Homemade Cranberry Sauce

This recipe could not be easier, yet once you try it, you will never want to go back to canned cranberries during your holiday meals.

You will need:
12 oz fresh cranberries
3/4 to 1 cup sugar
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup water

Start out by rinsing the cranberries and removing any damaged cranberries. Put the sugar, orange juice, and water on high heat in a saucepan. Once the mixture comes to a boil, add the cranberries and bring the heat to low. Simmer until most cranberries have popped. Let the cranberry sauce cool and keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

Before:

After:

Note: The sauce will continue to thicken as it cools.

Mashed Potatoes

This recipe is simple, but can be customized with any type of potatoes (or even sweet potatoes) and any types of herbs or seasoning.

You will need:
large handful of potatoes (such as 3-4 Russet potatoes or 6-8 Yukon gold potatoes)
1 to 2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
3-4 Tbsp butter or oil of choice (olive oil is recommended)
1/8 cup fresh chives (or 1 Tablespoon of dried chives)

Instructions
Begin by washing the potatoes and peeling them if desired. Keeping the skin on the potatoes will add additional fiber and nutrients to the dish. When ready, place the potatoes in a large pot and cover with water and a pinch of sea salt. Bring it to a boil over medium to high heat and add a pinch of salt. Cook for between 20 and 30 minutes, until the potatoes are tender and slide off a fork or knife when pierced.

Once ready, drain the potatoes and place in a mixing bowl. Mash the potatoes until fluffy and add in your seasoning and the butter or oil. Adjust ingredients to taste and serve.

We paired this recipe with a mushroom stuffing/dressing and homemade cranberry sauce.

Note: If using sweet potatoes, you may want to adjust your seasoning, and add cinnamon and a bit of brown sugar or coconut sugar rather than garlic or chives.

Cinnamon Sugar Pecans

This is a simple snack (or delicious treat) to prepare. This version is a bit on the sticky side, but it is quite simple to make and doesn’t add any additional fat or cholesterol.  

You will need:

1 cup pecans

1/8 to 1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 T water

Add all ingredients to a skillet or pan over medium to low heat. Stir ingredients together to ensure that the pecans are well coated. Then, continue stirring for about five to ten minutes, until the pecans have toasted.

Guacamole

Guacamole is such a fresh and delicious side dish or topping for a variety of Mexican dishes, such as tacos, fajitas, or even just a batch of tortilla chips! Fortunately, this dish is incredibly flavorful and so easy to assemble. There is no heat involved either!

You will need:
- 1-2 avocados  
- juice from ½ a lime  
- pinch of sea salt
- 1/8 cup diced red onion  
- 1/4 cup diced tomatoes  
- chopped cilantro to taste

To prepare your avocado, slice the avocado in half and scoop out the flesh. For this guacamole, place the avocados, the lime juice, and salt into a bowl and mash together with a fork. After the consistency has become more uniform, add in the diced tomatoes, chopped red onion, and cilantro. Mix well and serve. Feel free to add any additional ingredients that you enjoy.

Variation:
If you want to increase the volume of your guacamole and add additional veggies, you can blend peas with the other ingredients to achieve a similar flavor and texture. This is also a way to reduce the fat of the dish, although the fats in avocados are healthy fats.