July is National Blueberry Month and tomorrow (July 10) is National Blueberry Picking Day! These beautiful berries are packed full of nutrition and can be enjoyed fresh, frozen, or even dried.
Blueberry Basics
Nutrition benefits:
Fiber: helps reduce cholesterol levels and may lower your risk of heart disease.
Vitamin C: helps heal cuts and helps the immune system.
Look for blueberries that are firm, plump, dry, and a deep purple blue color. Avoid blueberries that are shriveled or look wet.
Storage: store in the refrigerator for up to one week in a ventilated container.
Cleaning: place berries into a colander. Rinse with cool running water right before eating.
Preparing: add berries to your favorite oatmeal or yogurt, or mix into a smoothie. Berries can also be a great addition to a summer salad.
Blueberry Pancakes
Ingredients
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1 egg
1 cup nonfat milk
1 cup fresh blueberries
Instructions
Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and baking soda together with a fork in a medium bowl.
Beat egg and milk together in a small bowl.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Stir until just combined.
Gently fold in blueberries.
Heat a skillet over medium low heat. Spray with nonstick cooking spray.
Pour pancake batter into the skillet using a ¼ measuring cup. Cook until the pancakes have bubbles on the top and the edges are slightly dry, about four minutes. Flip pancakes and cook for about three minutes more.
Tips
Use frozen blueberries when fresh ones are out of season. Thaw the frozen blueberries and drain off the juice. Stir in two teaspoons of whole wheat flour.
Top pancakes with warm fruit instead of pancake syrup.
Serves: 6 | $0.41 per serving
Nutrition information (per serving):
120 calories, 1.5g total fat, 0g saturated fat, 30mg cholesterol, 160mg sodium, 22g total carbohydrates, 3g fiber, 7g sugar, 5g protein
Berry and Greens Smoothie
Ingredients
2 medium bananas
2 containers (6 ounces each) nonfat vanilla yogurt
3 cups leafy greens, washed (kale or spinach)
1 package (16 ounces) frozen berries
1 cup nonfat milk
Instructions
Put bananas, yogurt, and greens in the blender. Blend until smooth.
Add berries to blender. Blend until smooth.
Add milk to blender. Blend until smooth.
Serve immediately or freeze in individual servings.
Tips
Add up to 1 cup more of nonfat milk if smoothie is too thick.
Put frozen smoothies in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours to thaw them before serving.
Shake well to mix ingredients before serving.
Use half of each ingredient to make four servings if this recipe makes too much. This is a good recipe to use over-ripe or frozen bananas.
Serves: 8 | $0.76 per serving
Nutrition information (per serving):
90 calories, 0.5g total fat, 0g saturated fat, 0mg cholesterol, 50mg sodium, 20g total carbohydrates, 3g fiber, 12g sugar, 4g protein
Mini Berry Pie
Ingredients
Nonstick cooking spray
5 (6-inch) whole wheat tortillas
1 teaspoon sugar
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
1 bag (16 ounces) frozen mixed berries (2 ½ cups)
1 ½ teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon cornstarch
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375°F.
Spray a muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray.
Lay tortillas flat. Spray one side of each tortilla with cooking spray.
Combine sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle mixture on the tortillas.
Place the tortillas in the muffin tin. Fit them into the muffin bowls. The cinnamon and sugar will be on the inside of the bowls. Bake the tortillas for 13 to 15 minutes. They will be light brown and crisp.
Put berries in a medium saucepan over low heat.
Stir sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl. Add mixture to thawed berries.
Cook over medium heat. Mixture will start to get thick and bubble. Cook 1 minute more.
Remove from heat. Put ¼ cup berry filling into each tortilla bowl.
Tips
Mini pies have a great fresh taste in the middle of winter.
Make tortilla bowls ahead of time. Store in an airtight container. Do not add filling until serving.
Add a spoonful of yogurt to the top of the filling.
Serves: 5 | $0.83 per serving
Nutrition information (per serving):
130 calories, 2.5g total fat, 0g saturated fat, 0mg cholesterol, 240mg sodium, 25g total carbohydrates, 11g fiber, 9g sugar, 4g protein
Resources:
Recipes are from ISU Extension and Outreach Spend Smart. Eat Smart. website:
https://spendsmart.extension.iastate.edu/
Blueberry Spice Jam: https://store.extension.iastate.edu/product/4785,
https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_07/blueberry_spice_jam.html
Seasonal and Simple website: http://seasonalandsimple.info/
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