July 2015
COMMUNITY NEWS
RenfrewCollingwoodCommunityNews.com
Backyard berries: berry delicious, berry nutritious by Julie Cheng
The berry season started early and is still going strong. I have been able pick salmonberry, raspberry, blueberry and strawberry from my garden all at the same time. What to do with the daily bounty? It’s been a fabulous year for berries. Every morning this past month I’ve picked a handful of fresh, delicious berries. You don’t need a lot of space for a berry patch; just grow them in a sunny patch of soil or even in containers. Other berries, like salmonberry and blackberry, can be found growing wild locally in the Renfrew Ravine. Before I go to work, I leave the berries on the counter, hopefully. I am hoping that my teenage daughter Kate will wake up and make her favourite breakfast with them. When I get home and find the berries gone, I think, “Yes!” Why? In addition to being delicious, I know Kate has eaten a bunch of berries that’s packed full of nutrition. Treat yourself every morning with a daily harvest of berries. Photos by Julie Cheng
Berries are full of phytonutrients such as polyphenols, anthocyanins and quercetin that can help clean up toxins in the body, reduce inflammation and slow memory loss. They are excellent sources of antioxidant vitamin C and dietary fibre—nutrients that your body needs for many reasons including strong bones and good digestion. Next up: blackberries! The Renfrew Ravine is bursting with them. The Himalayan blackberries are a terribly invasive plant, but if can’t beat ’em, eat ’em, I say!
The berry season starts with the salmonberry, which you can find in spring in the Renfrew Ravine. You can recognize salmonberry when you bend the top leaf and the remaining four leaves look like a butterfly.
Turn to page 8 to find Kate’s favourite morning berry recipe. Continued on page 8
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