According to Web MD, the blueberry is celebrated in July because it’s at peak harvest.  Most farmer’s markets have them for sale along with raspberries and blackberries (my favorite).

Blueberries are low in calories, have a great amount of vitamins and antioxidants plus fiber. Blueberries are listed as one of the ten super-duper superfoods in the Superfoods for Dummies book. A nice healthy snack!

It’s best to store blueberries in a covered container in the fridge but I just learned that you are not supposed to pre-wash them as they have a bloom that protects the skin of the blueberry. You can also freeze them if you don’t think you’ll eat them all before they would go bad which is usually within a week or less.

I personally like to use fresh or frozen blueberries in fruit smoothies, on top of cooked oatmeal,  in cold cereal and in Greek yogurt.

Learn How Blueberries Grow

And here is a yummy recipe for you.

Lemon and Blueberry Pancakes

4 ounces whole wheat plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon brown sugar
Zest of one lemon
4 ounces natural yogurt
2 tablespoons milk
2 medium eggs, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon butter
3 ounces blueberries

Place the flour, baking powder and baking soda in a large bowl.  Add the sugar and lemon rind.  Add the yogurt, milk, melted butter and beaten eggs.  Mix everything together well.  Gently fold in the blueberries.

Heat a non-stick skillet and drop a couple of tablespoons of mixtures into the pan to form a pancake.  Leave until you see small bubbles appear on the pancake and the mixture appears to be set.  At this point flip the pancake over and cook approximately one more minute.  Remove from heat and keep in a warm place until ready to serve.  Repeat with remaining mixture.

Do you like blueberries?

*images from Blueberry Council

With swimsuit season quickly approaching, eating healthier and getting in shape for summer is top of mind for many people.  One important part of weight management is healthy snacking – eating light, often.  In fact, new research presented at the Experimental Biology conference this week reveals that low-fat popcorn is a smart snack choice for weight management.

The study, commissioned by ConAgra Foods, found that eating a filling but calorie-controlled snack, such as Orville Redenbacher’s 94 percent fat-free SmartPop! popcorn, will leave you feeling fuller and less hungry than snacking on the same caloric amount of milk chocolate.

The study found that participants who ate a 100-calorie portion of SmartPop! popcorn versus two nuggets of milk chocolate (also 100 calories) were significantly less hungry and more full, had less desire for a second snack, and were more satisfied with the amount of food after eating the popcorn.

More About the Study

There were 49 female participants in the study, aged 20 to 50 years old, with a BMI between 18 and 25 (normal weight). All participants followed the same consumption protocol in a controlled testing facility. After an overnight fast, they arrived at the testing facility, ate a controlled breakfast, and then ate a snack 3.5 hours after breakfast. Participants’ fullness levels were approximately 40 percent higher 30 minutes after snacking on popcorn versus after eating chocolate.

About Orville Redenbacher’s SmartPop!

·         100% whole grain

·         94% fat-free

·         0 grams of trans fat

·         0 milligrams of cholesterol

·         Excellent source of fiber

·         Available in either full-sized or 100-calorie bags

·         Orville Redenbacher’s Gourmet Popping Corn pops up lighter and fluffier than ordinary popcorn.

·         Whole grains support heart health, and previous research has shown that popcorn consumers get more than twice the amount of whole grains as is typical in the U.S. diet, plus 20 percent more total fiber.

·         Learn more: http://www.orville.com/our-popcorn/microwave-popcorn-smartpop.jsp

I haven’t always been a fan of popcorn because I just can’t stand the smell sometimes but this popcorn is pretty good.  Hubby is more a fan of popcorn than myself and said he really enjoyed the Smart Pop Kettle Corn.  It wasn’t too sweet and it was just the right amount. Hey it’s only 100 calories a bag, can’t beat that.  But do be cautious not to use the popcorn setting on your microwave because it definitely doesn’t need that long since it’s a smaller portion than the regular bags.  Ours would have been perfect at about 1 minute in the microwave.

Do you like popcorn?  What is your favorite snack smart tip for the summer?

Photo source

*I was sent samples of this popcorn and info on the study to post about on my blog.

