In The News: Some Great Info From the Cranberry Institute!!!

 Always excited to be a blogger that collaborates with the Cranberry Institute, check out the latest news, tips and info from them.......!

The Latest in Cranberries and Health

New Research Confirms Cranberries’ Role in Reducing UTI Recurrence and Potential for Decreased Use of AntibioticsA landmark study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition concluded that drinking 8-ounces/day of 27% cranberry juice beverage (similar to low-calorie cranberry juice cocktail) reduced the number of symptomatic urinary tract infections (UTIs) by nearly 40 percent in women with recurrent UTIs (over two UTIs in one year). This multicenter, clinical trial found that with a 98% compliance rate, women aged 20-70 who consumed cranberry juice daily over a two-year period significantly lowered their UTI risk compared to drinking a placebo beverage of equal volume. The authors attest that the results support that cranberry juice offers women a nutritional alternative to daily low-dose antibiotics often prescribed to reduce symptomatic UTIs. Thus, providing an option that could help lower the risk of antibiotic resistance due to chronic use. By reducing UTI risk, it may also help decrease the number of doctor visits and lab costs associated with diagnosis and treatment. Finally, the results show that daily cranberry juice consumption may offer women with recurrent UTIs relief that could help improve their quality of life.

Kevin C Maki, Kerrie L Kaspar, Christina Khoo, Linda H Derrig, Arianne L Schild, and Kalpana Gupta. Consumption of a cranberry juice beverage lowered the number of clinical urinary tract infection episodes in women with a recent history of urinary tract infection. Am J Clin Nutr. 2016 103: 1434-1442; doi:10.3945/ajcn.116.130542

Bog Chat with a Cranberry Grower: Introducing Fawn Gottschalk

Please note: Interview paraphrased for space purposes, link to full interview is below.

Tell us a little about yourself…

I grew up in a “cranberry family.” I am a fifth-generation cranberry grower from central Wisconsin, mother of two, community volunteer and hold positions on a cranberry committee and two industry boards – including the Cranberry Institute Board of Directors. My expertise is in finance and bookkeeping, but I’m learning more about daily crop management every day from our marsh manager and by attending education sessions put on by our growers’ association.

·         How long has the farm been in your family? 

o   My family farm in Wisconsin Rapids, Gottschalk Cranberry, Inc., was started in 1940 by my grandfather. Since the beginning the marsh has undergone several phases of expansion and now totals 234 acres of cranberry vines.

·         What is your favorite part of being a cranberry grower?

o   Just one? How does one pick?! I love that our crop has so many health benefits and our industry employs so many people in our state. But my favorite thing about being a cranberry grower is the people. From my family to our crew of dedicated employees to neighbors and fellow growers who have become friends…we are all united by our passion for those little ruby-colored berries.

·         Do you do any community outreach on the farm?

o   I will give any school group who’d like one a marsh tour. In Wisconsin, fourth grade is the year they learn about our state, so that’s a popular age for visitors. I also serve on the PR committee for the Wisconsin State Cranberry Growers Association and we sponsor the Cranberry Blossom Festival in our community in June.

·         What are some of your favorite ways to enjoy cranberries in the summer?

o   Cranberry juice in lemonade or punch recipes

o   Cranberry ice cream

o   Dried cranberries in broccoli salad or in granola with yogurt

If you are interested, you can find our full Q&A with Fawn, as well as more photos, here. If you would like any additional information, we’re also happy to connect you with Fawn directly, for an email or phone interview.

Photo: Fawn and her two sons handing out samples of juice and dried cranberries at a sporting event in Madison, WI

Enjoying Cranberries All Year Long!

Share the cranberry juice cocktail facts with this graphic!

And there are even more ways to enjoy cranberry juice cocktail all summer long…

·         Try out a tart, tangy salad dressing

·         Make fun and delicious layered ice cubes (HINT: be sure to check your package for a little help with this one!)

·         Mix up a family-friendly refreshing cranberry-lemonade punch

·         …or an adults-only cranberry margarita

·         Bring a twist to a BBQ classic with cranberry baked beans

RESOURCE REMINDER! 

USDA-Reviewed Cranberry Health Research Review 

If you haven’t seen it yet, check out the USDA-reviewed cranberry nutrition and health review published in the Cranberry Health Research Library on CranberryInstitute.org.  

Cranberry Health Research Library 

Browse the selections by year to find the most recent publications: http://cranberryinstitute.org/doclib/doclib_search.cgi

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Recipe ReDux Post # 47 Avocado Peach Salsa with Some Help From Gabby!

The Recipe ReDux Challenge for June is "Celebrate a ReDuxer"! Being that June happens to be the birthday month of Recipe ReDux (it started back in June 2011!)  we were asked to pick a recipe from one of the bloggers in the group to share or create our own dish from, using it as an inspiration.

Let me start off by saying, I love the blog Teaspoon of Spice , developed by two very talented dietitians, Serena  Ball MS, RD and Deanna Segrave-Daly RD.  They not only happen to be fellow moms/dietitians/bloggers and successful business owners, but in addition to that, they are the very group of dietitians who developed the Recipe ReDux in the first place, along with Regan Jones RD!! So not only do I have to thank them for this particular recipe, but I am very grateful that they bought to fruition Recipe ReDux: "the first and only recipe challenge founded by registered dietitians"!  Over the years I have enjoyed the challenges and they really inspire me, not to mention keep me on my toes and creative in the kitchen. I enjoy following the Teaspoon of Spice Blog because it has a bunch of healthy and delicious recipes (with gorgeous photos!) and some really fun and informative posts on "Healthy Kitchen Hacks" and practical "How To's".  Now on to the recipe.......

