More cranberry recipes!

Since fresh cranberries are abundant in the store right now, I would like to share another of my family's favorite recipes using fresh cranberries.  This bread is very delicious and makes a great snack!





Cranberry Nut Bread
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour or whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 cup orange juice
1 Tablespoon grated orange peel
2 Tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
1 egg, well beaten
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan or 3 mini loaf pans.

Mix together the flours, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda in a medium mixing bowl.  In another bowl stir together the orange juice, orange peel, canola oil and egg.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until blended.  Stir in the cranberries and nuts.  Spread evenly in loaf pan(s).

Bake for about 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (about 25 minutes for mini loaf pans).  Cool on a rack for 15 minutes.  Remove from pan; cool completely.

Crediting information: Makes 34 servings.  Each serving is creditable for 1 bread/bread alternate for 3-5 year old children at any meal or snack.

Helpful Holiday Links

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln extension website has compliled a bunch of their holiday food and nutrition tips in one place to make it very easy to find what you are looking for fast!  Visit their holiday links page and you can find information about topics such as preparing foods ahead of time, ingredient substitutions and cooking terms, food safety, sending food gifts to the military, holiday weight management tips (with a great video by Brian Wansink), and a Kid's Corner section that has some great games and websites to keep the kids busy.  Check out it out to get quick answers for all of your holiday food and nutrition questions!

Holiday Safety

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Envrionment issued a press release today about Christmas trees that also contains some great reminders about safety during the holidays.  Sometimes we forget about all of the potential hazards that holiday decorations can contain.  Take a minute and read through their press release and make sure that your child care home does not contain any of the hazards that they warn about so that you can have a healthy and happy holiday season!

Quick Snack

I am so glad that clementines are showing up again!  I look forward to having them as a snack this time of year, and I always remember that they start appearing around Thanksgiving time because we have them with our breakfast on Thanksgiving morning.  So, I went and checked out the "California Cuties" website to do a little research, and found out that like most citrus crops they are in season from November- April.  I also learned that "Cuties" are actually two different types of mandarin oranges.  I love them because of their size and the fact that they are easy to peel.  Their smaller size and lack of seeds to spit out make them a hit with my kids too.   

What's so great about Cuties?  2 Cuties have only 80 calories but supply 4 grams of fiber (14% of daily needs), 11% of daily potassium needs, 290% (!) of daily vitamin C needs, and are a good source of many other nutrients such as thiamin, niacin, folate and vitamin B6.  They are truly a nutrient-rich food and are so tasty.  Consider serving them for snack before they disappear again in the spring!

Cranberries

Fresh cranberries are back in the stores, just in time for Thanksgiving.  I hadn't seen them and I was starting to get worried a couple of weeks ago.  Fortunately, I spotted some at my local grocery store the week before Thanksgiving!  I start craving fresh cranberries this time of year.  Fresh cranberry waldorf salad (see recipe below) is one of my favorite side dishes at the Thanksgiving table.  It only takes 1 1/2 cups of cranberries to make this salad, so I use the rest of the bag to make another fall favorite of mine, cranberry walnut bread!

You are probably aware of the fact that cranberries can play a role in the prevention of urinary tract infections (this is due to their high antibacterial properties).  However, cranberries are also a great source of vitamin C, fiber, manganese, and vitamin K.  As an extra bonus, cranberries are chock-full of antioxidants which may help prevent heart disease, stroke and some types of cancers.

Since fresh cranberries are only available for a short time at the grocery store, I always buy extra and put some in the freezer.  They come in handy in the spring when I want to make more cranberry-walnut bread!


Cranberry Waldorf Salad
This salad is fruity and creamy and my kids love it too!

You will need:
1 1/2 cups chopped fresh cranberries
1 cup chopped red apple
1 cup seedless green grapes, halved
1/2 cup raisins
1/4 cup chopped walnuts*
1 1/2 Tablespoons sugar
8 ounces lowfat vanilla yogurt

1. Combine all ingredients, toss to coat.
2. Cover and chill 2 hours. Stir before serving.

Crediting information: Makes 16 servings. Each serving is creditable for 1/4 cup of the fruit/vegetable component at lunch or supper for 3-5 year old children.
*Nuts can be choking hazard for children under the age of 4

Provider Resources

Do you have bulletin boards or posters in your child care home?  If you do, you may be interested in the TEAM Nutrition website.  I love this website because it has links to all sorts of resources.  You can find posters to download, or ideas for bulletin board lessons.  The are many topics to choose from incuding general nutrition, hand washing, and even whole grains.  It is worth a visit anytime you need ideas or inspiration!

Variety Still the Spice of Life!

You might have noticed that some of my favorite words as a nutritionist are the words "variety" and "moderation".  That is, the healthiest diet is one that includes a variety of foods in moderation since this gives us the best chance to get all of the nutrients that we need.  A large recent study offers more proof that variety is indeed a vital part of a healthy diet.  The study, published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, used data from about half a million people living in Europe.  The participants in the study were divided into groups depending on how many of 14 different fruits and 26 different vegetables they ate over a two-week period.  When the study was completed 9 years later, the smokers who ate the greatest variety of vegetables had a 27 percent reduced risk of lung cancer compared to those who consumed the least variety. 

So, variety in our diet not only keeps us from getting bored, it is likely the most nutritious way to eat too.  Do you eat a variety of fruits and vegetables every week, or do you find yourself buying and eating the same ones over and over again?  If you answered yes, why not vow to try something new the next time you are at the grocery store.  A great way to do this is to buy fruits and vegetables in season.  They are usually less expensive that way, and they are at the peak of their taste too.  Follow the seasons to ensure that you get a variety of produce all year 'round!