no problem - a tastier, healthier cranberry sauce

I love the holiday season and one of my favorite recipes this time of year is cranberry sauce. In my quest to remove refined sugar from my diet, however, I needed to rethink my traditional cranberry sauce recipe. This recipe uses no processed sugar and, instead, uses maple syrup (Grade B), which is full of magnesium, potassium, calcium and zinc. It has tons of antioxidants, boots your immune health and acts as an anti-inflammatory in the body.
 
If you don’t have maple syrup in your pantry, I suggest you get some. It has a very long shelf life and, if kept in a glass bottle, can last even longer.  Many people ask me what the difference is between Grade A and Grade B syrup.  Grade B is produced later in the season and has a darker color, a thicker viscosity, a more robust maple flavor, and more minerals.
 
I like this recipe because you can still taste a hint of the bitterness of the cranberries, yet its not overwhelming because it is cooked with the warm sweet flavors of cloves. The fresh orange and lime juice medley really complement the dish and allow the flavors to shine.
 
Note: You cannot replace syrup with honey in this recipe. When honey is heated (above boiling point) it becomes toxic to your body.

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Cranberry Sauce
Serves 8
 
Ingredients:

• 12 oz organic cranberries
• 1 baking apple, (Fuji, Gala, Jonagold) peeled, cored and diced into 1 inch pieces
• 4 cloves
• ½ teaspoon sweet masala
• ½ teaspoon vanilla powder
• 1 cup maple syrup
• 8 tablespoons of orange juice (about 2 mid size oranges)
• 2 tablespoons of lime juice (about 1 lime)

 
Instructions:
 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
   
   
2. In an 8x8 square-baking dish, combine the cranberries, apples, cloves, sweet masala and vanilla powder. Give them a quick stir. Then pour in the maple syrup and stir to incorporate. Bake for 30 minutes.
   
   
3. While baking, squeeze the oranges and lime, put the juice in a bowl, and set aside. 
   
   
4. After 30 minutes, take the cranberries out of the oven. Using a fork, smash about half of the cranberries. Pour the citrus juice over the cranberries and stir until well combined.
   
   
5. Cool at room temperature. The sauce will thicken as it cools. 
   
   
6. Remove cloves and serve immediately or store in an airtight container for up to a week if refrigerated. 
   

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Sweet Masala
 by Divya Alter, from What to Eat for How You Feel: The New Ayurvedic Kitchen (Rizzoli, 2017)

​Ingredients:

• 1Tbs fennel seeds
• 1Tbs coriander seed
• 1Tbs rose petals
• 1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon chips
• ¾ teaspoon cardamom seeds
• ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract powder

 
Instructions:
 
Grind all ingredients to fine powder. Store in airtight container, in a dark and dry place.
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