Okay I know blueberries are blue… but they also turn everything you put them in purple, including your lips and tongue. So I’m gonna talk about purple here today. Blueberries purple skin color comes from a pigment called anthocyanin, a powerful antioxidant with a reputation for preventing cancer, improving memory, and helping us age well. You’ve probably heard of “Eating the Rainbow.” Well, here is a list of purple foods you might want to add to your diet:
- passion fruit, pomegranates and dark cherries
- berries like blackberries and blueberries cranberries, chokecherries, elderberries
- grapes, raisins, dried plums and fresh plums
- eggplant, purple potatoes, purple peppers
- purple carrots
- purple (red) cabbage, purple bok choy and purple kale
- red and purple onions
- Purple string beans (they turn bright green when you steam them — cool for kids!)
- Purple (blue) corn
Blueberries are one of Tim’s favorite fruits and it’s a good thing because they are LOADED with nutrients and naturally sweet. I like them too. We use them often. (We’re not using any sweeteners these days but we do eat fruit.) Blueberries also make a great kid-snack (Henry loves them) because they are small enough not to be a choking hazard, easy for tiny fingers to pick up (good for those small motor skills,) travel well, and aren’t too messy (until they’re squished.) Even frozen blueberries are yummy.
Here’s a bombastically bellyicious smoothie recipe starring healthy purple blueberries:
Blueberry Bomba
INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 1/2 cup canned unsweetened pineapple chunks plus liquid
- 1/2 frozen banana
- 1/2 cup raw almonds
- 1 t. Mexican vanilla (has a very different flavor)
- 2T flax meal
- 2 slices lemon, peel and all
- 2 cubes ice
- a little squeentze of cinnamon
- 2 more thin slices of lemon for garnish and to suck on
PREPARATION:
- Put all ingredients (except the last two lemon slice garnishes) in a blender and pulse til it’s as smooth as you like it. Add more liquid if you want a thinner smoothie.
- Pour in glasses and garnish with a twisted lemon slice (I know … it’s twisted, eh?)
- Enjoy while sitting in your garden, on the balcony or curled up in front of the fire. And make sure you notice your purple tongue. [grin]
