Cranberries for weight loss: recipes for smoothies, fruit drinks, how to take them, is it possible at night, does dried cranberries help you lose weight?

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Cranberries are a sour berry, which means they contain little natural sugar. Accordingly, it can be assumed that by including cranberries in their diet, those losing weight will have the hope of getting rid of a couple of extra pounds. And this assumption is absolutely correct. Indeed, cranberries have been used for weight loss for quite a long time. Let's consider in what form cranberries can be consumed, what dishes prepared from them are recommended by nutritionists, and how to properly adhere to a cranberry diet. But first of all, let’s figure out what vitamins, micro- and macroelements are contained in this berry.

The benefits of cranberries for weight loss

Previously, the berry was used only for medicinal purposes. But thanks to scientific

Research from the Canadian Congress of Cardiology found that it affects blood cholesterol levels.

The subjects replaced drinking sweet soda with juice, which led to weight loss. But as such, there is no evidence in favor of the fat-burning effect of cranberries.

But this does not mean that the berry is not useful for weight loss. First of all, cranberries are a source of vitamins C, PP, group B, K, carotene, pectin, tannins, essential oils, as well as various micro and macroelements. They contribute to the healing and strengthening of the body.

This is important when following a diet, since it is a stressful situation for the body. It is easier for him to resist external negative influences.

In addition, cranberries prevent the formation and deposition of “bad” cholesterol. It also has a diuretic effect, which helps remove excess fluid.

Another beneficial property for weight loss is the antioxidant qualities of cranberries. It prevents the formation of free radicals. And thanks to fiber, it removes toxins and waste and cleanses the intestines.

For weight loss, the fact that cranberries have very low calorie content is important. It is 30 kcal per 100 grams. It is also rich in pectin, a substance that improves digestion and promotes faster digestion of food. As a result, it does not turn into deposits. Pectin helps you feel full faster from food without stretching the walls of your stomach with huge portions.

Composition of cranberries

As soon as the metabolism of an overweight person normalizes, the kilograms begin to rapidly disappear. But at the same time, it is important to follow a diet, exercise, and give up flour, sweets, fatty foods, and smoked foods.

The beak itself does not burn deposits. It only helps to establish metabolism and cleanse the body. These properties work in combination with other weight loss conditions.

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Cranberry for weight loss

Even if you can’t really live on the berries themselves, their beneficial effect on the body allows you to use cranberries as one of the main elements of food when losing weight. However, we must remember that it is necessary to observe moderation in the consumption of cranberries, otherwise, on the contrary, they can cause harm to the body.

Read about the benefits and uses of cranberry seed oil.

Special properties of cranberries for weight loss

If you are planning to use this berry for weight loss, then it would be a good idea to learn about the special properties of cranberries, which make it an effective tool in achieving the desired result:

The fruit has excellent diuretic properties, which is not only used for various kidney diseases, but also has an additional positive effect in eliminating extra pounds.
Due to the high content of vitamins, the berry improves metabolism, helps the body better cope with various stressful situations, and has a beneficial effect on the emotional background. The latter can be very useful for people who experience negative emotions as a result of limiting themselves in food.
Cranberry has a powerful preventive effect in terms of protection against the formation of cholesterol plaques in blood vessels.

Mechanism of action of cranberry

Due to the large amount of pectin in the berry, digestive processes are normalized, and a feeling of fullness appears faster . The latter is clearly important for those for whom giving up their favorite dishes and products is very difficult. Thanks to the action of pectins, the feeling of hunger will pass faster, which will allow you to better tolerate the diet.

Also worth noting are tannins, which accelerate the exchange of beneficial elements in the body that enter with food. Fiber also has a strong beneficial effect, with the help of which the body more effectively gets rid of toxins and waste.

Using cranberries in your diet

As a food product, cranberries can be used in two forms - either a fresh berry, or one that has undergone heat treatment - dried or dried.

Fresh

The most obvious use is to eat a handful of fruit before breakfast, lunch or dinner. In this case, the phrase “a handful of fruits” should be taken literally - how many berries fit in your palm, this amount will be optimal for you when eating.

Cranberry juice is also widely used in diets. It is recommended to drink a glass of this juice before your main meal. You can also make salads from cranberries or use them as an ingredient in soup, but this is more about culinary delights than dietary nutrition.

