Go off on a blue streak on July 14th for Blueberry Picking Day
Fresh blueberries are the bee's knees, especially on July 14 th . It's Blueberry Picking Day.
In fact, in the United States, July is National Blueberry Month.
Are blueberries in season in your neck of the woods? Nutrition-packed blueberries are delicious and filled with disease-fighting force. My great aunt used to go on and on till she was blue in the face, extolling the merits of the blessed blueberry.
How much do you know about blueberries?
Here's a bolt from the blue. Check out these 10 fun facts about this family-favorite fruit:
1. Blueberries are native to North America.
2. One cup of blueberries contains about 85 calories.
3. The blueberry is the official state fruit of New Jersey.
4. Blueberries often change color when they are cooked.
5. South Haven, Michigan, claims to be the blueberry capitol of the world.
6. Blueberries have long been used as home remedies for constipation, coughs, diarrhea, heart disease, urinary infections and blood disorders.
7. America's 40 th President, Ronald Reagan, was a big fan of blueberry Jelly Belly candies.
8. Blueberries and huckleberries are not the same thing.
9. Blueberries have been known to fight free radicals, making them potential cancer preventers.
10. Folks who eat plenty of blueberries may have less belly fat than those who don't.
Why not pack up the car and pick a big bucket of blueberries today?
Perhaps you owe it to your body. Besides, once in a blue moon, it can be fun to go back to basics and pick your own fruit.
Who remembers Robert McCloskey's classic 1949 Caldecott Award-winning children's picture book, "Blueberries for Sal"? I treasured this story as a child and even saved the book for my own kids. We still have the volume, with a personal inscription inside the front cover from (Yep, you guessed it!) my old blueberry-loving aunt.
So go ahead. Take off on a blue streak. It's Blueberry Picking Day.
The kids will love it.
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