I am Blue...and Loving It

When baseball comes around, you know blueberries are in season. When you find them at the grocery store 2 for $3.00, it is time to stock up! That's my freezer, with blueberries taking up almost the entire top shelf.

I know I hyped tomatoes below, and they deserve it, but a Tufts University study found that blueberries battle cancer causing free-radicals best. Say that five-times quickly. Better yet, eat five spoonfuls of blueberries a day, or top off your yogurt or cereal with them while they are in season.

They also improve the health of your cell system, and have been found to help prevent everything from glaucoma, to cataracts, to varicose veins, to hemorrhoids. Yep, your mom would have been more correct telling you to eat your blueberries for good vision rather than carrots.

Feed them to your whole family, as diets rich with blueberries have been found to increase learning capacity and motor skills and protect against degenerative brain disorders such as alzheimers because they are packed with antioxidant phytonutrients called anthocyanidins.

Buy a bunch and don't worry about them going bad. They make a great finger food snack. My daughters will eat a package at one sitting, or just set them on the table with a meal. Rinse them in the package and let them drain. I leave 1-2 packages in the fridge for my cereal and yogurt. I then use the frozen ones for smoothies, blended with a frozen banana (see post below), yogurt, and milk. They'll stay good in the freezer for months. Athletes might throw in an egg white or two and get some extra protein. I also put some honey in the mix.

All fruits can provide similar benefits, but the season will pass and I have a hard time buying $5 packages of blueberries, so I git 'em while the gittin's good.