I professed my decade’s long love for cherries and tart cherry juice in a post here. Thanks to Cheribundi for sending me more tart cherries juice to enjoy and I hope you enjoy my favorite ways to use it to stick to our family health goals.

I did not make any other resolutions this year other than to adjust to a family of four, on our own time. I am sure I will get the itch to getting back to the prepregnancy health goals I was on before getting pregnant.

I was about 17 pounds give or take from losing 100 pounds before getting pregnant again. It was so lovely to be able to run 4 miles without stopping, and overall I was feeling amazing.

I know this carried over into my pregnancy, and my healthy habits have helped me gain less than 50% of what I gained last time! I also know it helped this pregnancy health wise go much smoother with no “high risk” issues to address this go.

Things I always try to focus on but know sometimes I need to make a written resolution to focus on are

1. Nutrition
2. Fitness
3. Sleep
4. Weight Loss
5. Self-care

Why Tart Cherries?

Well, the evidence has been mounting for this tart little fruit, but don’t take my word for it, go check out my partner at Cheribundi.com where they have all the science, all the facts, and a pretty awesome 7-day challenge. 7 days or your money back- Expect improved sleep, faster workout recovery, and increased stamina… all in 7 days.

Weight loss and Nutrition with Tart Cherries

So weight loss and nutrition can go hand in hand, but not everyone has the goal for weight loss. The favorite way to incorporate Tart cherries for both of these is my frozen cherries. Usually black cherries, but I have enjoyed a frozen bag of tart cherries when craving a fun summer treat that is super refreshing. The frozen helps me eat them slowly, it is a different texture, and it is way better than any other tempting treat with more nutritional rewards.

Fitness recovery and energy with tart cherries

One of my favorite thing about Tart cherries is the ability to help your cells recover. It is one of those super fruits finally recognized. Drinking tart cherry juice can help increase your energy levels naturally. The thing is, the majority of the calories in cherries come from natural sugars, which help boost your mood and increase your energy levels.

Two ways I like to use for fitness-

A pre-workout drink- 

8oz Tart Cherry juice like Cherribundi

Lime slices

Squeezing a slice of lime shakes up the whole drink to make it more invigorating. Add some ice and shake it up and get ready to have natural energy boost and recover easier. Anthocyanins in tart cherries work to reduce exercise-induced oxidative stress, aiding in the recovery of muscle function, which speeds up healing.

Runner’s chews-

I am a huge fan of running gummies. I also was still running while pregnant for a while and looking for natural options without added synthetic vitamins.  So while I make these now as snacks, you can use these as a boost on long runs.

• 3 tablespoons gelatin
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup tart cherry juice – Cherribundi is not from concentrate& made in the USA, so I am a big fan.
• 1/3 cup sugar (or another granular sugar-free sweetener of choice)

1. Add Gelatin and water to a saucepan, and heat until warm and combined about a minute.
2. Add Sugar or sugar-free alternative like Stevia, until dissolved. Pour Tart Cherry juice in.
3. Cook mixture over medium-low heat, frequently whisking, until hot but not bubbling. It should be liquidy
4. Pour into an 8″ x 8″ pan. Refrigerate overnight.
5. When ready to eat run a knife around the edge, cut into cubes, and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Mine don’t last more than a week, but I am sure like any jello they could last 2 weeks if stored well.

Sleep and Self-Care

These two are the same for me right now. I can’t take care of myself or anyone else without sleep, and it is sure getting hard with the end of pregnancy. One thing I started back during infertility treatments was tart cherry concentrate before bed to naturally help sleep without supplements or medication. It was gross and hard to swallow. I LOVE just drinking 8oz of Tart cherry with my dinner instead now.

Tart Cherry Mocktail- 

1- Can of my favorite sparkling water La Croix

8oz Tart Cherry juice from Cherribundi

— I pour the bubbles into my cherry juice and give it a little swirl. It is like a replacement soda, but I know it is going to help me sleep better while letting me enjoy something fizzy with dinner.

Tart cherries contain naturally occurring melatonin, a hormone secreted in the brain that helps regulate your body’s sleep cycle naturally, signaling your body to fall asleep and decreasing restlessness at night; also known as a key ingredient to a good night’s sleep!

Sleep-friendly jello dessert, even my toddler can eat these! 

1 cup Tart Cherry Juice
3 cups apple juice
1-3 tablespoons Agar Powder <—my favorite gelatin substitute! Affiliate link it is about 6-8 dollars usually for a container that lasts and lasts! And Vegan recipe friendly.

I legit am lazy and mix it all at once. Which is why I say 1-3 tablespoons of Agar powder. I just add it all in, heat on the stove for 5 minutes or so, and pour in my pan to cool in the fridge. It is so similar to the above recipe only I feel it just works out a lot easier than the gelatin, and no added sugar for the toddler to power up on. I know not everyone has Agar to mix up a random batch of gummies so you can choose gelatin still for this recipe but I have yet to try it that way. We enjoy them post-dinner usually as a dessert as a family and its lack of added sugar and tart cherry to help with melatonin to sleep is great for all! ( My apple juice is 100% not from concentrate no added sugar but this should work with sugar free apple juice as well)

I hope you enjoyed these recipes we use, and sending all the good vibes for you to continue taking care of YOU during all of 2018- resolutions or not.