Let's Celebrate!

Did you know July is actually a National Blueberry month? It is the peak of its harvest. So, go ahead take advantage of the lowest prices of the year!

Not a big fan of blueberries?

Let me help you change your mind!

Fresh blueberries are one of the most popular summer treats of all time. They are sweet, succulent, full of nutrients, and can be eaten freshly picked as well as incorporated into a variety of recipes.

One cup of fresh blueberries contains 84 calories, 0 grams of cholesterol, 1.1 grams of protein, 0.49 grams of fat, 21 grams of carbohydrate and 3.6 grams of dietary fiber (14% of the recommended daily dose.) Also blueberries rank the highest of any fruit for antioxidants , and one cup delivers and nearly a quarter of the recommended daily intake of vitamin C.

What are the possible health benefits of blueberries?

1) Maintaining healthy bones

2) Lowering blood pressure

3) Managing diabetes

4) Preventing cancer

5) Warding off heart disease

6) Improving mental health

7) Promoting weight loss

8) Fighting wrinkles

Not enough good news?

Blueberries are of particular benefit in maintaining eye health. The nutritious elements of blueberries could help prevent many disorders that eventually lead to impaired vision or blindness. According to Life Extension magazine, blueberries may have benefits for the eyes beyond what is even known.

How to Select and Store Blueberries

Choose blueberries that are firm and have a lively, uniform hue colored with a whitish bloom. Shake the container, noticing whether the berries have the tendency to move freely; if they do not, this may indicate that they are soft and damaged or moldy. Avoid berries that appear dull in color or are soft and watery in texture. They should be free from moisture since the presence of water will cause the berries to decay. When purchasing frozen berries, shake the bag gently to ensure that the berries move freely and are not clumped together, which may suggest that they have been thawed and refrozen. Blueberries that are cultivated in the United States are available from May through October while imported berries may be found at other times of the year.

Before storing remove any crushed or moldy berries to prevent the rest from spoiling. Don't wash berries until right before eating, as washing will remove the bloom that protects the berries' skins from degradation. Store ripe blueberries in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. If kept out at room temperature for more than a day, the berries may spoil.

Ripe berries can also be frozen, although this will slightly change their texture and flavor. Before freezing, wash, drain and remove any damaged berries. To better ensure uniform texture upon thawing, spread the berries out on a cookie sheet or baking pan, place in the freezer until frozen, then put the berries in a plastic bag for storage in the freezer.

Best Places to Pick Blueberries

What better way to celebrate The National Blueberry Month than taking the family out on a day trip to pick some berries? Here are the two farms within a day’s driving distance that will let you pick their berries and take them home to make blueberry pie, blueberry jam, blueberry muffins, or to just enjoy alone.

Knutson’s Country Harvest

13550 Townhouse Rd.

Newark, IL 60541

Phone: 815-557-4630

knutsonsharvest.com

From Chicago it takes about an hour and a half to get out to Knutson’s for a day of picking. They offer four varieties of blueberries to pick from. They are a family-owned and operated orchard. They also make their own homemade pies, jams, pickles, relishes and honey and offer bee demonstrations and hay rides.

Valley Orchard

811 E. State St.

Cherry Valley, IL 61016

Phone: 815-332-9696

thevalleyorchard.com

Another hour and a half drive outside of Chicago will take you to Valley Orchard, a 35-acre, family-owned orchard, which boasts approximately 5,000 apple trees. But when apples aren’t in season you can pick raspberries, blueberries and blackberries. They ask that you call ahead on days when the temperature will be in the mid 90s as they will close early.

And what is your favorite blueberry recipe? 

Sweet Tooth

My son loves sweet food! And to be honest, I love it myself. And because a lot of sugar is not good for us, I am always searching for some new healthy alternatives to satisfy our sweet tooth!

Today I would like to share two recipes I came up with last fall - Granola, Yogurt, Berry Parfait and Baked Apples Stuffed with Honey and Granola. They each make a great snack or desert! My son liked them, and even my husband did (who is not a big fan of sweet food). They both are very easy to prepare and take minimum ingredients.

