Eatable Alphabet: B is for Blueberries
This is part of our Eatable Alphabet™ blog series developed in partnership with ChopChop Family. ChopChop Family collaborated with the American Academy of Pediatrics to create these amazing activity cards which get kids to engage with whole foods, one of the easiest ways to encourage healthy eating. ChopChop makes it fun, fun, fun and we LOVE what they do and hope you do, too!
B, b, b. What begins with B? Blueberry, brain, and burst are three! And it’s very fitting because blueberries are amazing brainfood. Just a half cup a day can help keep brain cells healthy. Plus, blueberries are bursting with antioxidants—those amazing substances that keep cells and your body super-healthy.
Enjoy this post all about beautiful blueberries and ways to get your kid excited about them! (And don’t miss the special offer at the bottom to get your very own Eatable Alphabet™ cards!)
3 Fast Facts About Blueberries
- The blueberry is one of the only foods that is truly naturally blue in color.
- People have been eating blueberries for more than 13,000 years.
- Early Colonists made gray paint out of blueberries by boiling them in milk.
How to Choose, Store, and Wash Blueberries
- Choose blueberries that are plump and firm.
- Store blueberries in the fridge. Stored properly, they can last up to 10 days.
- Wash blueberries under gently running water right before you eat them. And only wash as many as you need. The silvery, waxy sheen (or “bloom”) found on the skin of blueberries is naturally occurring and helps protect the fruit. If you wash it off and then store them in the refrigerator, they break down faster.
Oodles of Ideas For Eating Blueberries
While blueberries are delicious all by themselves, they can also be pureed, dried, juiced, jellied, and added to an endless amount of recipes. Add blueberries to smoothies and fruit salads, top your cereal with them, or freeze and eat them like tiny fruitsicles. If fresh berries are in season, use them. If you don’t have fresh berries, that’s okay! Frozen berries are available all year round in the supermarket, and they are just as delicious! Here are 3 kid-approved ChopChop recipes:
- Blueberry Smoothie – This creamy, blue smoothie is just as tasty as it is easy.
- Overnight Oats with Blueberries – We love this breakfast recipe because (1) it’s delicious, and (2) your refrigerator does all the work for you while you sleep! Plus, it’s easy to grab and go if you’re running late in the morning.
- Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes – Lazy weekend mornings are our favorite kind for making breakfast with family and friends — and pancakes are always a hit!
Find more recipes on Chop Chop!
Tips for Having Fun (and Learning!) with Blueberries
- Count them, sort them by size, try basic addition and subtraction.
- Sing a blueberry song! Here’s some inspiration:
Let’s make pancakes, yum, yum, yum.And drop in blueberries, one by one.Turn the pancakes, now they're done.Blueberry pancakes, let’s have some!
- Read Blueberries for Sal, a Caldecott Honor Book that was written in 1948, but still entertains little ones all these years later.
- Go blueberry picking together! It’s a great way to enjoy nature together and to teach your child where food comes from. The Pick Your Own website has a list of over 1600 blueberry farms.
Do you have more ideas or recipes? Please share them in the comments below! And if you're interested in more Eatable Alphabet posts, click here.
About ChopChop Family
ChopChop Family, is the non-profit publisher of Eatable Alphabet Kitchen Activity Cards for Kids and the award-winning ChopChop: The Fun Cooking Magazine for Families. Their mission is to inspire and educate families to cook and eat real food together. ChopChop The Fun Cooking Magazine for Families is endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics and winner of the prestigious James Beard Foundation Award for Publication of the Year. Visit their shop and use code HELLOBELLO15 for 15% off their Activity Cards, magazine subscription, and more!
About Eatable Alphabet
Developed in collaboration with the American Academy of Pediatrics, and with funding from the CDC, Eatable Alphabet™ teaches toddlers that cooking real food is fun.
The cards offer a portable, accessible way to:
- Cultivate bonding between kids and caregivers
- Promote early nutrition awareness
- Experience the senses of sight, smell, sound, touch, and taste
- Introduce language, including some Spanish words, and food literacy
- Learn counting and early STEAM knowledge
- Teach valuable life skills
