A few years after my daughter was born, my husband started a tradition. Every year for Valentine’s Day he would buy us matching necklaces. Over the years my daughter and I have received some beautiful pieces. Norah and I can’t wait to open those little boxes on February 14th. It’s become a really fun tradition in our family.
In return for his loving generosity, we make him breakfast in bed. It usually includes something Norah and I can make together. French toast and pancakes are regular features, but we’ve made a few smoothies and even an omelet one year! This year we are surprising him with heart-shaped Coconut Peanut Butter Wild Blueberry Toast.
My husband is quite the Wild Blueberry connoisseur. Over the last year he has been lead taste-tester for all of my Wild Blueberry recipes. Because of this, he has become a huge Wild Blueberry fan. He eats at least a handful of them every day, whether in his protein shake before the gym, stirred into a bowl of warm oatmeal, or as a flavorful add-in to his famous protein pancakes. Frozen Wild Blueberries are perfect for adding intense, sweetly unique blueberry flavor to many a favorite dish. He loves the boost of robust Wild Blueberry flavor and I love that he gets a potent burst of nutrition!
My Coconut Peanut Butter Wild Blueberry Toast is a play on your old-school PBJ! Creamy peanut butter is mixed with frozen Wild Blueberries, shredded coconut, vanilla, and a touch of honey. I slathered this delicious nut-butter and Wild Blueberry mixture onto 4 pieces of toasted heart-shaped bread. You can use any type of bread your sweetie likes. I could not resist using a homemade loaf I found called “seduction.” Perfect for Valentine’s day, right?
The intense purple color of the nut butter mixture is just gorgeous and brightens up the plate. It’s the perfect combination of beauty and flavor! My heart-shaped toast will be a fun departure from the norm this year. Although he wasn’t able to be my taste tester for this recipe, I’m sure he will love it just the same…and so will we!
Who doesn’t love those words, especially at the beginning of a new year? Lots of people are venturing into 2016 with plans to clean up their diets, and for many, eating clean, simple, and wholesome foods is the preferred approach. Cooking at home is one way to help yourself along in the clean eating pursuit. Another way is to get familiar with food labels. If you’re a health-conscious shopper, you’ll be reading a lot of them.
What is a “clean” food?
It helps to start by defining what we mean by “clean food.” You may already know that there is no official government definition of the term “natural” when used on a food label, and the same is true for the term “clean.” The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not defined “clean,” either, and there is no symbol or logo that consumers can look for to help them shop clean. The food industry may define a clean food as something that has a simplified ingredient list and no artificial additives. Others may distill it a bit further and say that a “clean” food is one consumed as close as possible to its natural state. “Clean” is more about what’s not in the food — the purity of the ingredients and how close they are to their original roots.
So where does that leave consumers?
Today’s consumers are definitely concerned with the number of ingredients in their food, while others may be concerned with whether a food is organic, sustainably raised and harvested, or if it contains GMOs or any “chemical-sounding” ingredients. For those who want to feed their family wholesome, clean foods they need to educate themselves about where their food and their ingredients come from and learn how to read packaging and nutrition labels. They should also be on the lookout for what to avoid.
Label Reading 101
Reading food labels is not difficult. It just requires a keen eye, education and a little bit of time. Many shoppers are already aware of the Nutrition Facts section of the food label. This is where key nutrition information about the food is located (such as how much fat, sodium, carbohydrates, etc.). Here is a quick and easy guide to reading the Nutrition Facts part of the label. However, when you want to “eat clean” you want to focus on the ingredients listed on the label and understand how many there are and exactly what they are.
The ingredient list is located just below the Nutrition Facts. Ingredients are listed in descending order by weight, so those ingredients that are present in the largest amounts are listed first. As you examine labels you want to consider each ingredient individually. Here is an example using peanut butter. The top version of the ingredient list is from an organic, creamy peanut butter brand that is widely available at regular supermarkets.
