When I see a fresh-picked basket of strawberries, it brings back wonderful childhood memories. I grew up in the Mid-Hudson area when it was far more rural than it is today. My grandparents, who just lived down the hill from my family, had a small farm where they grew strawberries that they sold at their make shift farm stand. When the berries were ripe, my extended family all pitched in to pick the fruit. As a teenager, I picked a lot of berries! It was fun but a lot of hard work.

A lot has changed since those days. For instance, you can purchase strawberries year round at your local supermarket. Those berries look good in January, but usually are as hard as a rock and almost as tasty. So, when you have the opportunity, to buy fresh locally grown berries I recommend you do so. Now is that time of year in the Capital Region, when we get treated to fresh strawberries and blueberries, which are my favorite.

So, we all know that we should eat more fresh fruits and vegetables. What’s so special about strawberries and blueberries then?

Well, first of all they are great tasting, healthy, low calorie snack, assuming you don’t sprinkle them with sugar or swim them in a big bowl of ice cream. Berries also contain naturally occurring compounds which reduce inflammation and promote healthy arteries. Dancing and working out will cause stress to our muscles and joints, so eating berries may help us to recover.

And according to a study that was published earlier this year by the American Heart Association, eating three or more servings of blueberries and strawberries per week may help women reduce their risk of a heart attack by as much as one-third.

All this talk of food has made my mouth water for some of those yummy berries. It’s time to take out the berry bowl, wash some berries, and have a healthy snack. I’ll let you in on a secret though, my berries are going on top of some vanilla frozen yogurt!

Note: A special thank you to Paul Hoagland of Clay Slapper Pottery, for providing the beautiful berry bowl for the photo.