I love Pomegranates! Although a bit messy when opening (cover yourself in something you don’t mind getting stained ha ha), I love the little arils inside.  They are yummy on frozen yogurt, oatmeal and much more.  You can find a lot of great recipes on the POM Wonderful website.

Speaking of POM Wonderful, they sent me free samples of their 100% Pomegranate juice and hubby and I love it.  It’s so tasty and a little bit goes a long way!  It’s all-natural and contains no added sugars, preservatives, colors or cheap filler juices. The thing I love most about POM Wonderful is that they grown their own fruit, pick it by hand, squeeze it with their own proprietary presses and even manufacture their own bottles.  It’s great they never use imported juice.  I would love to visit their orchards in California’s San Joaquin Valley sometime.

In the Northern Hemisphere, the fruit is typically in season from September to February. In the Southern Hemisphere, it is in season from March to May (says Wikipedia) and did you know that pomegranates are one of mankind’s earliest cultivated fruits? Throughout history, the pomegranate has been revered as a symbol of health, fertility and rebirth.

Cannot wait to try the POMx items from POM Wonderful. They have POMx tea, iced coffee, bars and more!

Have you ever had pomegranates or pomegranate juice?

Raise your green smoothie.  Cheers!

I had a green smoothie (green monster smoothie) this morning and it was so much better than any of the ones I have made in the past and it was a pretty green color too not like my first one (you can read about my 1st green smoothie).  Looked nice next to my freshly painted green nails ha ha

In today’s smoothie went 1/2 cup of original almond milk, 1/2 cup of vanilla almond milk (I planned to use 1 cup of original but I ran out), 1/2 banana, 1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder, 2 cups of spinach and about 5 ice cubes (my smoothies have to be EXTRA cold). It was so tasty, I can’t wait to have another.

Everyone makes their green smoothies differently so here are a few that you might be interested in reading about.

Angela’s green smoothies

Raw Family’s green smoothie recipes

And today I just came across The Green Smoothie Queen site and blog. I’m excited to go read more.

Also, my friend Lain has used the book Green Smoothie Revolution and wrote about her experience with green smoothies over on her blog 30 Minute Martha.  Cute name for a blog huh?

So there you have it for green smoothie recipes and tips.  Enjoy!

Been so busy today that lunch came late so I whipped up an egg with spinach and had an egg sandwich with hot sauce and Laughing Cow cheese. It was definitely a winner!

Hubby and I have no special plans for dinner but we do have a date at the gym for spin class!

Do you have any plans for St. Patrick’s Day? Have you had a green smoothie today?

P.S. Just in case you are looking, Eating Well has some healthy St. Patrick’s Day recipes.

Workout stats for the week of June 22-28, 2009

Monday-

*Elliptical
Time: 17 min.
Calories burned: 179

*Personal training
Time: 20 min.
Calories burned: 200+

Tuesday-

*Walk outside
Time: 15 min.

Wednesday-

*Walk Away the Pounds Walk Slim
Time: 35 min.
Miles: 2
Calories burned: 320

*Walk outside
Time: 15 min.

Thursday-

*Walk outside
Time: 15 min.

Friday-

*Walk outside
Time: 20 min.

Saturday-

*Mow lawn
Time: 47 min.
Calories burned: 557

Sunday-

Day off

How did you do this week? Feel free to share your workout accomplishments here or on your blog if you have one and give us a link.

Had my 3rd green monster smoothie yesterday and it was quite tasty.  Kev took a video with my camera but I have no idea how to edit it so until then you’ll have to just imagine me drinking it LOL!

This green monster smoothie consisted of 1/3 cup blueberries, 2 handfuls of spinach, 1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk, 1 tbsp flax, 1 banana, 1 tbsp peanut butter, 8 ice cubes (not sure why it took that many this time) and 1 scoop of vanilla whey protein powder.  Tasty!

Make it a great week!

I made today’s green smoothie in a Back to Basics Smoothie Maker.  This smoothie was very tasty but the kale didn’t grind up as well in the actual smoothie maker as the spinach did in the Magic Bullet
(love, love, love the Magic Bullet).  Plus it took longer to prepare in the smoothie maker BUT since the smoothie maker is larger than the Magic Bullet, it was much easier to throw the ingredients together and much less messy.

