My {Blueberry} Fix

Why so blue berry?

Jealous of your thin, distant

cousin banana?

Happy 4th of July everyone! I dedicate this day to all red, white and blue foods...and America of course. 

I have made today's recipes quick and easy because it's kind of a national holiday and most of you are busy. I'm including four recipes that you can make anytime during the course of the day, in between parties or if you are just plain bored. And most of these recipes are centered around the same ingredients, which makes everything easier! Yet, along with being simple and color savvy, I also want to highlight one of my favorite Superfoods: the blueberry. 

While all of you are out swimming and watching pyrotechnics in the sky, I will be eating and doing these activities simultaneously. Let's start with breakfast.

Red, White and Blueberry Bagel

Simple. Easy. Straightforward. A blueberry bagel with non-fat cream cheese and sliced strawberries. And I'll need the carbs because today is the day I take on a "not your Grandma's water aerobics boot camp" class! {Yes, that is literally what it's called}. The gym schedule is weird today anyways, and I've been wanting to give this a try for a while now.

A Patriotic Parfait

Lunch consists of a Greek yogurt, fruit and granola parfait. It's perfect if you are going to a party later tonight where there will be lots of food and you want to eat light.

You need:

Non-fat Greek yogurt

Agave nectar

Strawberries

Blueberries

Your favorite granola-- My loyalties lie with Kashi GOLEAN Crunch

Pour Agave nectar into the Greek yogurt until it is sweet enough for your liking {This being said, Greek yogurt tastes like sour cream on it's own. So if you are like me, its going to need quite a bit}. I like to use a tall, clear glass. Then you layer your yogurt, berries and granola until its filled to the top and enjoy! The protein in the Greek yogurt will be enough to sustain you for a while, and the combination of all the ingredients is so refreshing on a hot day where you're bound to be outdoors!

Blueberry BBQ Chicken

This recipe is a little more time consuming than the others but trust me, it makes an amazing dinner. It is the perfect summer meal! The acidity of the vinegar along with the sweetness of the blueberries paired with the savory chicken is a nice combination.

You need: 

4 whole boneless chicken breasts

2 cups blueberries

3 tbsp ketchup

2 tbsp molasses

1 tbsp rice vinegar

1 tbsp brown sugar

1/8 tsp allspice

Coat the chicken in olive oil, lemon pepper, garlic salt and chicken seasoning.

For the barbecue sauce, pour all the ingredients into a saucepan and bring to a boil on a medium burner. Let this simmer for 15 minutes, until it becomes a delicious blueberry concoction. 

Serve up the chicken and pour over sauce immediately. A great side to this dish that we made was corn, cherry tomato and zucchini shish kabobs. This recipe is truly delicious, and if you have the time to buy all the ingredients beforehand and prepare, it makes a killer meal.

Sweet Liberty Cupcakes

As does every American holiday, the 4th of July deserves a firecracker desert to finish off the day. I was just playing around with the idea of fruit and cupcakes when I thought, why not mix the two together! I have to say that fruit adds a dynamic flavor to the batter, and creates a moist and fluffy texture. And it dyes the cupcakes all on its own so no artificial food coloring is necessary!

You need: 

1 package Funfetti cupcake mix

Strawberries

Blueberries

4 egg whites

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 1/2 cups water

1/2 cup Non-fat Greek yogurt

1 8 oz container Non-fat cream cheese

1/2 cup Confectioners' Sugar 

1 package Dream Whip

1 tsp vanilla

Food Coloring for frosting

Aside from the Dream Whip, you should already have most of these ingredients if you made any of the other recipes. I recommend you make the frosting first. Mix Greek yogurt, cream cheese, Confectioners' Sugar, Dream Whip and vanilla into a mixing bowl and blend with an electronic mixer on high for 5 minutes. Once the mixture is slightly fluffy but still moves when you tilt the bowl, place it in your refrigerator to chill and solidify. 

Make the Funfetti batter by using the directions on the box and then split batter into three bowls. Finely chop up strawberries and mix into one bowl and place whole blueberries in another. Mash the fruit into the cupcake mixture until the batter changes color. Leave the third bowl alone. Preheat your oven to the heat listed on the box and pour all three mixes into separate cupcake tins in the meantime. You should have enough for about 4 of each color with one package.

While the cupcakes are baking, take frosting out from the fridge and see if it has thickened.
If so, separate the frosting into three containers and add drops of red and blue food coloring into two, leaving the third alone again.

Once the cupcakes are done, allow them to cool then frost with the different colors of icing. Chop up remaining fruit and place it on top of cupcakes as a decoration. 

Don't worry about mashing the blueberries and strawberries all the way because they burst in the oven, which makes for great flavor. 

That's it for today! I hope that you are able to use at least one of these red, white and blueberry recipes either today or in the future. I would love to hear any of your suggestions or feedback you may have on my recipes, or about foods that you would like me to make!

I wish you a wonderful holiday with family and friends!