Nutritional Tips & Fun Facts for Newsletters
• Cranberries contain hippuric acid as well as other compounds that aid in stopping E. coli bacteria from sticking to the intestinal walls.
• Cranberries are often used to help prevent and treat urinary tract infections.
• Native peoples used cranberries to draw poison out of arrow wounds. As well, they crushed cranberries into a paste and mixed it with dried meat to preserve it longer.
• Early settlers picked wild cranberries by hand. Hand scoops were introduced with commercial cultivation, and today cranberries are picked by machine.
• William MacNeil planted Canada’s first cranberry bog in Nova Scotia in 1870.
• Cranberries are a good source of vitamin C and fibre. As well, they are thought to help prevent kidney stones, maintain good oral health, fight heart disease, lower bad cholesterol, raise good cholesterol, and prevent cancer.
• Since cranberries have a tart (sharp) taste, they are usually cooked before they are eaten. However, overcooking will make them bitter.
Promotional Ideas
• What a great season to have cranberries around! Have a popcorn-and-cranberry stringing party. Just use thread, a needle, popcorn, and cranberries. The students can take their garlands to decorate their trees at home or they can be used to decorate the school tree (or other areas of the school).
• Fill a jar with cranberries. Get the students to guess how many berries are in the jar and to put their guesses with their names into a box to win a prize.
• Make presents to take home to parents. Fill a small jar with cranberries and place a small candle in the centre. Put on the lid and tie the jar with a festive ribbon.
Preheat oven to 350°F Yield: 30
2 – 11” x 17” sheet pans, lightly greased Portion: 1 cookie Cost per serving: $0.07
1/2 cup non-hydrogenated margarine 125 mL 1/2 cup white granulated sugar 125 mL 1/2 cup brown sugar, lightly packed 125 mL
1 egg 1
1 cup whole-wheat flour 250 mL 1 cup rolled oats 250 mL 1/4 cup wheat germ 50 mL 1 tsp baking powder 5 mL 1 tsp baking soda 5 mL 1 cup chopped cranberries, 250 mL
fresh or frozen
1 In a large bowl, cream the margarine with the 2 sugars; beat in the egg.
2 In another bowl, combine the flour, oats, wheat germ, baking powder, and baking soda. Add to the creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in the cranberries.
3 Drop by tablespoons onto the sheet pans. (Be sure to get 30 cookies from this recipe.) Flatten slightly with a wet fork.
4 Bake for about 12 minutes or until lightly golden.
Cookie Tips
Cookies should be of a uniform thickness and size so they will bake in the same amount of time.
Sheet pans (cookie sheets) with little or no sides will allow the cookies to bake more quickly.
A sheet pan should be either cool or at room temperature when the cookie dough is placed on it, so the dough does not start to melt, affecting the cookies’ shape and texture.
Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies
Adapted from The Canadian Living Light and Healthy Cookbook, Margaret Fraser
DECEMBER: CRANBERRIES
modERaTE SmaLL QUaNTITY
Preheat oven to 350°F Yield: 60
4 – 11” x 17” sheet pans, lightly greased Portion: 1 cookie Cost per serving: $0.07
1 cup non-hydrogenated margarine 250 g 1 cup white granulated sugar 200 g 1 cup brown sugar, lightly packed 150 g
2 eggs 2
2 cups whole-wheat flour 240 g 2 cups rolled oats 200 g 1/2 cup wheat germ 30 g 2 tsp baking powder 10 g 2 tsp baking soda 10 g 2 cups chopped cranberries, 200 g
fresh or frozen
1 In a large bowl, cream the margarine with the 2 sugars; beat in the eggs.
2 In another bowl, combine the flour, oats, wheat germ, baking powder, and baking soda. Add to the creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in the cranberries.
3 Drop by tablespoons onto the sheet pans. (Be sure to get 60 cookies from this recipe.) Flatten slightly with a wet fork.
4 Bake for about 12 minutes or until lightly golden.
Cookie Tips
Cookies should be of a uniform thickness and size so they will bake in the same amount of time.
Sheet pans (cookie sheets) with little or no sides will allow the cookies to bake more quickly.
A sheet pan should be either cool or at room temperature when the cookie dough is
Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies
Adapted from The Canadian Living Light and Healthy Cookbook, Margaret Fraser
DECEMBER: CRANBERRIES
modERaTE LaRGE QUaNTITY
Yield: 8
Portion: 1/2 cup (125 mL) Cost per serving: $0.31
1 medium onion 1 2 celery stalks 2 2 garlic cloves 2 1 tbsp canola oil 15 mL 1/2 tbsp rosemary 7 mL 1/4 tsp salt 1 mL 1/4 tsp pepper 1 mL 1 1/2 cups cranberry juice 375 mL 1 cup regular couscous 250 mL 1/4 cup cranberries, dried 50 mL
1 Chop the onion and celery. Remove the skins from the garlic cloves and chop or mince.
2 On a stovetop over medium heat, cook the onion, celery, garlic, and rosemary in the oil until softened (10–15 minutes). Stir often. Add the salt and pepper.
3 Add the cranberry juice and bring the mixture to a boil. Stir in the couscous. Remove from the heat. Cover and let stand until the couscous has absorbed all the liquid.
4 Fluff with a fork, removing all lumps and pieces that stick together. Stir in the dried cranberries.
For a unique presentation, spoon the couscous into a 1/2 cup (125 mL) measure, pack, and then turn out onto plates. Garnish the top with a sprinkle of dried rosemary.
Couscous is inexpensive and nutritious. It is usually made from wheat. It is commonly used in Africa and the Mediterranean region.