Sun-dried, dried

Mainly due to its high calorie content, dried fruit is not used as part of the diet. Unless you can have light snacks, eating a handful of berries between main meals.

Suitable as a small source of energy during work, when you need to give your body strength, but there is no time for a full lunch yet. Also recommended for athletes as a small refueling during rest.

Which one is better to use – dried, frozen?

The berries ripen before winter. You can collect it three times during this time. This is done in early autumn. The cranberries are still a little firm. The second time the harvest occurs after the first frost. At this time, it already becomes juicy, bright, but very sour. And for the third time they send for cranberries in the spring, while there is still snow. The acid goes away, sweetness appears, but there is very little benefit from it.

As for storage, there are several ways:

Soaked cranberries . This is the oldest method. The berries are thoroughly washed and the container is prepared. Then pour cooled boiled water over the cranberries. There is no need to fill the jar to the brim. To reduce the acid, add sugar syrup along with plain water. To do this, add a tablespoon of sugar to a kilogram of berries. To add aroma and taste, you can add various spices like cloves and cinnamon.

The main disadvantage of such storage is that the berry absorbs water and its taste deteriorates.

Frozen cranberries . The berries need to be washed, dried and placed in bags. It is important not to fold too much because it cannot be re-frozen. This cranberry retains all its beneficial properties. But for them to really work, you need to eat them immediately after defrosting. There is nothing left in the thawed berry.

Rub with sugar . As usual, the berries are washed, dried, mixed with sand and ground. Sugar, as a preservative, preserves cranberries, but this recipe is not suitable for weight loss.
Dried . The berries are washed, dried for two to three weeks on a flat, non-metallic surface in the fresh air, and then processed in the oven. Such cranberries no longer have any benefits either for health or for weight loss. But it can be stored for three years and in any conditions.

If it is not possible to eat fresh berries, then it is better to give preference to frozen ones. But it is important to use it right away.

Recipes for cooking

You can prepare different cranberry dishes yourself. They make healthy snacks and additions to your diet.

Smoothie

This is one of the simplest dishes. The following smoothie recipes are popular:

With banana. Ingredients: fruit, cranberries, milk and honey. Place everything in a tall bowl and beat with a blender until smooth.
With spices. In a deep container, mix cranberries, cloves, cinnamon and anise, then beat with a mixer.
With raspberries. Ingredients: berries, ginger, apple juice, ground mint and honey. Raspberries and cranberries must be washed and dried. Then mix everything with a blender until smooth.
Citrus. Ingredients: oranges and lemons, cranberries, mint and ice cubes. Use a blender to beat fruits and berries. Ice is added to the resulting cocktail.
Apple. Ingredients: cranberries, fruit and juice, mineral water and honey. First, peel the apple, cut into small pieces and mash into puree. Crush the cranberries. In a deep bowl, mix all ingredients until smooth.

To learn how to make a smoothie with cranberries, watch this video:

Morse

This drink can accompany every meal. The following recipes are effective:

Traditional. The cranberries need to be washed and mashed. Then squeeze out the pulp and fill it with water. Boil the compote for a few minutes, pass through a sieve. Then combine it with the previously squeezed juice. For sweetness, you can dilute a teaspoon of honey.
With rose hips. Cranberry juice is prepared as in the previous recipe. You need to make a rosehip decoction in advance. Then mix them, if necessary, pass through a sieve. For sweetness, you can dilute a teaspoon of honey.
With lemon. Grind pure cranberries with sugar. To lose weight, you need to take very little sweets. Squeeze the juice from the lemon and grate the zest. Then add it to the cranberry mixture, pour boiling water over it and let it brew until it cools.

Kissel

This dish is very simple to prepare. You will need sugar, starch, water and the cranberries themselves. They must first be sorted out and washed. The berries should be squeezed out, and the cake should be placed in a glass of water and brought to a boil, passed through a sieve. You need to dilute starch in a warm compote. Bring the juice to a boil and add the solution. After a couple of bubblings, you need to turn it off. It is advisable to add as little sugar as possible. You can add spices: cloves, cinnamon, ginger, anise.

Cocktail

Cranberries are suitable for making cocktails. The following recipes are popular:

Lactic. Cranberry syrup should be mixed with ice cream or cream. Do not add sugar.
Fruit. Mix cranberry, apple and pineapple juice with mineral water, preferably still. You can add ice cubes.
Yoghurt. Beat unsweetened natural fermented milk product together with cranberry juice. You can add a lot of vanilla sugar.