You can see that all it contains is organic roasted peanuts and sea salt—it doesn’t get much more simple than that! The bottom photo shows the ingredient list for another brand of peanut butter that is marketed as containing less sugar than their typical peanut butter formulation, and presumably more healthful. Both peanut butters contain salt for flavor. But, while the second product does indeed contain fewer ingredients than some other brands of peanut butter, it still includes extra ingredients that someone who wants to “eat clean” may be avoiding. These include hydrogenated oils, mono- and diglycerides (fats that act as emulsifiers to maintain consistency and smoothness), sugar and molasses—another form of added sugar. The “clean eating” lesson here: simpler is better when it comes to ingredient lists. Read beyond the words splashed on the front of food packages and focus on the ingredient list, where simpler is better.
If you are a beginner to eating clean, one easy way to start purchasing “cleaner” foods is to focus on foods with “free from” labeling. These are labeling statements such as “gluten-free” or “GMO-free” or “allergen-free.” These types of statements usually appear on the front of the food package, so if those concerns are your focus, you can use these as a tool to make your clean shopping a little easier.
Cleaning up your produce choices
Most people agree that whole and single-ingredient foods, those that are unprocessed or minimally processed fit most easily into a “clean” diet. Nutritionally, these foods are a good bet, too, since they don’t have added ingredients—such as salt and sugar—that can detract from their nutritional benefits. Fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables are a perfect example because they are enjoyed pretty much the way Mother Nature intended. Of course, eating plenty of colorful fresh produce daily is a smart move (and buying fresh produce grown locally gets you closer to the farmer who grew it, which means you can learn how that food was grown). But don’t discount the freezer aisle! Frozen fruits and vegetables count toward your daily produce goals, and help round out your diet by allowing for more variety in all seasons. Fruits and vegetables that are simply frozen (not sauced, sugared or otherwise “doctored”) are certainly “clean” by anyone’s definition. For example, Wild Blueberries, picked at the peak of ripeness and at their most nutritious, are a tasty, “clean” food that is frozen within a day of harvest and shipped right to your supermarket. Wild Blueberry plants are indeed wild—they’ve never been modified by man, so they have no GMOs. And since most people don’t live close to the Wild Blueberry barrens of Maine and eastern Canada, choosing frozen Wild Blueberries is the easiest way to include these tasty, “clean” and nutritious berries in your diet.
My sister and I have a great tradition of getting together each year to make homemade holiday gifts. We started doing this back when we were in our 20’s as a way to give gifts to friends and neighbors without spending a fortune. You can imagine the stories we have to tell! The success stories are as epic as the fails, and there have certainly been many. Even so, as I look back, I am kind of impressed at our often times lofty ambitions. We have dabbled in caramel and candy making, fudge, almond Roca, and rugelach. We have even gone down the flavored salt road a few times.
Of course we’ve made our fair share of cookies, too. From chunky chocolate chip to crispy lemon wafers, to frosted gingerbread men…we’ve done it all. I’ve written about my sister’s mad baking skills before so you may have already figured out that I’m not the lead baker in our duo. I am typically the decision maker, however during actual cook time I am the happy assistant, largely just doing what I am told.
This year, we added a new baker to our group. Old enough now to want to help and excited to measure and pour, Norah happily donned her apron and joined in on the fun.
I have added Wild Blueberries to many a dish in the last year, but cookies I had not yet tried. This year, I decided to experiment with an all-time favorite of mine: the molasses cookie. I figured adding Wild Blueberries to an already soft cookie would make it even more moist and delicious. I was right!
These Molasses Cookies are spicy and delicious with a Wild Blueberry twist! The Wild Blueberries add a zesty flavor that complements the ginger and molasses just right.
Using frozen Wild Blueberries is really what made this recipe work. Adding them into the mix while still frozen prevented the already brown dough from turning purple, and enabled the berries to remain whole in the cookies, which was the exact result I was after. This way I get a whole Wild Blueberry with every bite.
Using Wild Blueberries in your holiday baking not only adds moisture to your cookie, it also adds a dose of heart healthy nutrients. Studies show that Wild Blueberries contain important nutrients that may help reduce chronic inflammation and improve cholesterol levels.
