Who doesn't love berries???? I know I go crazy for them... all year round (out of season I get the frozen version which are more nutritional as they were picked ripped and frozen right away)! But at this time, when I can get them local and fresh???? I go nuts!!! or berries should I say...
On top of tasting great, they are very low in calories... for those of you who counts calories! Great thing with being vegan is that in most cases we don't even need to count calories.... unless you eat a lot of processed vegan foods. This is why I did not post the calorie content...
Here are some nutritional values of berries:
Percentage all being the percentage of DRV: daily recommended value
Strawberries: 1 cup portions has 1% fat, no cholesterol, no sodium, 5% carbs, 18% fibers, 3% proteins. It is loaded with vitamin C - almost as much as a cup of fresh orange juice! It also contains calcium, magnesium, folate and potassium.
Blueberries: 1 cup portion has 0% fat, cholesterol or sodium, 6% carbs, 20% fibers and 2% proteins. It does not contain significant amount of vitamin C or vitamin E but it has so many other phytonutrients that it is highly anti-oxidant.
Raspberries: 10 raspberries (I know I could not get numbers for a cup portion!) has 0% fat, cholesterol, sodium and carbs, 4% fibers and 0% protein. It also contains vitamin C and potassium. Because it is virtually fibers you're eating, raspberries typically have one calorie each... and therefore, why stop at 10???
In any case what you should remember is that berries are low in calories, loaded with fibers and being so colorful means they are good for you! Remember that we should eat all the color of the rainbow and that highly colored fruits and veggies should be eaten in great quantities!
However, because they are part of the dirty dozen, they should be eaten organic preferably.... but if you can't afford the organic label, don't beat yourself up... check with your local supplier, most times they can't afford the organic label but they pretty much are... and if all else fails, rinsed them out and remember that the nutritional benefits surpasses the small residual pesticides you may ingest!
Last week I made a great salad for lunch: kale, celery, strawberries and pecans drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar and very little salt and pepper! (Actually massage the oil and vinegar into kale, added salt and pepper, and then topped with other ingredients). This was delicious and see how beautiful it was:
And if you want more great options for your berries... or smoothies idea for very hot summer days, you can always check out my guest post on www.veganrestaurantfinder.com/blog
thanks for reading!
and please share if you like this blog!!!love&peace,
nath
xox
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