Cranberry dishes for weight loss

Cranberries are a berry that can be added literally anywhere. It perfectly complements meat and fish dishes, salads, and desserts. We will look at how to make fruit juice, cranberries in sugar, and stuffed chicken from this sour berry.

Cranberry juice

The simplest dish that can be prepared in literally 10 minutes is fruit juice. Using cranberry juice for weight loss, you can achieve good results. It is enough to drink the drink every morning. To achieve greater effect, you can drink cranberry juice before each meal when losing weight.

Cranberry juice

Difficulty: easy
Cooking time: 10 min.

Ingredients

1. Cranberries 150 g
2. Water
600 ml
3. Honey
1 tbsp. l.

1. Take the ingredients. Wash and sort the berries, place them in a saucepan that does not oxidize. Crush the berries. It is advisable to use a wooden mortar or spoon. From the resulting mass, using gauze folded several times, squeeze out the juice. Place the cake that remains in the gauze back into the pan, add water and bring the contents of the pan to a boil. Put honey in a warm broth and cool. All that remains is to add the previously squeezed juice and stir the resulting drink.

Cranberries in sugar

Difficulty: easy
Cooking time: 20 min.

Ingredients

1. Cranberries 600 g
2. Egg white
1 pc.
3. Powdered sugar
150 g

1.Take the ingredients In a saucepan, beat the egg whites. Wash and sort the berries, place them in a saucepan with egg whites. Mix gently, place on a sieve and allow excess protein to drain. Place powdered sugar on a plate. Roll each berry in it, since we need a low-calorie dish, the layer of powdered sugar should be very thin. Place the berries on parchment. Leave for 50-60 minutes to dry.

This delicacy will be an excellent afternoon snack or snack even when losing weight.

Chicken stuffed with cranberries

Difficulty: medium
Cooking time: 40 min.

Ingredients

1. Cranberries 2 tbsp. l.
2. Chicken fillet
2 pcs.
3. Honey
1 tbsp. l.
4. Ground crackers
2 tbsp. l.
5. Butter
1 tsp.
6. Salt and pepper
to taste

1.Take the ingredients Wash each fillet and cut it so that it “opens”. Beat the fillet, add salt and pepper and set aside. Since salt and pepper stimulate the appetite, only a little should be added. Set aside half a glass of cranberries. Squeeze juice from the remaining berries. Add honey to the juice and mix well. Place the crackers in a bowl and pour 1/3 of the resulting juice over them. Add soft butter and stir. You should get a fairly thick cranberry mass. Place half the cranberry mass and 12-15 whole berries into each fillet. Fold the fillet so that the filling is inside. To ensure that the cranberry mixture remains inside the fillet during cooking, the edges of the chicken need to be chipped off with a toothpick. Fry in a small amount of oil. Place the chicken in the pan and pour cranberry juice over it. Cover the pan with foil. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes at 220°.

Diet with cranberries

As mentioned above, the berry itself does not burn fat. Therefore, completely replacing all meals with her is absolutely pointless. Its main purpose is to improve metabolism. Also, due to its diuretic properties, you cannot stick to the diet for longer than 2-3 days, otherwise all the vitamins and nutrients will be washed away.

If you decide to do it, it is important to prepare yourself mentally so that you don’t suddenly relapse later. Moreover, cranberries increase appetite. Abruptly quitting your diet can lead to more weight gain. You cannot eat only cranberry juice, even if the person is in good health. It is also necessary to take into account contraindications and choose a different method of losing weight.

In addition, the best time for a diet is summer, since more vitamins and energy are required in winter. Their deficiency causes weakness. And finally, it is important to prepare the body for the diet, that is, the amount of fats, sweets, and flour must be gradually reduced.

Diet using cranberries

For those who do not want to limit themselves to simply including berries in their diet, nutritionists have come up with a special diet. It is aimed not only at losing excess weight, but also at keeping the body healthy and energetic.

Important! For the best effect, make and follow a nutrition schedule that is convenient for you.

Since any diet is stressful, for many it becomes a problem that the body begins to malfunction and, as a result, performance decreases significantly. The cranberry diet allows you to minimize such risks.

Peculiarities

One of the main features of the cranberry diet is the mandatory consumption of either fruit drink or juice made from the berries . You need to drink it before every meal. Another feature is that when eating, you don’t have to limit yourself to just cranberries.