Baked Apples Stuffed with Honey.

You will need: 
- 8 apples (I use Braeburn or Gala apples) cored and stem removed.
- 1 cup granola (I use Cascadian Farm Organic Cinnamon Raisin Granola)
- 1/2 tsp. honey (for each apple) 
- 8 drops lemon juice
- 8 paper muffin cups
- Aluminum foil 

 What to do:
- Preheat oven to 400 F.
- Place each apple in the muffin cup,
- Place all 8 apples in a small baking dish covered with aluminum foil.
- Add a drop of lemon juice and honey into each cored apple.
- Sprinkle enough granola into each apple to fill them up.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes.
- Let cool approximately 10-15 min. before serving.

 Makes 8 servings (1 apple each).

You can add some more honey on top when you serve the apples.

Granola, Yogurt, Berry Parfait.

You will need:

- 4 whiskey glasses

- Vanilla Greek yogurt (I use Chobani Vanilla Non-Fat Greek Yogurt)

- 2 cups your favorite granola

- 2 cups fresh berries (I use blueberries usually)

- 4 tsp. honey

What to do:

- Line up 4 whiskey glasses.

- Spoon 2 teaspoons of Greek yogurt into each glass and smooth surface.

- Spoon 2 teaspoons of granola over the top of yogurt and smooth surface.

- Spoon 2 teaspoons of fruit over the top of granola and smooth surface.

- Repeat the process so you have two layers, adding a bit of honey here and there, to taste.

Makes 4 servings.

Now I would like to tell you about the ingredients I picked. In both recipes I used granola and honey. There are a lot of benefits of both of these products. 

Granola is an extremely popular breakfast and snack food with a wealth of health benefits, including its ability to lower cholesterol, regulate digestion, aid in weight loss attempts, improve your heart health, increase energy, prevent anemia and promote proper organ function. Intake of granola also helps to lower blood pressure, increase cognitive activity, improve skin quality, build stronger bones, manage diabetes, stimulate new tissue and hormonal growth, and even prevent cancer (!) The long list of health benefits commonly attributed to granola is mainly due to its content of vitamins, minerals, and other essential nutrients, including, but not limited to, dietary fibers, sodium, potassium, zinc, phosphorus, magnesium, calcium, vitamin-E, vitamin-C, niacin, vitamin E, iron, and thiamin.

(Info taken from https://www.organicfacts.net/)

Honey has been used by countless cultures all around the world over the past 2,500 years. While the numerous health benefits of honey have made it an important element of traditional medicines such as Ayurvedic treatments, scientists are also researching the benefits of honey in relation to modern medicine, particularly in the healing of wounds. According to the National Honey Board, honey contains “small amounts of a wide array of vitamins and minerals, including niacin, riboflavin, calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium and zinc.” Thus, using honey instead of sugar provides more nutrients for its calories.

The main thing to remember when it comes to honey is that not all honey is created equal. The antibacterial activity in some honeys is 100 times more potent than in others, while processed refined honey will lack many of these beneficial properties altogether. Your average domestic “Grade A” type honey found in the grocery store is likely highly processed. So, to make sure you take all the benefits out of the product, find out how to verify the purity of honey.

Have a great day and enjoy!

Blend it up!

What can be healthier and easier to prepare than a fresh blended smoothie?

It can be a good snack for you or your kid, or sometimes it can even replace a meal. Being a picky eater, my son sometimes doesn’t want to have a full meal after he comes back home from a day care. So, I usually just mix up a power smoothie for him, and take a sip myself!

To make a good smoothie you need a good blender! There is an overwhelming variety of blenders on the market at a different price range, and sometimes it is hard to decide which one to buy. I decided to pick two models of blenders to evaluate and let you decide which one you prefer. 

 KitchenAid 5-Speed Diamond Blender

I personally love the KitchenAid brand. One of the pros of this blender is that it is competitively priced. You can get it on Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/KitchenAid-KSB1575ER-5-Speed-60-Ounce-BPA-Free/dp/B00CGSES9I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1436454429&sr=8-1&keywords=kitchen+aid+blender+diamond) for $89.99.

