Red, White and Blue…berries

With the start of 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, China, Americans are focusing on the red, white and blue, so what better time to do a post on blueberries? They can be found fresh in stores and farmer's markets across the nation, as well as in the freezer section and as a dried fruit.

Blueberries are primarily touted as an antioxidant, and they do in fact serve up a good-sized dose, as well as containing anthocyanins and phenolics that can also act as antioxidants. Antioxidants serve to protect the body against the damaging effects of free radicals, combating aging and chronic illness. And the USH Blueberry Council reports that "Using a test called ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity), researchers have shown that a serving of fresh blueberries provides more antioxidant activity than many other fresh fruits and vegetables."

One cup of blueberries has 84 calories, with 0 calories from fat. There is no cholesterol and no sodium, and 15% of the recommended daily allowance (RDA) of Vitamin C. Made up of 84% water, these little round spheres can be added to your diet easily.

I much prefer fresh blueberries, and buy them in abundance when they are in season. But, much like a squirrel, I do prepare for winter by hoarding some of the fruit. I use a process called IQF, individual quick freeze. I rinse the berries, dry them gently on a paper towel and place a single layer on wax paper on a cookie sheet. Then I pop them in the freezer for an hour to harden. Don't crowd the little guys, or they will freeze together causing lumps. Once frozen, I put them in a small Ziploc in 1 cup increments to be used for muffins, pancakes, oatmeal, and desserts. I do this regularly throughout the blueberry season, and have quite a stash to last me through winter.

The more traditional ways to incorporate blueberries into your diet are:
Hot or cold cereal: throw some fresh or frozen in during the boiling process for oatmeal, or top off your bowl of Cheerios or granola with a sprinkling.
Yogurt: Add to yogurt, with or without granola. I like the combo of lemon and blueberry the best, although plain, vanilla, and any type of berry yogurt works as well.
Trail Mix and Granola: Add dehydrated blueberries to your favorite trail mix or granola for a healthy snack on the go.
Muffins: While packaged mixes are the most popular, it doesn't really take very long to make homemade muffins (recipe below), and they are oh so much better.
Pancakes: Krusteaz makes a tasty low-fat oat bran pancake mix, wheat and honey mix, and even a fat-free buttermilk pancake mix. Just add water and blueberries and starting flipping those rounds of batter. My father-in-law is famous for making animal shapes with his pancake batter, and the kids particularly love those (although I do, too!).
Coffeecake: Take any traditional recipe and throw in a cup of berries for good measure.
Fruit salad: I'm a berry lover, so mixing 3 or 4 kinds of berries together is heaven. For dessert I top with a dollop of whipped cream. Blueberries also go well with diced cantaloupe. Add in a squeeze of lime and bit of chopped fresh mint for a palate-pleasing mixture.
Desserts: Blueberry pie, lemon-blueberry tarts, blueberry clafouti, peach and blueberry crisp. The list is endless.
Dinner: Blueberries can also be used in sauces to serve with fish or meat. How about Salmon Steaks with Savory Blueberry Sauce? Or, for those of you who are a culinary whiz in the kitchen, you can attempt Tea-Smoked Duck Breast with Pears and Blueberry Jus, a spa dish from Ananda Spa in India.

If you are stumped and need something more creative to do with your blueberries, you can visit Just Berry Recipes, and find 1,263 recipes that use blueberries, and there is sure to be something to your liking. Meanwhile, here is a muffin recipe that is low in fat, but has a texture similar to traditionally made muffins. Prep time was less than 10 minutes, and the cook in about 15.

Blueberry Muffins
2 cups flour
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoons cinnamon
2 cups blueberries
2/3 cup sugar
½ cup nonfat sour cream
1 cup nonfat milk
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 250 degrees and prepare muffin tin with paper liners. In a large bowl, mix flour, baking powder, soda, salt and cinnamon together. In small bowl, mix sugar, eggs and vanilla. Add wet ingredients to the flour along with sour cream and milk. Stir to moisten, then gently fold in the blueberries. Scoop into muffin tins and bake 15-20 minutes until done. Makes 12+