We’ve all heard about the value of an antioxidant rich diet, right? Now, scientists are starting to uncover the miracle of polyphenols, a certain class of antioxidants that are getting intense scrutiny and a lot of praise. So what, exactly, are polyphenols?
Polyphenols are natural chemical compounds that protect plants from the insults of nature, among other helpful functions. These same compounds are also helpful to humans. Polyphenols are known for helping protect against the effects of aging and oxidative stress. Their powerful antioxidant activity can help neutralize free radicals, reduce inflammation, and may slow the growth of tumors.
Are you getting enough of these beneficial compounds? Well, let’s put it this way: if you are eating plenty of dark and colorful foods – such as Wild Blueberries, Blackberries, Dark Chocolate, Kale, Spinach, Red Wine, Coffee, Nuts and Green Tea – which are loaded with these compounds—you’re on the right track. If you’re not getting enough polyphenols, you might want to take a look at how to increase your intake.
So how do you get more polyphenols?
You just have to know where to look! Thanks to Cornell University scientist Rui Hai Liu, who measured the phenolic content of 53 common fruits and veggies, it’s pretty easy to see which foods will help bump up your intake.
Remarkably, among the 26 fruits and 27 vegetables most commonly consumed in the United States, Wild Blueberries ranked #1 (beating out blackberries, pomegranates and cultivated blueberries) for the highest total phenolic content per serving. If you know anything about Wild Blueberries, then you won’t be surprised they ranked first.
Unlike cultivated berries, which are planted and grown around the world, Wild Blues thrive in the most inhospitable of climates and supercharge their polyphenolic capacity while literally clinging to the rocky barrens of eastern Maine and Canada. And they have been doing just that for over 10,000 years.
As one scientist who works closely with Wild Blueberries likes to say, Wild Blueberries are “stressed for success.” In other words, the “stress” they endure in nature triggers them to devote their natural resources to accumulating protective phytochemicals for their benefit and ultimately ours too!
Bottom line: keep eating your fruits and vegetables daily, and refer to Dr. Liu’s chart for the most effective sources of polyphenols. And if you want to read more, check out The Cornell University research here.
Journal of Food Science – Dietary Bioactive Compounds and Their Health Implications. *Spinach had the highest total phenolic content of the 27 common vegetables tested (Kale was not tested).
The first time I watched my husband dress his baked sweet potato I was speechless. Although it was quite a few years ago, I remember it as though it were yesterday. I stared in horror as he packed a 4 oz. ramekin to the brim with brown sugar, and then without a care in the world, poured it all over his steaming sweet potato. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.
Ever since that day, I set out to create a baked sweet potato that he would deem sweet enough and that I would deem, at the very least, appropriate for human consumption. After years of trying, my husband has finally met his match with this Wild Blueberry Twice Baked Sweet Potato recipe.
The flesh of the sweet potato is baked once to perfection and then carefully scooped out of its shell. It’s then mixed with creamy ricotta cheese, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, vanilla, and a little bit of real maple syrup. The velvety mixture is then stuffed back into the cooked potato to be heated again, after which it is smothered with warmed Wild Blueberries. The result is a creamy double-baked delight, with the perfect amount of sweet and savory. This Wild Blueberry sweet potato is great for an easy fall weeknight dinner, served alongside a hearty kale salad. You could also take your Thanksgiving menu to the next level by serving this baked sweet potato as a fun side dish option.
In addition to its great flavor, this twice-baked sweet potato smothered with warm Wild Blueberries is also loaded with nutrients. Wild Blueberries are not your ordinary berry. For one, farmers do not plant Wild Blueberries; they actually grow in the wild. They thrive in the thin glacial soils and harsh northern climate of Maine, Eastern Canada, and Quebec – the very same environment where these tiny potent berries have grown naturally for 10,000 years. Because Wild Blueberries live and thrive in the harshest of climates, they are forced to produce high levels of antioxidants. This gives them a potent blueberry taste and nutrition edge that regular blueberries just can’t match.