I really enjoyed adding Wild Blueberries to my favorite holiday cookie! Here are a few more ways to use Wild Blueberries in your own holiday baking:
Replace half the sugar in a recipe with Wild Blueberries
Replace Wild Blueberries for regular blueberries and get twice the antioxidant punch
Replace the butter or oil in a recipe with pureed Wild Blueberries (this works best when you use half as much of the Wild Blueberry puree as the total amount of fat called in the recipe)
Replace Wild Blueberries for canned fruit in a recipe
Use pureed Wild Blueberries for syrup or glaze when topping cookies, pancakes, and other baked goods
An interview with Stonewall Kitchen Product Developer Michele Cole
Michele Cole’s history with Stonewall Kitchen reaches back to the early days, when two young entrepreneurs named Jonathan King and Jim Stott had the bold idea to launch a specialty food business in Maine after creating their famous Wild Maine Blueberry Jam. It should be noted that Maine in 1991 was not exactly the epicenter of entrepreneurship: the local economy was struggling and the state was probably best known that year for ‘The Perfect Storm,” which ravaged the eastern seaboard and left thousands without power. But for King and Stott, it was the beginning of a love affair with gourmet food that has helped establish Maine’s reputation as a glowing constellation of innovative chefs and artisan foodmakers.
After more than twenty years of developing recipes for jams, chocolates, marinades, marmalades and buttered scones, Stonewall Kitchen’s resolve for the importance of flavor remains as strong as it did on day one. Product developer Michele Cole is unequivocal about the role that taste and ingredients have played in the success of the Stonewall Kitchen brand. She is as passionate as ever about her company’s founders and her role at Stonewall Kitchen today. Michele possesses a kind of lyrical reverence for food. When describing flavors, she often closes her eyes and seems to tap into a deep well of sensory experience. Her relationship with food transcends language and her tenure at Stonewall Kitchen could be summed up as a 20-year quest for the perfect gourmet creation.
As it turns out, Michele’s pursuit could also be viewed as the search to match or daresay rival the company’s very first product. Indeed, Stonewall Kitchen’s Wild Maine Blueberry Jam is not only the company’s very first creation, but remains their top selling product.
To put it all into perspective, Stonewall Kitchen’s production team churns up and simmers its famous wild blueberry jam recipe once a month, averaging upwards of 35,000 13-ounce jars per batch. By the end of 2015, they expect to fill 40,000 jars per month. This does not take into account the popular Mini Wild Blueberry Jam, which averages 20,000 jars every 6 weeks. In total, Stonewall Kitchen is producing over a half-million jars of Wild Blueberry Jam per year. In the process, they are helping to spread the passion and appetite for Maine’s 10,000-year-old berry.
It was a pure pleasure to learn the story behind this simple, unadulterated jam, not to mention how one very special recipe in a beautiful glass jar, could spearhead Stonewall Kitchen’s two-decade long success story.
What are the values that customers associate with your brand?
Our customers are coming to us looking for high quality and authenticity. That is what we’re all about and it’s what they expect from us.
What are the key considerations that go into making Stonewall Kitchen foods?
Well, one thing is for sure, we are always looking to get a hold of the very best ingredients and we taste all kinds of them. Flavor is always number one for Stonewall Kitchen. We don’t do “regular.” We’re a specialty food company and every ingredient that we use has to pass our palate.
What do people seem to love about the Wild Blueberry Jam?
As soon as people taste it, they know they are enjoying something really different and really extraordinary. When people try it for the very first time, you can see from their expression just how special it is.
As a chef, what do you love about Wild Blueberries?
The Wild Blueberry is one of those truly exceptional fruits. It’s sweet, it’s tart, its got mineral notes, it’s juicy, and it’s not ordinary. There’s simply nothing like it. It’s just one of the best things in the world, and on top of that, it’s loaded with antioxidants.
Does using a frozen berry make it harder or easier from your standpoint as a chef?
