Thanksgiving Cranberry Salad

This time of year, the one thing we all have in common is not enough time. It seems like every year the holidays sneak up and fly by before we know it.

If we all just had a little more time, we could relax and enjoy this season a little more. <<Maybe?!>> Cue this super easy and super speedy Thanksgiving Cranberry Salad. Need to take a dish to the holidays? I’ve got you covered with a 10 minute recipe. Tops. All you need is some washed fruit and a veggie. Plus, a food processor or something similar.

This salad has been in the family for years. During my picky eating younger years, I was known to fill my plate with this salad and homemade rolls. Nothing else made the cut. As kids we always stirred mini marshmallows into this salad – so maybe that’s the real reason I ate it. Ratio of cranberry salad to marshmallows was likely 50:50. So if you so desire, grab a bag of mini marshmallows to accompany this salad. Fair warning, they get real gross if you let them sit in the salad overnight – so add as you eat.

Step One: Gather your produce.

Step Two: Cut your produce. <<No need to peel the orange. Told you this was easy.>>

Step Three: In batches, pulse in a food processor to desired chopped-ness. <<Totally official term.>> 

And there you go! Add maple syrup to taste. The original recipe calls for a cup of sugar, over the years we played around with the amount but let me tell you, maple syrup adds an amazing flavor and you don’t need add that much for pure delicious Thanksgiving flavor and goodness. Plus, choose sweeter apples and most of your flavor and sweetness value can come from the fruit. I recommend using a firmer apple for the best texture (those red delicious can get a little mushy.) This time I used two honeycrisp and one braeburn. Worked like a charm.

Feed a crowd on Thanksgiving in minutes!

Thanksgiving Cranberry Salad

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Ingredients

  

• 3 apples
• 1 orange
• 2 stalks of celery
• 12 oz fresh cranberries
• 2-6 Tbsp maple syrup

Instructions

 

• Wash all the ingredients. Chop apples and orange into sections. Do not peel the orange - use the whole thing. Chop the celery, too.
• In small batches, pulse in a food processor until desired consistency. Remove and repeat until all ingredients are chopped.
• Mix in a medium bowl. Add maple syrup 1 Tbsp at a time, tasting between until desired sweetness is reached.

Notes

How-to-Use:

Athletes: Cranberries have a unique phytochemical in them, PAC (proanthocyanidins), which prevent bacteria from sticking and multiplying - which is why you often hear that they decrease risk of UTIs. But, we also know these are strong anti inflammatory agents that help us repair after strenuous exercise. So get you some cranberries after that turkey trot!!

Healthy Eating: Be sure to add your favorite Thanksgiving foods to your plate. A holiday is exactly that - a holi-DAY. Eat the foods that bring you joy and happy memories on that day- whatever they may be. Round out your plate with some deliciously healthy options, like this salad. All your favorites + some healthy side dishes = perfection! Everybody wins.

Kids: Let them add their own marshmallows and they'll be filling their plates with cranberry salad in no time. Personal experience here, guys. 

Other Thoughts:

• Let the salad sit overnight - tastes awesome the next day after it all has time to mingle.
• I used 2 Tbsp of maple syrup. Try using very sweet apples if you want to try and make it with no added sugar. Or, if your family likes it sweet, no shame in the game of adding more maple syrup!
• As mentioned above, we used to always put marshmallows in the salad. If that tickles your fancy, do it!
• This will keep for awhile, 5-ish days.