July is National Blueberry Month

I love blueberries.  I love the soft sweet crunch, when you bite into them out of the pack, or the juicy sweetness they add to a bowl of cereal, how they burst with hot juice when you add them to muffins, cakes, scones and pancakes.

There’s really not much that I don’t love about blueberries. Blueberries are one of the best fruits you can eat and since this is their peak season, let me give you a few more reasons to snag some the next time you’re at the farmers market or store.

• Out of 40 different fruits, juices and vegetables, the blueberry ranks highest for antioxidant levels?
• Aid in reducing belly fat
• Blueberries are one of the few fruits native to North America
• Blueberries can be frozen without damaging their anthocyanin antioxidants

How To Freeze Blueberries

• If you buy blueberries in a pint, just wrap tightly with cellophane (do not wash them) or seal them in a freezer bag with all the air removed.
• If you buy them in bulk, lay them out on a cookie sheet and freeze them in a single layer and once frozen, move them to a freezer bag

How To Choose Blueberries

• Choose blueberries that are round, firm and uniform in color.
• When you pick up a carton of blueberries, lightly shake it; if the blueberries do not move about freely in the carton then they are likely mushy, moldy or going bad.

Now that you know how to choose them, how to freeze them and why you should stock up; stay tuned because we’re going to share some delicious blueberry recipes with y’all this month.

More reasons To Eat Blue

Do you have a favorite blueberry recipe?  I’d love to hear it.

Here are a couple of ours:

• Blueberry Shortcake
• Blueberry Lemonade