Healthy Snack: Cranberry Compote

Recipe submitted by Ann Davin,RN, BSN, Certified Diabetes Educator

Preparation tip: The compote can be made a week ahead with no loss of flavor or freshness and depending on how you choose to serve it, it’s a healthy option for the New Year.

Delicious warm, cold or at room temperature serve with meat, poultry, pancakes, cottage cheese or yogurt; as an appetizer, condiment, dessert or between-meal snack.

Servings: 20

Ingredients

2/3 cup            water
3/4 cup            sugar substitute (Truvia etc.)
3                      medium or large firm, ripe pears, peeled and cut into ½ -inch pieces
12                    dried apricots, each cut into 6 pieces
1                      cinnamon stick
2                      seedless oranges, peeled, sectioned, and cut into ½ -inch pieces
6 cups              (2-12-ounce bag) cranberries
¼ teaspoon      nutmeg

Directions

1. In a large saucepan, bring the water and sugar to a boil, stirring the mixture occasionally.
2. Stir in the pears and apricots, reduce the heat, and simmer the fruit in the uncovered pan for 5 minutes. Add cinnamon stick.
3. Stir in the oranges, and continue simmering the fruit in the uncovered pan for 2 minutes.
4. Stir in the cranberries, and cook them over medium heat in the uncovered pan for 5 minutes, stirring the compote occasionally.

Per serving:
Calories 74, Fat >1 g, Carbohydrate 18 g, Sodium 2 mg, Potassium 304 mg
Recipe adapted from Jane Brody’s Good Food Gourmet cookbook

New Years Celebration Appetizer: Jean Eppler’s Cranberries Gone Wild Dip

Here’s a wonderful, unusual dip recipe.  It has the tartness of cranberries, with the zest of jalapeno and cilantro.  It’s an amazing surprise on the appetizer table.  I replaced the 1.5 cups sugar with about 3/4 cup sugar substitute.  I skipped the cream cheese, which lowered the calories considerably. Try it on celery!

Time: 15 minutes prep + 4 hours refrigeration

Ingredients:

12 ounce package fresh cranberries
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1 small jalapeno pepper
1  ¼  cup sugar
¼ heaping teaspoon cumin
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
Dash kosher salt
2, 8-ounce packages whipped cream cheese (use a mixer to whip the cheese just before serving)
Chips (or veggies such as celery)

 
Directions:

1. Chop cranberries in a food processor.
2. Cut up your green onion, cilantro and jalapeno pepper into small pieces.
3. Mix all ingredients (except cream cheese and chips) in a bowl, cover and store in the fridge for at least four hours. The sugar needs some time to soak into the cranberries and break up their bitter taste.
4. When you are ready to serve, spread cream cheese on a platter.
5. Pour cranberry mixture over the cream cheese.
6. Serve with chips, celery or your favorite dippable ingredients.

Per serving (1 tablespoon on 4 chips):
Calories 47, Fat 2 g, Carbohydrate 6 g, Potassium 63 mg

Recipe adapted from Jean Eppler of Fargo, N.D.

Mary Tvedt is a certified diabetes educator and has managed the Diabetes Care Center at Wyoming Medical Center for the past seven years. She has a bachelor’s degree in foods and human nutrition with a minor in child development and family science from North Dakota State University. If you have concerns about diabetes talk to your doctor. To learn more about services at the Diabetes Care Center, call (307) 577-2592.