Frozen Wild Blueberries are so easy to work with and the IQF (individually quick frozen) process really ensures that the quality remains intact. Wild Blueberries are great in sauces, jams and in baked goods, partly because they are small, and also because they freeze really well and thaw really well. A frozen Wild Blueberry is the second best thing, short of standing in a field and picking them yourself.
So the Wild Maine Blueberry Jam has become a staple for Stonewall Kitchen?
Wild Maine Blueberry Jam is the heart of our company. It’s how people identify us. There’s even a company policy at Stonewall Kitchen that states we simply cannot run out of Wild Blueberry Jam. Running out of Wild Blueberry Jam is our version of a tragedy.
Tell us the story of how the jam recipe was developed.
The Wild Maine Blueberry Jam got its start when founders Jim and Jonathan were going to farmers’ markets and bringing home products to test over a tiny stove in their home. They were experimenting with Wild Blueberries and Jim was trying to replicate the filling for his Aunt Pearl’s blueberry pie. Eventually, they ended up with this perfect recipe that uses Wild Blueberries, just a little bit of sugar, and a splash of lemon juice. Basically that is the very same recipe we use today.
What does the Wild Maine Blueberry Jam mean to your company today?
The Wild Maine Blueberry Jam is how we got our start as a specialty food company. It was those little Wild Blueberries that kicked it off. The Wild Maine Blueberry Jam has become the gold standard – everything else that we make at Stonewall Kitchen has to meet that high standard.
Here is how Stonewall Kitchen describes their number one selling product:
“Sweet, intensely flavorful wild Maine blueberries, a dash of sugar and a splash of lemon is all you’ll find in our top selling Wild Maine Blueberry Jam. Carefully crafted using only tiny, low-bush blueberries that grow and spread naturally across Maine, this is a delicious jam to enjoy on pancakes, breakfast breads or in an extra special PB&J.”
One of my favorite traditions is to make something special for breakfast on holiday mornings. Since I don’t consider myself a skilled baker, I usually pick a treat that is relatively easy to make, yet still looks impressive. You won’t find me kneading out dough or assembling baklava, that’s for sure! The last few years I’ve made a braided breakfast bread. I like it because I can change up the filling pretty easily, but the basics are the same. If there’s one thing I’ve learned about baking, the more you attempt a recipe, the better it gets. Indeed, this Braided Breakfast Bread gets more delicious each year.
Adding Wild Blueberries to the filling is a no-brainer; they are so versatile in the kitchen. Every time I use Wild Blueberries in a recipe, the dish is elevated to a new and delicious level. What I love most is how the intense flavor of Wild Blueberries complements savory and sweet dishes alike. The fact that frozen fresh Wild Blueberries are available year-round is an added bonus!
My mom and I created this recipe together in only a few minutes. We started by mixing some almond paste with ricotta cheese. If you like marzipan, you are already familiar with almond paste. Next we folded in Wild Blueberries, which created a beautiful purple color. We spread the mixture down the center of the dough.
To keep it simple, we used pizza crust as our dough, because it’s easy and tastes delicious! Should you want to get really fancy, you could make your own almond paste and dough. However, this girl likes to keep her baking as foolproof as possible.
Once we readied the dough and the mixture was in place, we began to braid the bread. Those are my mom’s busy hands, as mine were holding the camera. After a few tucks and folds, viola! Into the oven it went.
About 16 minutes later, out came this gorgeous braided bread, bursting with cheesy, Wild Blueberry goodness!
While the bread was baking, we whipped up this gorgeous Wild Blueberry glaze. What’s the point of making a Danish style bread and not glazing it up?
This Wild Blueberry Breakfast Danish is easy to tailor to your taste. Try using different types of cheese for the filling (mascarpone or cream cheese would be lovely), or swap the almond paste with lemon curd.
I enjoy making lasting memories with my family over the holidays. Preparing this sweet bread on holiday mornings is just one of them. What are some of your family’s holiday traditions?
