The Berry of Thanksgiving

I love cranberries.  And, cranberries love me.  As Thanksgiving approaches, many traditional meals will include some sort of cranberry compote or cranberry sauce.  In my opinion, the cranberry should get a bigger share of glory during the year.  Cranberries occasionally come up in recipes, but not mass consumption until Thanksgiving.  I am generalizing here, but I think it holds some validity.  Why do I think cranberries deserve more glowing reviews and increased consumption?

1) Cranberries have antioxidants.  Cranberries, like raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, etc. are loaded with antioxidants that boost immunity, energy and a host of other bodily functions that are probably not understood.

2) Cranberries are sour, but with added sugar, they burst with sweet flavor.  I am not a proponent of consuming lots of refined sugar, but when you combine cranberries with sugar, it can bring your oatmeal, salad, chicken salad to a whole new level.  If it stays in a dish or salad for long enough, dried cranberries (Craisins) will absorb the moisture and become more plump, adding a nice texture to food.

3) Cranberry juice, although loaded with sugar, but in small amounts can be a good alternative, non-alcoholic drink when combined with club soda.  It's better than a coke.  And, it holds some trace of antioxidants in the juice.  Who would have thought that the bar could even offer you some antioxidants?

I hope you enjoy the cranberry at Thanksgiving, and also consider giving it a longer life outside of Thanksgiving dinner if you don't already.  The best way to buy it, if you have one available, is from Costco: Ocean Spray Craisins.  And, Craisins run some great commercials.

Black Monday

Since my blog is about food and love, this post is about love.  For all my business school friends out there, don't you remember Black Monday when so many couples broke up?  And, it was a perfect time to figure out which ones were now single because you secretly felt some disappointment when you heard they were taken?  Well, interestingly, I did ask myself at some point, I wonder if there is some stat that shows just how many breakups happen, and does it really happen after Thanksgiving?

[interject eerie music].  The stat exists.  And, the source is even better - it comes from Facebook.  Based on Facebook status updates, the number of status changes to break up dramatically increases to a peak after Thanksgiving and to another peak during Spring Break.  There could be so many explanations for why, but isn't it interesting that people think alike?  Maybe it was after arguing over who's house to go to for the holidays.  Or, someone didn't invite the other for the holidays.  Or even the new year is coming, and the last few months gave people a reason to reflect, and the reflection was: I am with the wrong person.


Interestingly, aside from Mondays, summer holidays and April Fools' Day, which are more popular days to break up, the one day that people rarely break up on is...Christmas.  Labeled as "too cruel."  Maybe people still do desire to show a little kindness -- and give some sort of gift at Christmas...

Check out the site, you really should, if you read this blog posting:
www.informationisbeautiful.net

Lastly, to all my single friends out there, we have at the very least one thing to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.  And, no need to listen to breakup songs.