by Frederic Patenaude
“The child in you wants more
berries!”
It's time for berries! Let's rediscover
those little wonders of nature, which
are jam-packed with more nutrients than
most cultivated fruits. Wild berries
are even more nutritious and you can
get them for free.
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High in Antioxidants and Nutrients
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Antioxidants are compounds that protect
against cell damage inflicted by molecules
called oxygen-free radicals, which are
a major cause of disease and aging.
It's been found that most berries rank
higher in antioxidant activities when
compared to other cultivated fruits
and vegetables. The USDA Human Nutrition
Center ranked blueberries the #1most
antioxidant rich berry. Strawberries
came second on the list. The antioxidants
are usually found in the pigment that
give berries their color. They help
protect us from cancer naturally.
Berries also contain a higher amount
of phytochemicals than most other fruits.
Phytochemicals are components of plants
that have been shown to help prevent
certain diseases, or at least influence
our health in a positive sense.
Berries are generally high in vitamin
C. For example, a cup of strawberries
contains as much vitamin C as a cup
of orange juice. Without having to go
through the list, let's just remember
that berries, especially wild ones,
contain plenty of vitamins, minerals,
antioxidants and other phytochemicals,
more than most cultivated fruits.
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The Fun is the Variety
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The best thing about berries is that
there are so many of them. Strawberries,
raspberries, blueberries, but also blackberries,
black raspberries, gooseberries... the
list is endless. All types of berries
have their particularities and health
benefits, and we all have our favorites!
Mine are black raspberries, raspberries
and blackberries. Each year it seems
I discover a new type of berry that
I've never seen before... and it's always
an enjoyable experience.
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Unfortunately...
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The bad news is that most commercially
grown berries are heavily sprayed with
pesticides. The ones that are notoriously
bad in that regard are strawberries
and raspberries. As mentioned in a previous
article, those two berries are in the
top-12 most contaminated produce sold
in North America.
For that reason, it would be wise to
seek organically-grown berries, or even
better, wild ones.
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Where to Find Wild Berries
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Wild berries are all around us. Honestly,
it would be hard to imagine someone
living farther than 5 or 6 miles away
from a bush of wild berries. Each year,
I've always made a point of seeking
the wild berries in my area and I've
always found some. Sometimes the supply
was scanty, yes, but no matter where
I lived I've always been surrounded
by berries.
When I went to Oregon a few years ago,
I discovered the magic of blackberries
of the Northwest. It appears that the
woods in that area are jam-packed with
big, sweet, round blackberries during
the summer. I remember picking and eating
so many of them that I eventually thought
to myself: there's got to be a way to
feed the whole state with what's found
in the woods!
The problem is that most people don't
even see wild berries, or look for them,
and when they do, they don't eat them!
A few days ago my friend and I went
to a national park nearby where I live.
Suddenly, we found an endless supply
of wild blueberries. As we started picking
them almost greedily, many people went
by and saw us picking berries. “Oh
look honey, there are blueberries there”,
they were saying, and then just passed
by us without even trying them! A few
people tried some, but found them to
be too small to be worth the hassle.
I couldn't believe it! What can you
expect when most people think "food"
needs to be wrapped and sold in a supermarket.?
So before you turn into an insensitive
city-dweller who never gets to actually
pick the food he eats, reform yourself
starting today. Go out to pick some
wild berries. They're easy to find in
the outskirts of woods and around trails.
If you live in a city, you might want
to check out along railways (if there
are any), or do the right thing, which
is to leave the smog for a day and come
back with buckets of the stuff.
A hassle-free alternative would be to
go to an organic farm and ask them if
you can pick them yourself. Usually,
they offer that option and charge a
lot less for it. When I do this, I generally
spend hours picking and come back with
so many berries I don't know what to
do with. I like that feeling...
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Some Ideas on What to Do With Berries
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Berries make a great entree to a dinner
salad, and actually combine very well
with a salad, since they do not contain
as much sugar as other fruits. You can
also make nice salad dressings with
berries. A non-fat dressing recipe to
try is blending raspberries and celery
stalks together.The result is surprising!
Smoothies made with berries are hard
to beat. One that I really like is blending
2 thirds mango with 1 third raspberries.
For example, 2 cups of mango flesh with
1 cup of raspberries. You can try variations
of this with other berries and fruits.
The possibilities are endless and the
results are predictably outstanding.
Here's a nice berry recipe from my book,
Instant Raw Sensations:
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Summer Berry Soup
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Makes 4 servings
1 liter (1000 ml.) freshly-squeezed
orange juice
2 cups fresh raspberries
1 cup fresh blackberries
1 cup fresh blueberries or strawberries
Instructions:
Mix all ingredients together and let
sit for sometime to let the flavors
mix.
Notes:
This is a great soup to enjoy as often
as possible during the berry season.
I serve it as an entree before the dinner
meal.
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Freezing Berries
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If you've got too many berries at the
height of the season, or would like
to enjoy those wild berries at other
times of the year, you can certainly
freeze them. Although I don't recommend
the consumption of cold, frozen fruits
on a regular basis, those thawed berries
still contain most of the nutritional
benefits of fresh berries and this might
be a great option to add variety during
the winter. What I want to avoid, however,
is the consumption of cold frozen berries
(or other fruits), as this negatively
impacts the health of our intestinal
flora. So when you want to eat your
frozen berries, always thaw them beforehand.
They make nice additions to smoothies
and fruit salads during the winter.
In conclusion: eat more berries.
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Suggested Berry Book (In honor of
the child in you.)
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“Jamberry” by Bruce Degen,
is a wonderful children's book all about
berries.
A teaser:
"The story of a young boy and a
friendly rhyme-spouting bear,
joyously romping through a fantastic
berryworld. They won't
stop their berry picking until the last
boomberry has blasted
in the strawberry sky.”
Here's an excerpt:
"One berry
Two berry
Pick me a blueberry
Hatberry
Shoeberry
In my canoeberry..."
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