Let’s not forget the delicious vehicle for our Wild Blueberry consumption, the sweet potato! Loaded with beta carotene, vitamin C, and fiber, this duo is a match made in nutrition heaven.
My husband has since been enjoying a baked sweet potato every day. I love knowing that he is getting a healthy dose of nutrient rich Wild Blueberries along with his sweet potato fix!
Kids seem to naturally love the taste of Wild Blueberries, and six-year old Drew Stowell from Connecticut is no exception. He says, “I like the way they taste…they’re sweeter!”
We agree, Drew! We were thrilled to learn that he adapted one of our recipes to create his own unique salsa combo for his entry in the Sodexo 2015 Future Chefs: Healthy After-School Snack Challenge.
According to Sodexo, the top five favorite after- school snacks for students are cookies, fruit, chips, pizza and sandwiches. We say kudos to the fruit fans!
The event, now in its fifth year, encourages children to think about making healthy food choices and to get into the kitchen to start learning how to make healthy food at home. This year’s contest included 2,500 students representing approximately 1,000 Sodexo-served elementary schools from 29 states. The students’ recipes were reviewed by a panel of judges and were evaluated based on the originality, presentation, ease of preparation, kid-friendliness, and healthiness of their recipe.
Drew placed 4th in his district competition with “Drew’s Amazing Wild Blueberry Salsa,” which not only featured frozen Wild Blueberries – one of the competition’s bonus ingredients – but also included the clever use of a certain time-saving ingredient. Drew’s mother Allison, a Registered Dietitian, helped us catch up with Drew for an interview and he shares his delicious recipe below. It’s a yummy addition to any after-school snack repertoire that the kids are sure to love. Be sure to try it!
WB: Hi Drew. Congratulations on creating a winning salsa recipe! Tell us, why did you want to enter the contest?
Drew: I thought it would be fun. I’m excited that I won 4th place!
WB: Do you like to cook?
Drew: Yes, it’s fun. I like to mix and measure stuff and do math with it.
WBs: How long have you liked to cook?
Drew: Um…as long as I can remember.
WB: What was the inspiration for your recipe?
Drew: My mom. And I like Wild Blueberries.
WB: What ingredients did you use and why?
Drew: I used lots of Wild Blueberries and added some fresh pineapple too. And I used already prepared pico de gallo so I didn’t have to cut up everything.
WB: Would you enter a cooking contest again?
Drew: Yes. I loved it and I want to do it again next year!
Drew’s Amazing Wild Blueberry Salsa
Ingredients
2 cups frozen Wild Blueberries (defrost to soften and create a little juice to help blend the flavors)
1/2 medium red onion, diced*
Small 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced (add more to taste)*
1 medium red bell pepper, diced small*
1/2 cup finely diced pineapple (or less for a less sweet salsa)
3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
1/4 cup lime juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pinch of ground cinnamon (the “secret” ingredient!)
Baked corn chips or baked multi-grain chips.
*Save time (and have much less to dice!) with prepared, fresh Pico de Gallo in place of dicing onions and peppers…some will even have cilantro into it too!
Preparation:
Combine all ingredients, folding in the Wild Blueberries last.
Refrigerate 1 hour or more to blend flavors.**
Serve with baked chips. For a nice presentation, scoop salsa into small soufflé cups and place 2-3 chips in each cup.
**Crush and add a few berries and/or add 1/8-cup Wild Blueberry juice (or use juice from melted frozen berries).
Cobbler. Crisp. Crumble. Whatever you call it, it’s a dessert with many flavors. My delicious Wild Blueberry and Apple Crisp was baked with the fruit mixture on the bottom and has a crumb topping, making it a crisp. If you didn’t know, the difference between a crumble and a crisp is the topping. A crisp typically consists of an oatmeal and/or nut topping that crisps while baking. A crumble topping is more cake-like, consisting mostly of butter, flour, and sugar.
A cobbler is altogether different and is more of a fruit pie, with a thick, usually biscuit-like crust, atop a fruit filling.