Can’t remember where you glasses are? What was the name of the dental hygienist? Darn it, what was the name of that spice I needed again! Everyone feels forgetful once in a while. Being somewhat “forgetful” is normal and could become increasingly more common as we grow older—even for healthy adults. However, for some people, advancing age brings more serious cognitive changes that can greatly impact quality of life, safety and overall health.
This month marks National Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness Month, and according to the Alzheimer’s Association, Alzheimer’s disease is the sixth leading cause of death in the U.S., and there is no cure for it. Of course, not all age-related cognitive changes are signs of Alzheimer’s disease, nor are they all as serious, thankfully. Some risks for Alzheimer’s, such as age and family history of the disease, are out of our control, and this is true for more mild cognitive changes as well. So what can we do to help keep our brains as healthy as possible as we get older? One thing nearly everyone agrees upon: eat a healthy diet packed with fruits and vegetables.
Bring on the “brainberries!”
The impact of berries on cognition and memory has been a topic of scientific study since the late 1990s. Initially through animal research and now through human trials, scientists have continued to find that berries, including blueberries and wild blueberries, have a measurable, positive impact on aging brains. Of course, we’re a tad partial to Wild Blueberries, which we’ve been known to nickname “brainberries.” What is it in blueberries that helps with brain health? Scientists are still studying the mechanisms of action, but it appears to be related to the large amounts of beneficial plant chemicals contained in the berries. These natural chemicals, called polyphenols (or phenolic compounds), are the key. And it just so happens that Wild Blueberries are especially high in phenolic compounds.
Blueberries and Wild Blueberries may improve memory
Robert Krikorian, PhD, who leads the University of Cincinnati’s Cognitive Aging Program, conducts studies to identify mechanisms associated with age-related cognitive decline and to improve memory function in middle-aged and older adults. Krikorian has used Wild Blueberries as well as (and in combination with) cultivated blueberries in some of his studies and has found that regular consumption can enhance cognitive function in older adults. In a recently completed trial, Krikorian’s team observed that study participants who received a powdered Wild Blueberry/blueberry supplement (versus those who received a placebo) performed better on a verbal learning task with improved memory discrimination. In addition, blueberry-treated participants reported enhanced effectiveness when performing everyday tasks. According to Krikorian, “These recent findings corroborate our prior results and provide more evidence that consumption of blueberries may improve memory function and, possibly, reduce risk for cognitive decline with aging.”
More evidence points to beneficial polyphenols in blueberries
Cognitive and motor deficits occur with aging, and these changes are of particular concern for older adults. Barbara Shukitt-Hale, PhD, a USDA staff scientist at the Laboratory of Neuroscience and Aging, Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University in Boston, has studied both cultivated blueberries and Wild Blueberries and their impact on memory and motor function in animals and humans. “Effective preventative measures need to be explored and developed, and blueberries in particular have been of interest because they are widely consumed and contain a variety of polyphenols known to have beneficial health effects,” she explains. A recent study conducted at her lab suggests that the regular addition of blueberries to the diet of healthy older adults can improve some aspects of executive function, and these improvements were most evident in the most challenging cognitive tests. Adding blueberries to your daily diet is a proactive step that Shukitt-Hale suggests, as it may help maintain brain health as you age. She adds, “Dietary interventions with polyphenol-rich foods such as blueberries, present a potentially fruitful strategy for combating some of the deleterious effects of age-related neurodegeneration.”
Make getting your Wild blues a year-round habit
It’s easy to get your daily dose of Wild Blueberries all year long by keeping frozen berries on hand. Check the frozen fruit section at your supermarket or warehouse club store and look for the words “Wild Blueberries” on the packaging to make sure you’re getting the tiny, polyphenol-packed “brainberries.” You’ll be pleased to notice that frozen Wild Blueberries retain their shape upon thawing and when used in baked goods, and don’t “deflate” like larger blueberries can. Need some ideas for how to use Wild Blueberries? Check out the extensive recipe files at the Wild Blueberries website.
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!
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.
