Blueberry July

July has been declared by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as National Blueberry month.  In honor of this exquisite fruit, we've decided to share a few tasty recipes. 

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.  To get started with your day, add some fresh blueberries to your morning pancakes.  A traditional breakfast favorite, during the peak blueberry season May-October, you can find local fresh blueberries at the market.  Want to enjoy the delicious healthy addition to your breakfast during the winter months?  Try frozen blueberries. 

Another great breakfast option that also doubles as a great mid-day snack is cottage cheese and blueberries.  Cottage cheese is known for being rich in protein.  Protein is an essential dietary element that helps maintain, repair, and build muscles (Coleman, 2014).

Blueberries are great alone or paired with other fruits.  During the summer months, strawberries are also in season.  A delicious snack or dessert alone that can be paired with yogurt or pudding includes the addition of strawberries and bananas with your blueberries.  The pairing of a lemon or vanilla pudding adds just the right amount of sweetness that balances the tartness of both the blueberry and strawberry combination.  Want to chill out on a hot summer night?  Substitute yogurt or pudding for vanilla icecream. 

Blueberries may be traditionally thought of as a food element, however the trend of juicing has introduced many delicious recipes.  We found a great starter juice recipe on the blog Clementine Bean.  This juice recipe includes mixing blueberries, spinach, green apple, and lemon.  Please note that if you're wanting to get into juicing, you will want to invest in a juicer.  There are many juicers out there on the market. Check out this article What is the best Juicer? by Green Juice a Day to learn more about the different types of juicers and how you can get started.

Not interested in juicing but still want a refreshing beverage that includes blueberries?  Another great recipe I came across recommended freezing blueberries in an ice cube tray and adding blueberry ice cubes to your favorite drinks like iced tea or lemonade.  Instead of just freezing whole blueberries, we recommend blending a few berries in a small amount of water and freezing for an ice cube that melts blueberry flavor right into your drink. 

It was fun to research multiple recipes for blueberries and how to go about enjoying this healthy fruit.  We hope you enjoyed this article and would love for you to share your favorite blueberry recipes with us below.