wild blueberry smoothie Archives

Wild Your Smoothie Twitter Chat featuring Kara Lydon, The Foodie Dietitian

Tired of the same old smoothies day after day? Want to invent a new approach for yourself and your clients? We’ve got just the solution. Join registered dietitian nutritionist extraordinaire Kara Lydon RD, LDN, RYT, a committed yoga practitioner and author of food and healthy living blog The Foodie Dietitian for a one-hour Twitter chat designed to transform your smoothie-making and inspire you to look beyond the obvious when it comes to ingredients, portions, and recipes. And, if you’re curious about our #WildYourSmoothie Recipe Contest, this is the perfect opportunity to ask questions and find inspiration.

Kara’s blog features delicious vegetarian recipes using premium ingredients. Her most recent smoothie — the Wild Blueberry Turmeric Zinger Smoothie — combines fresh ginger, chopped turmeric root, coconut oil, almond milk, frozen mangos, and frozen Wild Blueberries. Wow! Not only healthy, but beautiful, special and truly delicious.

Tweet at @Wildbberries and let us know that you will join Kara Wednesday February 1 at 1pm EST for the chat.

Kara’s preference for frozen fruit, such as Wild Blueberries is part of a national trend that is taking off. Consumers understand that using frozen fruit for smoothies is not only more convenient (no washing, peeling or cutting), and quicker (already portioned) but it creates less food waste too.

Kara visited Maine’s Wild Blueberries barrens recently and she saw for herself how the berries are harvested and flash-frozen within hours of picking, locking in both their nutrition and their potent taste. She understands that frozen Wild Blueberries provide a prodigious source of antioxidants and fiber, while adding a flavorful, colorful punch to any smoothie.

In this LIVE 60-minute Twitter chat we’ll discuss:

Tips on how to build the perfect smoothie
What makes Wild Blueberries such a powerful superfood and perfect smoothie ingredient
Why registered dietitians LOVE Wild Blueberries
What fuels Kara’s love of Wild Blueberries
#WildYourSmoothie Recipe Contest

If you want to learn more about Kara Lydon, Wild Blueberries, our #WildYourSmoothie Recipe Contest or explore some yummy Wild Blueberry smoothie recipes, check out:

And, if you have a question you’d like to ask Wild Blueberries or Kara, ask us at any time before, during or after the chat – just be sure to include #WildYourSmoothie in your tweet!

Here’s how the Twitter Chat Works:

Follow along with #WildYourSmoothie

Include #WildYourSmoothie in all of your tweets – we don’t want to miss anything you have to say!
Ask questions. Retweet & Favorite tweets you love. Chime in (include #WildYourSmoothie)!

Learn more about the #WildYourSmoothie hosts:

Kara Lydon, RD, LDN, RYT, The Foodie Dietitian, (@karalydonRD) is a nationally recognized nutrition and culinary communications expert and yoga teacher based in Boston. Kara believes that the secret to a holistically happy life is nourishing the mind, body and spirit and she instills this integrative philosophy in the kitchen, yoga studio, working one-on-one with clients, and on her food and healthy living blog, The Foodie Dietitian, and in her anticipated e-book, Nourish Your Namaste: Functional Recipes, Nutrition and Asana to be a Healthy, Happy Yogi (May 2016). Her blog features delicious seasonal vegetarian recipes and simple strategies to bring more yoga and mindfulness into your life, and has been most recently featured on SHAPE, TODAY, Fitness, SELF, The Kitchn, Prevention and Buzzfeed.

The Wild Blueberry Association of North America (WBANA) (@wildbberries) is a trade association of farmers and processors of Wild Blueberries from Maine and Canada, dedicated to bringing the Wild Blueberry health story and unique Wild Advantages to consumers and the trade worldwide.

WBANA is dedicated to furthering research that explores the health potential of Wild Blueberries. Every year since 1997, WBANA has hosted the Health Research Summit in Bar Harbor, a worldwide gathering of dozens of scientists and researchers whose work is leading the way in learning more and more about the health benefits of Wild Blueberries. Hundreds of studies have been conducted on disease and the extensive health benefits of Wild Blueberries.

Kid-Friendly Fall Smoothie Recipe: Low-Sugar Wild Blueberry Banana Pumpkin Smoothie

I do most of my grocery shopping at Trader Joe’s and I know it’s the start of pumpkin season when they bring all their pumpkin products to the front of the store. I’ve never seen such a vast array of pumpkin-related items. They’ve got pumpkin everything: pumpkin cereal, pumpkin oatmeal, pumpkin crackers, pumpkin-infused oil, pumpkin dip, pumpkin pie, pumpkin pancake mix, pumpkin soup, pumpkin croutons, pumpkin coffee – I kid you not, this is just a partial list. They really know how to do pumpkin.

Personally, I’m more of an essence of pumpkin kind of gal. I don’t particularly like to lead with pumpkin that much in my recipes. But I do think it’s fun to use pumpkin unexpectedly in a recipe, like adding it to chili and creamy soups, for example, or stirring some pumpkin puree into yogurt.

My Wild Blueberry Banana Pumpkin Smoothie is a great example as well. I find straight pumpkin smoothies to be a little too sweet and, well, too pumpkin-y. By sharing the spotlight with the delicious flavor of Wild Blueberries, you get a tasty combination of berry-pumpkin flavor with the perfect amount of sweet. This low-sugar smoothie gets its sweetness naturally from one frozen banana and ½ cup of frozen Wild Blueberries.

