spiced pumpkin granola with cashews and cranberries

'Homemade granola makes a great gift: it’s much healthier and tastier than what you can buy in the store. It keeps well so can be made in advance, and you can play with the packaging to vary the presentation. I like to put granola in Mason jars because they can be re-used by the recipient, but cellophane gift bags are widely available and look lovely, as well (especially when embellished with pretty ribbons).

This particular granola, with the warming spices, the subtle pumpkin flavor, and the festive dried cranberries, is perfect for the season. I packed mine into wide-mouth 1 pint jars (about 4 servings). You could use larger jars, if you like, but I prefer to give the smaller amount along with other goodies like jams I made over the summer, and small packages of homemade dark chocolate bark or toffee.'

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New Benefits for Cranberry

Health Videos - New Benefits for Cranberry

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More Amazing Health Benefits from Cranberries

Cranberries' Exhibit Potent Anti-Viral Activity

'Cranberry Juice Shows Promise as Alternative to Antibiotics

New research has greatly increased our understanding of how cranberry juice prevents urinary tract and kidney infections.

A series of studies led by Terri Camesano from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, the latest of which were presented September 19, 2006 at the annual meeting of the American Chemical Society in San Francisco, show that compounds in cranberry juice have the capacity to actually change E. coli bacteria-even strains that have become resistant to conventional treatment-in ways that render them unable to initiate an infection. E. coli, a class of microorganisms responsible for a wide variety of human illnesses ranging from urinary tract and kidney infections to gastroenteritis to tooth decay, are changed in several ways by a group of tannins (called proanthocyanidins) found primarily in cranberries. Each one of these changes can prevent the bacteria from adhering to cells in the body, a necessary first step in any infection.'

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