It comes in many different colors. Some are: Yellow, Empire Red, Metallic Chrome, Blue, Orange, and others.

The jar is 60 ounces and made of BPA-free plastic.

If you are shopping for blender, you may ask yourself like I did, if there is really a big difference between a BPA-free plastic jars and the glass ones? To be honest there is not really any major difference, maybe just a few, and it all really boils down to style and personal preference. A lot of blender users love the glass jar simply because it looks and feels better as well as being slightly more durable than the plastic types. However, a lot of the cheaper budget blenders that use a plastic jar may use inferior plastic which could contain BPA, so always make sure your blending jar is BPA free – of course with glass you will not have to worry about BPA leaking into your food.

The shape of the container jug is a diamond. This shape helps to produce a vortex during your blending cycles that helps to pull and blend all of your ingredients thoroughly and quickly.

The KitchenAid blender features a powerful 0.9 horsepower 550 watts motor which should make light work of anything  like liquefying food, stirring, mixing, chopping and even pureeing (great for a homemade baby food!)

One of the unique features on this unit is the two lids; the main lid is used for a solid seal and the second is an inner lid, which is a removable lid that can be used for adding more ingredients during the process of blending.

Frozen Margarita, anyone? KitchenAid blender makes easy work of those as well as dips, sauces, salad dressings, soups and more. If you are looking for a versatile blender that can take on and tackle a whole host of kitchen prepping tasks the KitchenAid blender should be on your list for consideration.

Other pros: cleans easily, low maintenance, lightweight and durable.

Cons: can be very loud, no additional container/jugs provided for grinding.

The bottom line: a no-nonsense blender that is powerful, handles most tasks and is available for a good price.

       Ninja Professional Blender (BL660)

This blender is a bit more expensive choice priced at $104.95 on Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/Ninja-BL660-Professional-Blender/dp/B00939FV8K/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1436456306&sr=1-1&keywords=Ninja+Professional+Blender+%28BL660%29)

So, what makes the brand claim a professional status? There are a few reasons.

The 1,100-watt motor allows you to puree, crush, and blend easily. You can switch between two different options. The 72-ounce pitcher makes it possible to blend large quantities at once. And also the blender comes with Nutri Ninja Cups that let you blend directly in the smaller 16oz. containers so you can drink your smoothie on the move.

All of the blender parts are BPA free. Additionally, this Ninja pitcher is 100% dishwasher safe and all of the removable parts are too, like the lid and blade.

The overall appearance of the Ninja Professional Blender is sleek. The power buttons are easy to clean with a simple wipe and the base offers suction caps that help hold the blender in place whilst in use.

When it comes to warranty, unlike the KitchenAid blender, the Ninja Professional Blender (BL660) comes with a 1 year manufactures warranty which provides plenty of coverage, so you won’t have to worry about buying a new blender in a few months if the motor dies.

Other pros: very highly rated, stands at top place on may consumer review sites.

Cons: Plastic can get scratched and foggy over time if cleaned harshly and the blades, if not handled appropriately can scratch the interior of the jug.

Bottom line: it really gives you the bang for your buck! Emphasis on vitamin and nutrient extraction, powerful motor.

And what blender are you currently using?

Enjoy your summer! And a happy blending to you!

Good news, bad news...

While child obesity is actually declining in much of U.S., Illinois is still not doing so great...

Here are the scary numbers.

1 in 8 preschoolers nationwide is obese, and therefore 5 times as likely as their peers to become overweight adults. However,  numbers declined in 19 of 43 states from 2008 to 2011. These numbers appear the latest indications that Americans are becoming healthier - a trend continuing after the Center for Disease Control reported in 2003 that obesity rates were finally stagnating after decades on the rise

Good news for the most of the States. But not Illinois. According to CDC, obesity rates did not change between 2008 and 2011 in 21 of 43 states, including Illinois. 30 percent of Illinois preschoolers were overweight or obese in 2012 (to find out  definitions and the difference between the overweight and obesity in children go here http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/patientinstructions/000384.htm).
Also, our home state reports higher than median rates of high-schoolers who consume at least one soda a day and watch at least 3 hours of TV a day. Vegetable consumption is also lower than recommended - 88 percent do not eat vegetables with every meal.

