The Tenth Healthy Day of Christmas: Cranberry Apple Stuffing

Photo: Elana's Pantry

Can you believe Christmas is just a few short days away? I certainly can't.

During my Twelve Healthy Days of Christmas we've reviewed all kinds of holiday areas: gift-giving, drinking, parties, digestive health... but what about the big day? How do you manage to sneak some health into a day dedicated to feasting and lethargy? 

One place to start is to dress up your stuffing with some fruit, switch out the regular processed bread for a gluten-free option, and enjoy your turkey dinner just that much more, knowing you're taking care of yourself in the process.

This recipe from Elana's Pantry is delicious - I absolutely LOVE fruit in my stuffing! Apple and cranberry make the perfect combination, the only addition to this recipe I would make would be chestnuts!

 

Apple Cranberry Stuffing

Ingredients

  • ½ cup dried cranberries (fruit juice sweetened)
  • ½ cup chicken broth
  • ¼ cup grapeseed oil or olive oil
  • 2 cups chopped onion
  • 1 cup finely chopped celery
  • 2 medium granny smith apples, cored and chopped into 1 inch cubes (about 2 cups)
  • ½ cup finely chopped Italian parsley
  • 1 loaf Paleo Bread or Gluten Free Bread 2.0, cut into 1-inch cubes
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon celtic sea salt

Directions

Soak dried cranberries in chicken broth for 1-2 hours

Heat grapeseed oil in a large skillet, over medium heat

Saute onion until soft, about 15 minutes

Add celery and saute for 10 more minutes

Add apple and parsley and saute for 3 minutes, until apples just begin to soften

Transfer mixture to a very large bowl

Bake bread cubes on a parchment paper lined baking sheet for 5-10 minutes at 350°

Cool bread cubes for 20 minutes after removing from oven

Stir bread cubes into vegetable mixture

Whisk eggs and salt into cranberry-chicken broth mixture

Add egg-cranberry mixture to stuffing, tossing to combine

Transfer stuffing to a 9 x 13 inch baking dish

Bake stuffing at 350° uncovered until cooked through and browned on top, about 40 minutes

Let stand 10-15 minutes

Serve