June 2023 Plant-Based Recipes and Updates from Melissa
Frozen and baked berry desserts, a children's book recommendation, and news about chocolate and flavanols.
Welcome to June! And this month I would like to chat about berries. Well, I like to mention berries often anyway since they are so tasty, colorful, and nutritious. Here in Pennsylvania, I think the strawberry season was earlier than usual due to a mild May, and blueberries will be ready for picking soon.
A cup of whole strawberries has 85 milligrams of vitamin C and nearly 3 grams of fiber in just 46 calories. A cup of blueberries is not as high in vitamin C but has 3.6 grams of fiber in 86 calories (source: USDA FoodData Central).
Berries are also a good source of phytonutrients like anthocyanins: eating berries is associated with a longer life, according to this article from the Washington Post.
Here are some plant-based recipes for enjoying strawberries and blueberries:
Fresh Cantaloupe Berry Nice Cream
This nice cream is made with blueberries, blackberries, and cantaloupe. It is just the thing if your berries have to be used up or the melon is a little more than you can use. It is made without bananas, and you don’t need an ice cream maker.
Scrumptious Strawberry Sorbet
Easy to make with a hint of lime and way less added sugar than typical sorbet recipes:
Triple Berry Nectarine Crisp (Vegan and Gluten-Free
This is an easy way to use ripe nectarines or peaches with juicy berries and the crunch of oatmeal:
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This Months’ Book Pick:
Where Does Broccoli Come From? A Book of Vegetables
by Arielle "Dani" Lebovitz, MS, RDN, CSSD, CDCES
This book has terrific information for kids and parents too, like which nutrients are in vegetables, what the plants look like, and how they grow. Families can use easy preparation tips and recipes to try unfamiliar veggies. There are many photos and illustrations plus maps and worksheets. Readers will learn about science, geography, and using their senses in addition to nutrition. I would recommend this book to parents of homeschoolers for unique lessons in science and geography: definitely a fun reference for all ages!
Support independent bookstores through this link to my favorites from Bookshop.org.
Plant-Based Diet News: Chocolate and Flavanols
What is the relationship between chocolate and the length of life? I saw this on the cover of the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics today and had to check this out immediately! An analysis of data from the Women’s Health Initiative of over 84,000 post-menopausal women from 1993 to 2018 found that consuming chocolate less than 3 times a week was associated with less mortality from dementia and cardiovascular disease. This is promising, but the authors note that the type of chocolate consumed wasn’t specified: and some factors in chocolate could promote or detract from overall health.
Flavanols: found in chocolate, berries, citrus fruits, soybeans, tea, and more are associated with improved memory in some older people with memory loss in a controlled trial of cocoa compared to a placebo.
Thanks for reading!