Preserving Blueberries

Glorious Blueberries!!

Not only are Blueberries totally delicious, they are extremely healthy too.  Blueberries are known to have the highest antioxidant of all fresh fruit.  They are full of Anthocyanin, Vitamin C, B Complex, Vitamin E, Vitamin A, Copper, Selenium, Zinc, and Iron.  In case you need more convincing, see the Top 10 Health Benefits of Blueberries on the Women's Fitness site.

Ok now, beyond all of that, spending time with friends and family in the blueberry patch makes for many fun memories and a plain ole' good time!  The children learn how to harvest God's bounty, work together and play together while us adults spend time sharing recipes and having excited conversations about what a wonderful life we have being able to just gather together and share this wonderful time of gathering such a delicious and nutritious bounty. 

At one point, while we were picking away, someone spotted this snapping turtle laying her eggs beneath one of the blueberry bushes.  All the children were called over to watch.  The excited crowd didn't seem to phase the little mother turtle at all, she continued to lay her eggs, cover up the hole and saunter slowly back down to the pond.  It was a great educational opportunity for the children.

Sadly enough, I have to confess this isn't our blueberry patch, but we do feel very blessed to have such a dear friend that invites us to pick in her patch.  Later this month, I will be attending a class about how to grow and maintain a beautiful blueberry patch just like this one.  If you are interested in learning about having your own blueberry patch, contact the Master Gardeners group in your area to see if they host such a class.  We hope to learn how to propagate these wonderful bushes to not only expand our dear friends patch, but to also plant our own patch right here on the homestead.

After a beautiful morning of picking, we gathered our buckets and carefully loaded our treasure with visions of fresh blueberry smoothies, blueberry pies, and all yummy blueberry things dancing in our heads.

The first thing we did with about 5 gallons of the blueberries was to flash freeze them and then bag them up for future smoothie use.  

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One of our favorite smoothies is a recipe that consists of 1/2 cup frozen blueberries, 1 cup of Acai, a very large spoonful of greek yogurt and 1 banana.  We usually use Organic Acai from Sambazon.  Their site has delicious recipes too.

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Here is another great recipe for using fresh or frozen blueberries in, Blueberry Zucchini Bread.  Follow the Source link for the recipe.  We will be making up several of these to freeze for later yumminess!

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These Blueberry Crumb Bars look delicious!  I found this one on Pinterest, but follow the Source link to the original recipe site.

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Making a Blueberry Pie takes lots of blueberries, but I can't see not making at least just one this season!

I'm excited to share this next Canning Whole Blueberries recipe link with you.  It caught my eye due to the Lavender sprigs in the jar.  The post for this recipe is a delightful article to read through about Suvir Saran’s American Masala Farm.

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Don't miss this delightful recipe.  Once you have these blueberries canned, you can use the yummy blueberries for anything you want to and also use the sauce as a concentrate for a refreshing drink too!

For many other fresh berry recipes or canning and preserving recipes, visit my Canning and Preserving board and the Fresh Berry Recipes board on my Pinterest Page.  Be sure to follow the boards to get all the newly posted recipes in the future.

Now, it's your turn to leave me a comment with a link to your favorite blueberry recipe for everyone to share!  I look forward to trying several new recipes!

You can find me linked up at:  Homestead Revival,  Raising Homemakers, Frugally Sustainable, Women Living Well, Raising Mighty Arrows, Deep Roots at Home, Farm Friend Friday, Farmgirl Friday,