First of all, you need to ensure that the total calorie content of food is reduced by eliminating foods high in fat and carbohydrates from the diet. You should also eat a small amount of berries before each meal.

Contraindications

The cranberry diet is not suitable for people suffering from ulcers, gastritis, kidney stones and gall bladder. Otherwise, active consumption of cranberries can lead to serious complications of these diseases.

And excessive consumption of berries by people with a healthy gastrointestinal tract can lead to heartburn, which will then become annoying for a long time. Also, the cranberry diet is strictly not recommended for people over 60 years of age.

Sample menu for the week

This menu can be used for 7 days or 10. It all depends on how the body reacts to the diet. Remember, before each meal, drink a glass of cranberry juice or fruit drink and eat a handful of berries.

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Menu:

Breakfast - oatmeal, a few tablespoons of dried apricots or raisins. You can add honey to taste. After eating, you can drink weakly brewed tea or coffee, and eat a few Lenten cookies.
Second breakfast - 150-200 g of low-fat cottage cheese, with the addition of pieces of fruit of your choice. You can drink it with weak tea or coffee.
Lunch - at this time you can indulge in stewed meat and low-fat soup. For the second course, baked potatoes and a light salad of green vegetables are good.
Afternoon snack - a few fruits, weak tea or coffee.
Dinner - boiled rice, low-fat boiled sea fish, light salad of green vegetables, weak tea or coffee.

Quitting the diet and maintaining the result

After finishing the diet, you can gradually return to regular food, adding those foods that you gave up every few days. It is extremely important not to eat everything at once, otherwise you may get indigestion. After about 7-10 days you should be back to your standard menu.

If you care about maintaining the result, then you need to remember that the cranberry diet itself is not a panacea for excess weight. And in the future, you need to observe moderation in eating fatty and fried foods, reduce the consumption of unhealthy foods, for example, chips or crackers (if you don’t want to give them up completely), and engage in simple physical exercise, such as daily walking and light gymnastic exercises. And after such work, the long-awaited effect of losing weight will not take long to arrive.

Did you know? The Latin name for cranberry literally translates as “sour berry.”

The cranberry diet quickly gained popularity and received praise from people who used it as a tool to get their weight in order. Cranberries are not only rich in vitamins, but also help normalize nutritional processes and improve the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract. Just remember - without your personal participation and sincere desire to get the desired figure, no berry, including cranberries, will help.

Diet rules

This weight loss system has several simple rules that ensure its effectiveness and safety. These include:

During the day you should drink 5 - 8 cups of cranberry juice.
Be sure to stay hydrated to avoid dehydration.
Cranberry juice should be diluted with water in a 1:1 ratio.
During the diet, avoid high-calorie foods, processed foods, fast food, sweets and baked goods.
This system has a short-term effect, since weight loss occurs due to water loss.
You should eat at least three times a day, and preferably 5-6.

↑ CONTRAINDICATIONS FOR THE CRANBERRY DIET:

Cranberries contain a lot of acid and can cause heartburn. For those who have high acidity of gastric juice, this diet is not suitable. It is not recommended to eat berries in combination with potatoes and pasta - this can lead to heaviness in the stomach and intestinal upset. Elderly people and those with weak tooth enamel should avoid the food system.

Sample menu

Here are some example meals for the cranberry diet:

For tomorrow you can eat oatmeal in water with crushed nuts and dried fruits or a portion of low-fat cottage cheese with slices of banana and kiwi. A slice of whole grain bread is allowed as a snack.
For lunch, you should choose any fruit, kefir or yogurt without sugar and low in calories. You can also eat the sandwich with whole grain bread.
Lunch should be rice or durum wheat pasta with chicken fillet, lean meat or fish. It's also a good idea to include a salad or steamed vegetables.
For an afternoon snack, fruits, low-fat dairy products, and an egg are suitable.
Dinner should be protein foods, for example, boiled poultry fillet, cottage cheese and vegetables. Fruits are not allowed for dinner.

Each meal should be accompanied by a glass of cranberry juice.

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In the absence of contraindications, drinking cranberry drinks is very beneficial for the body. Metabolism improves, toxins and impurities are released. But to get results from eating cranberries, it is important to follow simple diet rules.

Useful video

Watch this video about the health benefits of cranberries: