Blueberries!!!

Mourning over MJ?...well I've got some pretty outstanding news to cheer you up and get that smile back on your face. Get ready for what I'm about to tell you next.........
Blueberry season has arrived!! And you know what that means: pick-your-own ripe, juicy, blueicious blueberries...Mmmm...summer can't get much better than the sweet, delicious (and nutritious) fruits it births.

Blueberries are the superheroes of fruit, often boasting of their various cancer-preventing properties. Blueberries are rich in maganese, fiber, and an assortment of antioxidants such as Vitamins C & E. They have been said to slow aging, help prevent heart disease, cancer, diseases of the eye, and dementia, to name a few. Blueberries are low in calories, high in nutrients, and high in fiber, so they move right through you.

Besides all of their numerous health benefits, bluberries just down right taste good! And they can be added to almost anything (okay, well maybe not anything, but a lot of things!). For breakfast, try throwing them in a smoothie, oatmeal, pancakes, or a fruit salad. For lunch, add them to your yogurt or just eat them plain as a snack. And for dinner, try adding some to your salads and pair with a goat cheese and a fruity vinagrette. They are also great for desserts, such as pies, tarts, chocolate and cream bowls, and muffins. I always make blueberry buckle when blueberry season rolls around. It's a sweet, irresistable treat that can be eaten for breakfast, dessert, or as a snack anytime in between. Blueberries can be cooked and made into a sauce to be poured over ice cream, but are also great just simply picked, washed, and thrown into a nice bowl of cold ice cream (try no-fat vanilla frozen yogurt).

It's definitely worth making the trip out to a pick-your-own place. The mouth-watering taste of blueberries picked right off the bush is a taste that can be found nor fulfilled anywhere else. Plus, when I go to pick-your-own places, while I'm filling up my basket I almost always gourge myself on nature's blue candy until my stomach's at its fullest capactiy- for FREE. Not only am I getting as many blueberries as I can eat in a day for free, the one's you pick are also sold at a much cheaper rate than those in the grocery store. If there aren't any fruit orchards near enough for your convenience or you simply don't have the time to go pick, be sure to try and purchase blueberries from a locally grown shop or farmer's market. The taste will by far beat that of blueberries purchased in any nearby grocery store.

So get out there. Get picking. Get eating. Get nutrient-boosting your body. And get into having some fun, enjoying one of summer's best offerings.