I happened to have a bunch of peaches in the house that were getting quite ripe and so I went straight to their blog and typed in the word peach in the search box.  A LOT of tempting recipes came up, including this peach pie but what really caught my eye was a peach salsa they had previously posted. We had BBQ chicken on the menu that night and this salsa seemed like the perfect accompaniment to the liven up the meal, PLUS it was a great recipe that Gabby and I could kick off her Summer vacay by making together in the kitchen.  So I pulled up the recipe, called Gabby in the kitchen and we got to work.

She helped chop the cucumbers

and the peaches,

squeeeeeeeze some fresh lime

I did the avocados and she helped pick, chop and throw in some fresh basil (the original recipe calls for mint, which we did not have.)

Then it was all mixed together and voila...we had amazing peach salsa.

You must, I repeat must... go and check out/make this recipe by clicking HERE to get to their blog!!  In addition to the salsa there is another part of the recipe that actually involves grilling chicken atop limes which I intend to try next, if only we had not run out of limes making the salsa.!! Again, hope you will check it out, along with call the celebratory June creations from the fantastic Recipe ReDux Group!!

Gabby's Shot:

An InLinkz Link-up

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In The News More Impressive Evidence Regarding The Mediterranean Diet: Consuming This Dietary Pattern Does Not Lead to Weight Gain

It seems like more and more research is mounting about the benefits of consuming the Mediterranean diet!! A recent study was just released revealing that eating a non-calorie restricted Mediterranean diet,  rich in healthy fats (including nuts and olive oil) did not lead to weight gain when compared with eating a low fat diet.  This trial, published in The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology Journal, took place in Spain and involved 7447 participants in 11 hospitals during 2003-2010. Participants in the trial were randomly assigned to three different groups: an un-restricted calorie diet with a high intake of olive oil, an un-restricted calorie diet with a high intake of nuts and a low fat diet, which placed emphasis on avoiding as much dietary fat as possible. All participants were counseled on the diets by a registered dietitian.  Dietary adherence was measure via questionnaires by taking blood and urine samples from a random subgroup. On average all three groups lost weight, however the greatest weight loss was experienced by the olive oil diet group NOT the low-fat diet group. This suggests that focusing on total fat intake alone instead of diet quality/type of fat may be less useful when evaluating effects on weight and other potential health benefits. Check out a summary of the study HERE!

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Gabby’s Eats: Strawberry Banana Protein Muffins

“Let’s bake something with strawberries!” had been a frequent request from Gabby over the last couple of months.  Unfortunately this persistent asking happened to occur during the late Winter/early Spring when strawberries just are not in season in California. (Yes, we could have used frozen but fresh ones taste so amazing.) I would explain this to Gabs but it didn’t really stop her from asking from time to time. So she was very excited indeed when strawberries popped into stores in May and the time had finally come to be able to use them in a recipe. Gabby enjoys the protein muffins I make for breakfast, namely the morning glory flavor.  She decided that another version, a strawberry banana protein muffin, would be just her choice for the our beloved berries.  Her enthusiasm prompted her to initially suggest adding a full 2 cups chopped to the recipe, which was a bit overzealous and led the muffins to be too soft. We scaled them back to 1 ¼ cups and that was just the right amount.  They came out delicious and this recipe was very well worth the wait!

  Ingredients:

2 cup rolled oats (old fashioned, not quick, use a gluten-free oats if you are on a gluten-free diet)

3/4 cup all purpose (or oat flour, which can be used on a GF diet)  

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

6 Tablespoons protein powder (preferably natural unflavored)

3 large sized over ripe bananas, mashed

6 Tablespoons liquid egg white

6 Tablespoons (packed) brown sugar

1/4 cup milk (we used unsweetened vanilla almond milk)

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1.25 cups finely chopped fresh strawberries

cooking spray

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine the oats, flour, baking soda, baking powder and protein powder in a small bowl.  

In a large bowl, mix together the mashed banana, brown sugar, egg whites, milk and vanilla. Add the oats/flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix well. 

Fold in the berries. Spoon into 6 jumbo size muffin pan cups (or 6 small ramiken/small oven safe baking dishes) or 12 regular sized coated with cooking spray and bake on the bottom rack of the oven for about 30-35 minutes for the regular size, and 35-40 minutes for the jumbo, until top is firm, lightly browned and a toothpick comes out mostly clean when inserted into the center.

Makes six jumbo or 12 regular servings

Serving size 1 very large muffin Calories 290  Protein 13  g Carb 52  g Fiber 7  g Sugars 20  g Fat 3.5  g Saturated fat  0 g Sodium 280 mg

Serving size 1 regular sized muffin Calories 145  Protein 7  g Carb 26  g Fiber 3.5 g Sugars 10  g Fat 2  g Saturated fat  0 g Sodium 140 mg

Gabby's Shot

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