Although these fall-inspired desserts may have different names, there is one similarity across the board…they are delicious. What makes them so delicious? It appears to be all the sugar and fat! I have yet to come across a cobbler, crisp, or crumble that isn’t loaded with sugar and butter. I decided to ask an expert why this is the case, so I went straight to the source: my sister. Georgie is a very gifted baker, knitter, painter, and gardener. She’s pretty much awesome with anything that involves intricate measuring and hand-work (a trait not inherent in my DNA). Her answer to my question was simple, succinct, and totally her style: “it’s dessert.” She even went so far as to say that she didn’t think many recipes needed so much fat and sugar, but that is the way it has been done by home cooks for generations.
Needless to say, I set out to challenge the status quo. I wanted to create a crisp that was not only tasty and dessert-like (i.e., husband and daughter-approved), but had what I consider ‘normal’ amounts of fat and sugar. This is how my Wild Blueberry and Apple Crisp was born.
It’s tasty. It’s sweet. It’s dessert-like. It’s even considered healthy. Of course anytime you cook with frozen Wild Blueberries, you’ve upped the healthy ante ten-fold over most fruits. They are antioxidant wonders! Just one cup of Wild Blueberries has more total antioxidant capacity than 20 other fruits and veggies (including cranberries, strawberries, plums, raspberries, and even cultivated blueberries). In fact, Wild Blueberries have twice the antioxidant power of “tame” blueberries!
Apple season is just around the corner so I added naturally sweet apples to the mix to celebrate the arrival of fall; it’s my favorite time of year! I think the apples and Wild Blueberries complement each other really well flavor-wise, too. I also added a secret ingredient to this crisp to up the healthy ante that much more. Instead of using corn starch to thicken the delicious sauce that oozes from every slice of this flavorful crisp, I used chia seeds. I’ve used these potent seeds before to thicken up the Wild Blueberries, so I knew it would work. I stirred a few tablespoons of chia into the Wild Blueberry and apple layer on the bottom. It worked like magic to create a perfect texture for the Wild Blueberry sauce.
This recipe is gluten-free and vegan. I used minimal sugar and steered clear of the butter. I used a fraction of fat that other recipes call for and just two tablespoons of brown sugar for the entire recipe. Once you taste the intense flavor of the Wild Blueberries in this crisp, I promise you will not miss the butter or the sugar!
I think I succeeded in challenging the norm. I hope you’ll try this tasty crisp for yourself and let me know.
A team of four scientists from the Institute of Nutrition and Functional Foods at the l’Université Laval in Quebec, Canada, has shown that Wild Blueberry extract can help prevent the formation of dental plaque; and their report could lead to a new natural therapy for periodontal disease.
According to a 2012 study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an astounding one out of every two American adults aged 30+ has periodontal disease. Periodontitis occurs when bacteria form biofilms or plaques on teeth, and the gums become inflamed. If left untreated, periodontal disease can lead to tooth loss. But even more alarming, research has also shown that periodontal disease is associated with chronic inflammatory diseases, such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
So, bottom line, be sure to keep Wild Blueberries in your daily regimen.
Click here to read more about this new and exciting research.
If you’ve got kids (or are in school yourself), chances are the beginning of the school year brings feelings of excitement, but also a little wistfulness. Long lazy summer days have turned into hectic school days. How to get back into a routine? A healthy (and tasty) breakfast is a good start. Unfortunately, a leisurely nosh at 9 a.m. is probably not going to work —you need a bit more of a plan. Here are some ideas to help you kick the back-to-school breakfast blues so you successfully begin your day with a tasty and nutritious meal.
Get Inspired
Of course, not every morning spread you create is going to be worthy of an Instagram photo—and that’s perfectly ok! A bowl of quick oats, cooked in the microwave and sprinkled with cinnamon and a handful of berries (may I suggest Wild Blueberries?) is a wholesome, hearty breakfast that’s simple and easy to make. When you do have more time, however, try perusing Pinterest for new ideas. I like searching for “healthy school morning breakfast recipes” or “easy healthy breakfast ideas.” For some great breakfast recipes featuring Wild Blueberries, we’ve got you covered here.