Sad statistics, parents...

So, there are two questions here:

1.What Is Chicago Doing?
In some neighborhood grocery stores, it’s difficult to find fresh vegetables and far easier and cheaper to eat what’s highly caloric. It can even be too dangerous to play outside, which leads to children being sedentary in their homes. Thankfully, CLOCC (the Consortium to Lower Obesity in Chicago Children - www.clocc.net) and the city of Chicago have been incredibly proactive over the last decade.

With the creation of Healthy Places—a joint partnership between the Chicago Department of Public Health and CLOCC—the city is working to “implement sustainable policies, systems and environmental changes that address obesity in Chicago by creating healthier environments where Chicagoans live, work, learn and play,” according to CLOCC.

Chicago is increasing access to fresh and healthy foods through healthier vending-machine options throughout city parks; mobile produce carts that bring in affordable, fresh fruits and vegetables to lower-income areas; community gardens; and corner stores with healthy options. The city has also stressed the importance of physical activity by designing street and sidewalk access for bikes and walking paths as well as safe access to parks.

Chicago Public Schools are also on board with healthy food options on their menus and an increase in physical activity during school and after-school programs. Nutrition and wellness education is stressed not only in schools but citywide.

2. What Can You Do? (and this pretty much what my blog is about)
Although an epidemic as large as childhood obesity can be overwhelming, taking small steps to begin living a healthier lifestyle can make it seem more approachable.

When it comes to how many calories a day a child should consume, there is no straight answer; that it is different for every child, depending on the child’s current body size, activity level, metabolic rate, and where each child is at in the growth spurt.

Instead of limiting calories, allow healthy snacks, avoid sugary sodas and juices, practice portion control, and cut out the oil and butter when cooking, keep screen time (which includes television, video games and the computer) to a minimum—it’s not only easy to eat more while sitting in front of a screen, but watching aggressive and tantalizing marketing ads for foods on TV can also be a problem.

Simple steps to childhood obesity prevention include:

- Rethink drinks. Nix sugary beverages, such as soda and juice, from your child’s diet—it’s an easy way to carve 400–500 calories off the daily caloric intake.  Add a 16-ounce Snapple Lemon Iced Tea from the vending machine for an afternoon thirst quench, and you’re up to 440 calories in one day, with just two drinks. And while most of us know that soda is chock-full of calories, many of us are unaware of the calories in juice. A 20-ounce glass of 100 percent orange juice contains 280 calories, and a 20-ounce glass of 100 percent apple juice contains 300 calories, although numbers vary brand to brand.

- Practice portion control. The average restaurant meal is about four times the size that it was back in the 1950s. The CDC recommends splitting meals when you eat out or taking some home with you for another meal. To keep kids from overeating at mealtime, let them eat a healthy snack, like a piece of fruit or small salad, before dinner. The CDC also recommends dividing up the contents of one large package, like a bag of pretzels or crackers, into several smaller bags to help avoid overeating.

 - Get physical. According to the 2012 CDC Illinois State profile survey, 24 percent of kids were physically active for a total of at least 60 minutes per day. That means 76 percent(!) were not. Get kids to play, and get their adrenaline pumping for an hour each day. Whether it’s inside or around your home, be active with your kids. Also, minimize television-viewing time. According to the CDC, about 36 percent of kids watched television three or more hours per day on an average school day. CLOCC recommends two hours or less of screen time a day, which includes TV, playing on a computer and video games.

While, all these steps may seem like a common sense to most of the parents, sometimes maintaining a healthy lifestyle and keeping up with a busy schedules and running multiple errands during the day, can be quite overwhelming.
I hope my blog can be useful for you, dear parents. Here you can find some ideas of outdoors and indoors activities with kids, quick and easy recipes for busy adults (and maybe some more sophisticated ones ;)), reviews of  places to go and  local happenings, farmers markets, etc, and some useful links and articles on the topic of the healthy families lifestyle.

Welcome and have fun!