Green smoothie #2 ingredients:

1 kale leaf, 1 c. unsweetened almond milk, 1 tbsp flax, 1 ripe banana, 1/4 c. frozen blueberries, 1 tbsp peanut butter (almond butter is recommended), 4-6 ice cubes and 1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder (not pictured).

I decided at the last minute to add the ice and protein powder.

Sorry for the messy glass, I dumped it back in the smoothie maker when I decided to add ice and protein powder ha ha.  OK, the picture did not turn out too well either bummer.

It’s been fun trying out these two green smoothies.  I’ll share more as soon as I make them and will probably put the recipes together on my main website so you can find them all in one place.  These smoothies seem to hold me over fine until lunch time which is great.

I would love to own one of those Vita Mix blenders that I hear so many great things about.  Imagine what you could make with one of those!  Have you seen the Vita Mix blender?  Own one?

Happy Thursday!  Make it a great day.

PS.  Read about my very first green smoothie experience.

Want to see?

Here are the ingredients

1 banana, 5 frozen strawberries, 1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder, 1 cup baby spinach, approx. 1 cup almond milk and 2 tsp. flax

I just guessed on the ingredient amounts and it turned out well to me.  I used my Magic Bullet mixer so the cups are small (but as you see below it filled a full glass and there was a tiny bit extra) and most green smoothies I saw I’m pretty sure were made in an actual smoothie maker or full size blender.  If you have any tips on the amounts or ingredients feel free to share!

Here’s the final product (can you see the colored specs?), yum.

I have a list of other green smoothie ingredients I would like to try so you’ll be seeing more of my concoctions on the blog.  It should be fun!

If you have made green monster green smoothies, please feel free to link to your blog or share with us here.

Read about my 2nd green monster smoothie here.

Here are some of my favorites:

• Spinach
• Peppers
• Apples
• Grapes
• Broccoli
• Green Beans
• Brussel Sprouts
• Kiwi
• Peas
• Asparagus
• Green Tea

I especially love brussel sprouts and asparagus.  As you probably noticed, I linked to my brussel sprouts recipe above and you can also make asparagus in a similar fashion using all the same spices.  We like to bake our asparagus on a stone.  Turns out great!

Here is an Asparagus Couscous Salad recipe for you:

1 cup frozen green peas
12 asparagus spears, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into matchstick-size strips
2 ounces snow peas, trimmed and cut diagonally in half
1 onion, finely sliced
4 cups uncooked Israeli couscous
2 tomatoes, diced into small pieces
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups vegetable stock or canned vegetable broth

Place carrots, frozen peas and asparagus in a pan of boiling water and cook for approximately 4 minutes.  Drain and set aside.

Heat the olive oil and add the onion and cook for approximately 2 to 4 minutes until tender.  Set aside.  Cook couscous according to package instructions but replace the indicated amount of water with the same amount of vegetable broth.  Once the couscous is ready fluff with a fork and transfer to pan with onions and cooked vegetables.

Add a little soy sauce and a tablespoon of lemon juice.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

What are some of your favorite green foods?

Oh and are you a subscriber to the Hungry Girl daily email?  If not, I would recommend it.  Today they featured a Shamrock Star and it sounds divine!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day

Last night I was doing a quick Google search on how to cook them and I chose a roasting method.  I am usually one to follow a recipe but I wanted to do this on my own so I took ideas from a few and just put it together on my own.  Go me!

Angie’s Roasted Brussel Sprouts

Here are the ingredients I used

Roasted Brussel Sprouts ingredients

• Trader Joe’s Brussel Sprouts
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
• Green onions
• Garlic Cloves
• Sea Salt
• Pepper
• Nutmeg
• Garlic powder (not pictured, last minute sprinkle)

Heat stove to 400 degrees

Cut up 4 green onions (only white part), 2 garlic cloves and then cut the brussel sprouts up in halves and quarters.  Pour EVOO over that, sprinkle sea salt, pepper and nutmeg over that.  Mix up to coat.  Before roasting, I sprinkled some garlic powder.

Baked in glass dish for 25 minutes, stirring once.  The finished product is below.  We thought they turned out pretty good (especially for me not really following a true recipe) but hubs recommends that next time I cover it and add more liquid.

Enjoy!

Do you like brussel sprouts?  If so, how do you prefer them cooked?