Cherry Baby

Did you blink and miss the Cherry Season?

That's no reason to miss out on the fantastic health benefits packed into these tiny natural treats! Tart Cherries (aka the sour cherry, pie cherry, Prunus cerasus, montmorency cherry, balaton cherry) are low in calories and jam-packed with nutrients like Vitamin C, potassium, carotenoids, fiber, and other Bioactive food components [1]. Research indicates that tart cherry juice can reduce inflammation and muscle pain [2], reduce risk of colon cancer [3], reduce oxidative damage in older adults [4], lower the risk of Cardio Vascular Disease, Gout, and help manage diabetes [1].

Two great ways to add cherries to your diet are Tart Cherry Juice and dried tart cherries.

Dried cherries are easy- just add a handful to your oatmeal, make your own trail mix with almonds and cherries, or toss some dried cherries into your favorite chicken salad!

Tart Cherry Juice is an Awesome way to get the most Cherry Bang for you buck, so here's my favorite Cherry smoothie that's super easy and wickedly delicious.

Anna's Thrilling Tart Tonic

Tools

Blender

(sorry guys, gotta have a blender of some sort for this one)

Ingredients

1 cup of frozen raspberries (no added sugar)

8 fl oz Tart Cherry Juice (the closer to 100% cherry juice the better, avoid added sugars! I like the Tart Cherry Juice Concentrate by Stanton Orchards. The concentrated form means that you can use it in lots of ways, like drizzled over yogurt. You can find it at your local Ingles.)

1 small banana (or half a big banana. If you want more protein use 4-5 oz nonfat greek yogurt here instead)

2 cups of ice

Directions

Combine ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

Serve with a straw and perhaps a little umbrella!

This smoothie will wake you up and get you moving in the morning, or acts as a fantastic recovery drink after a hard workout!

Nutritional Info

recipe makes 1 serving

per serving:

Calories 302 . 9

Total Fat 0 . 5 g

Saturated Fat 0 . 3 g

Polyunsaturated Fat 0 . 1 g

Monounsaturated Fat 0 . 1 g

Cholesterol 0 . 0 mg

Sodium 16 . 0 mg

Potassium 990 . 0 mg

Total Carbohydrate 74 . 7 g

Dietary Fiber 11 . 4 g

Sugars 48 . 5 g

Protein 3 . 0 g

References:

1-McCune LM, Kubota C, Stendell-Hollis NR, Thomson CA. Cherries and health: a review. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition; 51:1, 1-12.

2-Kuehl et al. Efficacy of tart cherry juice in reducing muscle pain during running: a randomized controlled trial. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition; 2010, 7:17.

3-Kang S, et al. Tart cherry anthocyanins inhibit tumor development in ApcMin mice and reduce proliferation of human colon cancer cells. Cancer Letters 194 (2003) 13–19.

4-Traustado T, et al. Tart Cherry Juice Decreases Oxidative Stress in Healthy Older Men and Women. Journal of Nutrition. 2009; 1896-1900.

Photo Credit: davidkonecny via flicker creative commons