A Berry Smoothie: Use Raspberries, Blueberries, Blackberries, or any Frozen Berry You Have At Home
The Willamette Valley of the Pacific Northwest is home to some of the best berry growing fields in the world. The Valley is located in Oregon, and starts at Portland, and ends at Eugene, to the south. There are dozens of varieties grown in the valley. You can find blueberries, raspberries, marionberries, blackberries, evergreens, and of course strawberries. The climate and growing season is such that the fruits develop high sugar content, so they are incredibly sweet and juicy. Unfortunately, this also affects their shelf life, so the harvested berries are quickly processed, or sold in local markets...and you won't find fresh berries traveling outside the valley. They just don't hold up. But the good news is modern processing can flash freeze the fruit, and package it in individually frozen pieces, good as fresh. If you're at your grocer, and fresh frozen fruit is available, and it's a product of Oregon, or the Willamette Valley, it will be worth the purchase price! Here is a basic Berry Smoothie, using blueberries
The next smoothie recipe uses raspberries, with a holiday twist, cranberries. Be sure to buy extra cranberries at thanksgiving, and freeze them. Cranberry juice can also be used in place of the berries, just adjust the recipe to your liking.
Blackberries seem to be a common fruit in most parts of the country. You can find them growing wild, but also, look for u pick farms, or check your local newspapers for growers, if you live in an agricultural area. There are many varieties of berries that mirror the blackberry, so, depending on where you live, you can use those instead of blackberries. Substitutes include marionberries, boysenberries, and evergreens. We pick, rinse, and freeze them on cookie sheets. You can also find them at major grocery outlets. If you have a Costco, look there. Having grown up in the Willamette Valley, I am somewhat spoiled by the abundance of berries that the local farmers grow. One particular berry, the marionberry was developed by Oregon State University. It is a cross between 2 varieties of blackberries. The Marionberry is deep red, naturally sweet, and absolutely one of the best tasting berries in the world.
The Oregon Berry Commission can help you get your hands on these berries.
There are, of course hundreds of recipes to choose from. If you are like most people, you will want to get your hands on some hard copy recipes, as in books. One of my all time favorites is The Smoothies Bible by Pat Crocker. Not only does Pat have many recipes to choose from, but her book details *nutrients *common ailments, and *ingredients Everything is crossed referenced. From headaches to hangovers, you will be able to look it up, decide which smoothie will do the job, and BAM!!...your in business. If that's not enough, there are a couple dozen of other recipe books to check out...But, you are only going to need one, maybe two. This is the Berry Smoothie Page, click here to return to fruit smoothies |
