Fresh blueberries in July from the farmers market are delicious, but nothing like picking your own blueberries from the farm.
I went to Portland Maine to drop my niece to college and on the way back stopped to pick blueberries, they were so delicious. There is huge taste difference between the Blueberries available at the supermarket and the local ones.
I used the fresh blueberries to make whole wheat oatmeal pancakes for my students and at home I made baked French toast for 4 sets of guests. It was quick and delicious. The pancakes were also great the recipe was from epicurious, I will post it later this evening, it has a host of benefits due to the oats and whole wheat, surprising it tastes good too. Even if you add maple syrup, you still get many nutrients compared to traditional pancakes.
Blueberries have so many benefits, that I could fill a whole page, but to me the most important are that they are a part of the MIND diet. They help against Alzheimer’s. They have many antioxidants and have a lot of fiber, vitamins A, C, K, B6, and minerals. The MIND diet is part Mediterranean and part DASH. Both diets have shown in several studies to help against many diseases like heart disease and stroke, but the MIND diet can help with Dementia and Alzheimer. The rates of Alzheimer’s in the USA are rising and it really is a scary disease, so let’s try to do all we can to help prevent it or slow its decline.
Taken from Wikipedia.org
MIND diet
“The Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay diet, or more commonly, the MIND diet, combines the portions of the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet and the Mediterranean diet.[1] Both the DASH diet and the Mediterranean diet have been shown to improve cognition; however, neither were developed to slow neurodegeneration (e.g. Alzheimer’s disease).[2] Therefore, a team at Rush University Medical Center, headed by Martha Clare Morris (a nutritional epidemiologist), worked to create the MIND diet.[3] Like the DASH and Mediterranean diets, the MIND diet emphasizes the intake of fresh fruit, vegetables, and legumes.[4] The MIND diet also includes recommendations for specific foods, like leafy greens and berries, that have been scientifically shown to slow cognitive decline.[3] Recent research has shown that the MIND diet is more effective at reducing cognitive decline than either the Mediterranean or DASH diets alone.[3] Additional testing has shown that the level of adherence to the MIND diet also impacts the diet’s neuro-protective effects.[5]”
The recipe for the pancakes and French toast are great to add blueberries.
Blueberry baked French Toast
Ingredients
- 1 cup blueberries
- 5 eggs
- 1/2 a loaf of Challah bread or French bread
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1-2 Tablespoons butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 cup brown sugar.
- 1/4 cup shredded coconut
Method
Beat the eggs with the vanilla, cinnamon and brown sugar.
Cube the bread and layer it in a greased 8 inch square or rectangle glass dish, then add the blueberries.
Pour the egg mixture over the bread and blueberries. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
The next day, sprinkle shredded coconut over the dish and dot with the butter.
Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees, for 40 minutes.
Eat and enjoy. This dish can be frozen.
