The berries are here

It is berry season and we want to make the best of it.

If you are picking them on your own, getting them from a farmer or from your store; now is the time! It is always best to eat what is in season and grown locally. Both for your health and for the health of the planet.

For your health:

Because the fruit and vegetables that are grown locally have had a longer time to mature before it was picked or harvested. That sums up to being more nutrient dense and especially the micro-nutrients that are so important for our health. The glyconutrients are missing in our modern foods that come from factory farms and travel far to get to us. There are 8 essential glyconutrients, which help boost our immune system, but they are also essential for cellular communication and proper cell function. They are above and beyond your basic nutrients of vitamins and minerals. Every cell in our body – all 600 trillion of them – needs glyconutrients as it says on the glyconutrient reference site.

For the health of the planet:

It is all about the eco-system and how much it impacts the earth to use fuel and packaging for produce that travels far, sometimes for days, to get to the supermarket.

Farmers’ markets have a certain distance that they allow for it to be called local foods and the added benefit is that you can bring your own bag instead of using plastic. Of course I encourage you to do so to any store, especially the super-market. My favorite market bags are from my friend at Bee, Bark and Moss.

DIY Jam:

Path for Life - Photo: Torkil Stavdal

Path for Life – Photo: Torkil Stavdal

Pick ’em and don`t wash them unless they are sprayed with pesticides, then you definitely want to wash. Not washing pesticide free and hand picked berries makes them taste so much better.

Here we simply crushed the berries with a fork to make our own fresh jam. Add a little maple syrup or honey to sweeten, either directly to the “jam” or onto the bread. Beware that you really don’t need a lot of sweetness when you use fresh berries. The fresh tartness is fantastic.

Choose a good quality bread with whole and preferably organic ingredients. This one is an oat-bread from our local bread-makers Bread-Fellows. If you need wheat free – choose a whole rye bread (my favorite actually) or if you need to be completely gluten free you can either use a gluten-free bread or add the fresh berries to your summer oat-meal. The summer oatmeal below is with oat-milk, fresh strawberries and rhubarb compote.

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Path for Life – Photo: Torkil Stavdal