Oklahoma Fruit of the Month: Blueberries
The blueberry is a native American fruit. Early settlers cherished
it as a staple ingredient in foods and medicines. They incorporated
the berries into their diets, eating them fresh off the bush and adding
them to soups, stews, and many other foods.
Blueberries are a good source of fiber and are the best of all fruits
and vegetables for their antioxidant activity.
North America is the world's leading blueberry producer, accounting
for nearly 90 percent of world production. In Oklahoma blueberries
are grown in home gardens or on small farms as a U-Pick
crop.
 Writing Prompt: Write a simile with blueberries as your central image.
BE A FOOD EXPLORER
Eat blueberries on top of your ice
cream in a bag, mixed with plain
yogurt and sliced bananas or try a handful on breakfast cereal or in
salad.
Blueberries (Serving Size: 1/2 cup)
|
amounts per serving |
% daily value |
calories |
40 |
|
calories from fat |
0 |
|
total fat |
0g |
0% |
sodium |
0mg |
0% |
total carbohydrate |
11g |
4% |
dietary fiber |
2g |
4% |
sugars |
7g |
|
protein |
1g |
|
Vitamin A |
|
0% |
Vitamin C |
|
10% |
calcium |
|
0% |
iron |
|
2% |
Percent daily values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
Source: Centers
for Disease Control
More Facts and Activities : Oklahoma's
Berry Best
More
Berry Facts
Books
Gibbons, Gail, The Berry Book, Holiday House, 2002. (Grades PreK-3)
Discussion of how berries grow in the wild and how they are cultivated
in fields and gardens domestically, including the impact of climate.
The author describes the uses of edible berries and even provides
directions for growing strawberries.
Stone, Lynn, Fruit (Plant Parts), Rourke, 2007. (Grades PreK-2)
Beautifully photographed book about fruit is basic
but accurate. It is an excellent resource for teaching pollination
and seed development and the difference between a fruit and a vegetable.
What is an antioxidant?
Humans need oxygen to live. We breathe in oxygen as O2—two
oxygen molecules atomically bonded together. The biological processes
in the body use oxygen for reactions, frequently creating single, or
free, oxygen particles as a byproduct. Free oxygen particles have a
high electric charge which can damage cells if they are not eliminated
quickly. Antioxidants (anti-oxygen compounds) look for free oxygen
particles to neutralize.
What is a U Pick crop?
A U Pick crop is a farm operation in which customers
are invited to go to the farm and pick their own fruits or vegetables.
Oklahoma Ag in the Classroom is a program of the Oklahoma
Cooperative Extension Service, the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture,
Food and Forestry and the Oklahoma State Department of Education. |