Fall is my favorite season. I love the welcome chill in the air, cozy dinners by the fireplace, and the vibrant hues of the changing leaves. Nothing says fall better than beautiful fresh red cranberries. As we all know they’re the perfect addition to fall dishes like a roasted turkey or dried and sprinkled on a salad with gorgonzola. But did you know how simple homemade cranberry sauce really is?

So easy that you’ll never want to buy canned again. If you are sticking to a Paleo diet or the GAPS diet, or you just simply like healthier alternatives my recipe is going to make you very happy!! It is made with raw honey, therefore, it is free of refined sugar and you won’t miss it a bit.

What you will need:

• 12 oz bag fresh cranberries
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups filtered water
• 1/2 cup to 1 cup honey, sweeten to taste (raw honey to be Paleo and GAPS approved

All you need to do is rinse your cranberries and place them in a pan with the water. Bring them to a boil and then reduce the heat and simmer uncovered until the volume is reduced by half and the berries burst, about 30 mins. Check and stir them often. They will make lots of popping and fizzing sounds which my son thinks is pretty cool. The sauce thickens after it cools.

Now you will add the vanilla and the honey. I add the raw honey in at the end so that it leaves more of the nutrients intact. I like my relish on the tart side, so add more honey to taste if you prefer it sweeter. If honey isn’t your favorite, you can substitute with sugar in the beginning and I won’t tell.

Simmer for 2 more minutes to blend and then remove from heat and transfer to a dish for cooling.

An alternative would be orange cranberry sauce. Replace half of the water with orange juice, add a tablespoon of orange zest and take it from good to amazing. Be creative, you can’t go wrong!! Enjoy!!!