You don’t have to wait for the holidays to roll around to enjoy a handful of cranberries. Although often relegated to Thanksgiving and the days after, there are plenty of reasons to add more cranberries to your diet.
In fact eating whole cranberries can be better for your heart and liver than cranberry food and beverage products. Keep reading to find out how many calories are in cranberries!
Major Nutrients Found In Cranberries
If you’re someone that claims that there’s no fruit that you enjoy, then give cranberries a try. The calories in cranberries are very diet friendly—just 44 calories per cup—which makes an ideal low calorie snack.
But in addition to the nutrients you see in the above cranberry nutrition facts, cranberries also provide you with a significant amount of fiber, vitamins C & K and even manganese. These nutrients are responsible for fighting cancer as well as anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, which mean cranberries are a great way to maintain your overall health.
When you factor in these health benefits with the fact that cranberries are low in fat and sodium and are cholesterol free, there’s no reason not to add a cup of cranberries to your fruit intake.
Selecting/Storing
Cranberries are in peak season from October through December, but in some areas they are available all year long. When selecting cranberries, choose cranberries are deep red (not pink) in color. They should be plump and firm, avoid soggy and discolored cranberries.
When storing cranberries, rinse them first and remove any soft and discolored berries before storing in an air tight container or bag. Cranberries that are fresh can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks or frozen for more than a year.
Eat It With:
You can do much more with cranberries than make your beloved grandma’s cranberry sauce, although that’s not a bad idea either. Add a handful of cranberries to your salad or give your fruit salad a burst of zest with a cup of cranberries.
{Turn your banana bread recipe into delicious cranberry bread.}
Use the sweetness of cranberries to create muffins, pies, cobblers or breads, or toss them into the blender for a uniquely flavored breakfast smoothie. When entertaining guests, toss fresh cranberries with a few roasted nuts for a quick and easy crowd pleaser.
Burn Off Cranberries
To burn off the calories found in 1 cup of cranberries, you would have to do:
- 9 minutes of housework.
- 4 minutes of water jogging.
- 9 minutes of sailing.