Get Trendy
By now you must have seen all the wonderful recipes for overnight oats made in the cute little jars that are oh so portable when topped with a lid. The Mason jar trend is one that’s been around a couple years, but shows no signs of slowing down yet. Kids like the novelty of eating out of the jar, and in a pinch, they could even eat their breakfast-in-a-jar right in the car. Plus, this trend is endlessly customizable—use what you like most, what you happen to have on hand, or put together seasonal combos. Best of all you can create this delicious breakfast the night before to cut down the morning chaos. Involve the kids because they’ll be more likely to eat it if they help create it.
Another trend is what I’ll call the “non-bread breakfast sandwich.” This is where you use something instead of bread, such as two waffles or two pancakes instead of bread, then stuff the sandwich with breakfast faves like peanut butter and banana, cream cheese and berries, or a fried egg and slice of ham. Don’t forget that things like whole grain crackers and even rice cakes can make a sandwich. Again, portable, filling and kid-pleasing are the keys here.
Smoothies are here to stay, and both children and adults seem to have smoothie fever these days. It certainly helps to keep smoothie ingredients on hand (think yogurt, frozen Wild Blueberries and other frozen fruit, lowfat milk, nut butters, bananas) so you can easily whip up a smoothie with very little fuss. Some folks have even gone so far as to create resealable bags of smoothie ingredients all pre-measured so that kids (or whomever) can just grab a bag from the freezer, add a little milk or yogurt and in a jiffy they’ve got a nutritious smoothie. If you’re looking for some inspiration, we’ve got a great little smoothie recipe book to share with you—also check out our smoothie recipe section on the website for other ideas.
Get Ahead
Prepping breakfast ahead of time isn’t a new concept, but it sure is a handy one. Here are some ideas that might help you save time on busy mornings:
On the weekends I like making Wild Blueberry muffins or a quick bread recipe (then baking it in a muffin tin for portion control), and freezing the cooled muffins. A few seconds in the microwave yields a perfectly delicious, fresh-tasting muffin that will help pull any sleepyhead out of bed! Also, if I have extra pancakes, waffles or French toast from the weekend I freeze them in reasonable portions (say, three small pancakes or 2 small waffles per quart-sized freezer bag). I hate to waste good food!
Using the slow cooker is another way to prepare breakfast ahead of time—let the machine cook your breakfast while you sleep! Steel-cut oats are great in the slow cooker, but you could also make a savory breakfast casserole, or a sweet French toast casserole. Do be sure to check the cook time on all slow cooker breakfast ideas—some don’t take all night. In general, cereal-based slow cooker recipes can be cooked overnight, but not so with eggs, etc.
Kids welcome the opportunity to customize their food—in fact, that’s a trend most age groups enjoy these days. If your kids love yogurt or cereal in the morning, organize foods in advance to make customized toppings for everyone in your household to use. For example, keep a few see-through containers of toppings in the pantry and in the fridge/freezer that are easy to see and reach. Try chia seeds, ground flax or wheat germ and have a variety of chopped fresh fruit and frozen fruit like Wild Blueberries, strawberries and frozen cherries, coconut shreds, chopped nuts and granola to round out your selection. With add-ons and mix-ins like these, the easy container of yogurt or bowl of cereal will really make the grade taste-wise, and will likely earn bonus points in nutrition as well.
By now all the kiddos are back in school and if your mornings are like mine – they often feel rushed and chaotic no matter how much planning gets done the night before. I have two teenage daughters still at home and most mornings they are hitting snooze over and over trying to get a few more minutes of sleep. Often, that leads to grabbing something to eat as they run out the door on their way to school. My solution: a simple, nutritious and portable breakfast smoothie filled with protein, fruit and important vitamins and minerals. Smoothies are an easy way to nourish their bodies so their minds are ready for the classroom.