In addition to keeping the sugar content low, I also like to sneak super foods into my smoothies whenever possible. Buried inside this smoothie you not only get the antioxidant power of Wild Blueberries, but you also get a hit of inflammation-busting turmeric and blood sugar-lowering cinnamon. But wait, it doesn’t stop there. You also get a dose of healthy fats and soluble fiber from ground flax seed.

You might be thinking right now, this smoothie sounds too healthy…does it taste good? No worries, I’ve got that covered. I use a very scientific method to determine taste-ability. It’s called the “Will a 4^th Grader Drink This?” test.

Needless to say, this smoothie passed with flying colors.

So there you have it! A low-sugar, kid-friendly pumpkin-inspired smoothie that’s bursting with powerful antioxidants and Wild Blueberry flavor.

It sounds like the fall season is off to a good start!

Ring in the New Year with a Wild Blueberry Detox Smoothie

The Christmas cookies have come and gone. The green bean casserole has been put to rest. It’s high time for a little detox bevvie–and we’re not talking New Year’s bubbly!

We all know that smoothies are a superb way to sneak in all kinds of superfoods, from vitamin K-rich kale, anti-cancer turmeric, and our favorite fiberlicious Wild Blueberries. They’re the ideal on-the-go burst of nutrition that can very well satisfy the taste buds at the same time.

January marks the beginning of the New Year, meaning everyone is discussing the detox. After the holiday season, it’s a good time to rid the body of excess toxins found in sugar, alcohol, and fried foods. Detoxing simply means to cleanse the body of the unhealthy, highly processed foods that we gorged on in December by eating and/or drinking lots of nutrient-rich fruits and veggies.

Embracing a healthier lifestyle as you ring in the New Year doesn’t mean you have to say goodbye to cookies forever. By enriching your life with simple antioxidant-packed superfoods like Wild Blueberries, avocado, turmeric, and kale, you’re giving your liver a break and boosting your physical and mental health.

Let’s talk ingredients! While black pepper in a fruit smoothie may sound like a prank, it actually adds a deliciously unexpected kick to this Wild Blueberry Detox Smoothie. Flavor aside, the real reason black pepper plays a starring role in this healthy beverage is because adding a pinch boosts the bioavailability of curcumin (the bioactive compound in turmeric) by more than tenfold. Consuming tumeric with fat also helps boosts absorption, hence…avocado!

Rewind. Why do we care about boosting curcumin levels? Several studies suggest that curcumin is a potent fighter of cancer, inflammation, osteoporosis, and more. Turmeric is a true superfood!

So trade in the bubbly for wild blueberries and kick off the New Year right with this scrumptious glass of liquid nutrition. Your liver will surely thank you!

Beat the Blues With A Mood-Lifting Blue Smoothie

While scientists have discovered that part of happiness is genetic, it remains clear that part of our daily share of cheerfulness stems from the choices we make. One of those choices is our diet: accumulating evidence suggests that what we eat every day may have the power to keep the blues away and put a smile on our face. In fact, our food choices could be one of the simplest ways to succeed in our quest for happiness.

A recent study supports a previously established argument that we can boost our mood by eating more fruits and vegetables. More fruits and vegetables may make “young people calmer, happier and more energetic in their daily life” says this study from New Zealand after researchers tracked the diaries of 281 young adults for nearly a month.

In the study, the relationship between fruit and vegetable consumption and mood was shown on a day-to-day basis – when the subjects ate more, they felt better, and when their plates were short of fruits and vegetables, they felt worse. It’s heartening evidence that even short-term mood benefits can be the consequence of a healthy plate.

What amount of fruits and vegetables does it takes to turn a frown upside down? About 7-8 half cups, the study says, which can be accomplished by filling half your plate with fruit and vegetables at each meal, and adding some healthy snacks in between.

Blues-Busting Smoothie

If you’re ready to lighten your load but you’re struggling to get your daily cups of fruits and vegetables, one of the best ways to get ahead of the game is to start the day with a nutritious smoothie. Smoothies are a secret weapon for nutrition experts like diabetes specialist Dr. Dan Nadeau who recommends a wild blueberry smoothie every day to “quiet the storm” of inflammation in our bodies. He credits the calming effect to wild blueberries’ powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that help protect against diseases such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes and Alzheimer’s. Smoothies make incorporating lots of fruits and veggies easy (Dr. Nadeau’s smoothie recipe incorporates 7-8 half cups in one meal), and they are also a sweet Rx that doesn’t spike blood sugar.

To provide a boost in both mood and health even before you walk out the door in the morning, start with a unique smoothie recipe that blends some synergy into your wild blues. This Wild Blueberry Avocado Smoothie provides good health and cups in a delicious frosty package. Avocados provide good fat (monounsaturated fat that our bodies need), high fiber content, and vitamins such as B, K, and E. Blend that up with wild blueberries, which provide
powerful brain benefits, cancer prevention potential, anti-inflammatory properties, and heart health benefits, and you’ve got a fruit and veggie-filled meal that is filling, satisfying, sm
ooth and delicious – a sure way to lift your spirits!

Get Happy! Smoothies provide a head start on your recommended daily requirement of fruits and veggies. Find smoothie recipes and other dishes that help beat the blues at WildBlueberries.com.