Since smoothies are big at my house I’m always curious about new ingredients and different flavor combinations that I can easily blend together. I was recently inspired to up my smoothie game by 10 incredible registered dietitians who visited us in Maine to explore the Wild Blueberry Barrens. In addition to meeting many of our Wild Blueberry growers and talking with our science and nutrition experts, we challenged them to a Wild Blueberry Smoothie Making Competition. In advance of their trip, we asked them to give us their list of ingredients and I have to say it was the most amazing shopping list I’ve ever put together.
In case you didn’t know, Wild Blueberries are great in smoothies for a variety of reasons. First, these unique little berries have twice the antioxidants of regular blueberries, which help decrease inflammation – another plus for my family since my girls are athletes. Additionally, Wild Blueberries are full of fiber, zinc and manganese (girls typically don’t get enough fiber and they certainly need vitamins and minerals to help with bone health especially as they grow). They also have an incredible taste, which can be attributed to the fact that there are literally thousands of different plants in each field – so you end up with a complex blend of sweet and tart flavors in every bag of frozen Wild Blueberries. Finally, the majority of the Wild Blueberry crop (99%) is frozen fresh at the peak of harvest, locking in taste and nutrition so you can skip the ice, which is important to my girls because they like a thicker smoothie.
So back to the contest…it was fierce and the creativity was simply mind blowing – making the simple smoothie a true foodie experience for all of us. I say mind blowing because one of our judges actually remarked after tasting one of the smoothies, “…mind blown.” Our judges were Bar Harbor Inn Executive Chef Louis Kiefer and our own registered dietitian and nutrition adviser, Kit Broihier. They selected two winning recipes. Drum roll please…
By Kate Geagan, a nationally recognized and award-winning dietitian and champion of more sustainable food choices. She is also the author of Go Green. Get Lean: Trim Your Waistline with the Ultimate Low Carbon Footprint Diet.
½ cup frozen Wild Blueberries
2 slices of Mango (fresh)
½ large Banana (fresh)
½ Lime (squeezed)
2/3 – 1 Cup Vanilla Yogurt
5-7 large fresh Mint Leaves (or to taste)
1 tsp. shredded or finely chopped fresh Ginger (or to taste)
1 tsp. ground Flaxseed
1/3 cup Ice
Congratulations Kara and Kate and to everyone who participated! For those interested in amping up their own smoothie making at home, please find eight super healthy smoothie recipes from the wonderful registered dietitians who joined us in Maine last month.
One summer a few years back I fell in love with raw food. I’ve always been a salad girl but I had no idea there were so many delicious and flavorful ways to enjoy raw food. I spent hours and hours reading the (limited) research available on the health benefits of a raw food diet. I spent even more time reading food blogs online, learning new and creative ways to eat raw food. From raw chili to raw cheese to my treasured raw desserts, I was in love! That summer I started teaching raw food cooking classes to my clients and ate a “high raw” diet.
Since that summer I have definitely honed my raw food skills. One vitally important thing I can share from my experience is that really delicious raw food relies heavily on intense fresh flavors! Since much of what we eat in a raw food diet is fresh fruits and vegetables, it is imperative they are at their peak flavor. This is one of the main reasons I love working with Wild Blueberries.
Last summer I had the wonderful experience of visiting the Wild Blueberry barrens in Northern Maine. Not only did I learn a ton about how Wild Blueberries grow, I was also able to see exactly how they are processed. I was amazed to see first-hand the minimal processing that Wild Blueberries go through once they are picked. The intense fresh flavor you get from every bag of Wild Blueberries is the result of them being frozen literally within 24 hours of harvest, when their flavor and antioxidants are at their peak. The flavor of the Wild Blueberries shines through in all of my recipes and I have come to rely on it when developing new dishes.
This classic Gazpacho with Wild Blueberries does not disappoint! It not only celebrates the wonderful abundance of summer produce but it also highlights the freshness and unique flavor of Wild Blueberries.
Another quality I love about Wild Blueberries is that they bring that little something extra to a dish. They blend so easily with almost any food but without overtaking the essence of the dish. Although such an intense flavored berry, their presence in this gazpacho is still subtle and transforms what could be just a bowl of salsa ingredients into a distinguished, refreshing and rather sophisticated dish.
My Wild Blueberry gazpacho recipe does not need to be followed to a tee. You can make it with what you have on hand in your kitchen. Substitute basil for cilantro or use yellow tomatoes instead of red. You can even go traditional, like the Italians, and add some stale bread (or bread crumbs) or use avocado instead of oil.
Gazpacho is one of those easy summer dishes that takes just about 10 minutes from start to finish. It’s also one of those dishes that once you make it you wonder why you haven’t been eating it all summer long!
As a mom, I truly believe in the importance of teaching your kids the value of physical activity from a young age. My son is only 9 months old and he’s already spent countless hours watching me workout. He’s so used to hearing barbells drop that he doesn’t even flinch at the noise. On multiple occasions I’ve even popped him in my Ergo Baby Carrier and done a workout with him on my back!
So far this summer we’ve talked a lot about fitting in workouts while the kids are sleeping, either early in the morning or during naptime. I’ll be the first to tell you that a workout sans kids is a nice treat for me. But some days, it just easier for everyone if you get the kids involved. Especially as they get older, they’ll likely be more interested in what you’re doing and even try to imitate you, so why not do a workout that they can do right along with you?
I designed the below workout to include kid-friendly movements. You can show them what to do and they can play along for as much or as little as they want to!
Afterwards, you’ll all probably be hot and sweaty, so I wanted to come up with a protein-filled snack that would be fun for everyone to eat! These Wild Blueberry Yogurt Pops are perfect for a post-workout summer snack!
You have several options here. To make them slightly less sweet, use plain yogurt. For a sweeter pop, use vanilla yogurt. To make them fun for the kids, drizzle with a little chocolate after freezing. To give mom an extra protein boost, mix in a little protein powder! You can also make these with either Greek or regular yogurt, whichever you prefer.
I included lots of Wild Blueberries in this recipe to give the pops great flavor and an added nutrient boost!
A few things you should know about Wild Blueberries:
They have a more intense flavor and color so your frozen treats will taste great and look pretty!
They’re super convenient and great to have on hand for healthy treats like these. Remember to look for them in the freezer section of your grocery store, where they’re available year round so you can get your “Daily Dose of Wild Blue”
The rising heat means it’s more important than ever to load up on fluids! In addition to keeping all of our cells healthy, staying adequately hydrated can support a healthy complexion, banish colds, and improve joint health. But guzzling water isn’t the only way to maintain hydration. Most fruits and vegetables are more than 90% water, making them an excellent way to stay refreshed in the heat. Check out these simple tips to optimize hydration this summer!
1) Load up on raw fruits and veggies. Since fruits and vegetables are made primarily of water, they’re an excellent way to boost your water intake without having to actually drink water. As an added bonus, fruits and veggies are low in sodium and high in potassium, an important electrolyte that helps regulate fluid balance in the body.
2) Spruce up your water routine. Jazz your H20 by adding fresh herbs like basil or mint paired with refreshing fruits and veggies like sliced lemon, strawberries, or cucumber. Try ditching the ice cubes and sweetening your water naturally with frozen watermelon cubes or Wild Blueberries!
3) Focus on electrolyte-rich foods. While we all get plenty of sodium in our diet, many of us don’t get enough potassium, which helps balance sodium and optimize hydration. Increase the flow of water into cells and tissues by stocking up on potassium-rich foods like, bananas, coconut water, potatoes, avocados, tomatoes, and Swiss chard.
This Sparkling Wild Blueberry Lemonade puts a twist on the old classic, with significantly less sugar than traditional lemonade plus the age-defying antioxidant benefits of Wild Blueberries. Coconut water adds not only a tropical twist, but also a potassium boost to help regulate fluid balance. Plus, since coconut water is naturally sweet, you won’t have to dump loads of sugar into this tasty treat to satisfy your sweet tooth.
