Berry Interesting

This is the time of year that you can grab your pail or bucket and pick your own berries. Blueberries, Raspberries, Blackberries and Strawberries are all available at ‘u-pick-um’ farms throughout the U.S.

Flowers to Eat has a new arrangement called Oh! Raspberry which includes raspberries and blueberries, as well as strawberries, into its design. It is unique in this way with these fruits that are known for their healthy characteristics.

Raspberries are an excellent source of fiber, manganese and vitamin C. They are a good source of vitamin B2, folate, niacin, magnesium, potassium and copper. In addition, they contain significant amounts of the anti-cancer phytochemical ellagic acid.
Raspberries possess almost 50% higher antioxidant activity than strawberries, three times that of kiwis, and ten times the antioxidant activity of tomatoes, shows research conducted in the Netherlands and published in the journal BioFactors.

Blueberries are super nutritious too. There are only 80 delicious calories per cup and virtually no fat. A serving contains almost 25% of the recommended daily amount of Vitamin C. They are also a good source of Manganese, dietary fiber and antioxidents.

And they make a great parfait! See the June 11 recipe in our blog.

According to wisegeek.com, there are over 20 different types of unusual berries in North America alone. This does not include many fruits that have the name "berry" but actually do not belong to the same family, such as is the case of strawberries, blackberries raspberries, and boysenberries. These four fruits, which are sometimes considered part of the group of unusual berries, are actually aggregate fruits.

Let’s see how well you know these unusual berries. See if you can match the berry name with the interesting fact about it in the right column:

1. Seaberries
2. Mulberries
3. Tayberries
4. Bumbleberry
5. Wolfberry
6. Boysenberry

A. Mixture of berries combined in recipes
B. Used in traditional Chinese Medicine to improve eyesight and liver function
C. Soft, semi-sweet and fragile in nature; seldom found in grocery stores
D. Created as a cross between loganberries, blackberries, & raspberries that are characterized by a soft center with not seeds
E. Grow in cold weather and popular in tea in Russia
F. Hybrid berry created by cross-breeding a blackberry and a raspberry originating in Scotland

(Answers to the quiz are posted at the bottom of the Blueberry Parfait recipe in our previous blog entry)

Blueberry Parfait

Now that berry season is here, try this yummy parfait from the August, 2009 issue of "Self Magazine"!

BERRY PARFAIT
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
• 2 cups skim milk
• Juice and zest of 3 lemons, divided
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/4 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
• 1 pint blueberries
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
PREPARATION
1. Whisk milk, juice and zest of 2 lemons, sugar and cornstarch in a pot over medium heat until mixture thickens, 3 to 4 minutes. Let cool 2 minutes. Whisk in yogurt. Cook blueberries, juice and zest of remaining lemon, and sugar in another pot over medium heat, mashing until a chunky sauce forms, 2 to 3 minutes. Divide graham cracker crumbs and sauce among 4 glasses; top each with 1/2 cup yogurt pudding. Chill 1 hour.
The skinny
243 calories per serving, 1.7 g fat (0.4 g saturated), 51.8 g carbs, 2.6 g fiber, 7.5 g protein

Answers to the Berry Interesting quiz: 1E,2C,3F,4A,5B,6D to be coming in our next blog

Thank you Small Business Commerce Association!

We just had to share the good news! Thank you friends and customers for your continued enjoyment of our products. We appreciate each and everyone of you.

The Small Business Commerce Association (SBCA) is pleased to announce that Flowers To Eat has been selected for the 2009 Best of Business Award in the Flowers, fresh category.

The SBCA Best of Business Award Program recognizes the best of small businesses throughout the country. Using consumer feedback and other research, the SBCA identifies companies that we believe have demonstrated what makes small businesses a vital part of the American economy. The selection committee chooses the award winners from nominees based off information taken from monthly surveys administered by the SBCA, a review of consumer rankings, and other consumer reports . Award winners are a valuable asset to their community and exemplify what makes small businesses great.

Easy Strawberry Tarts

It's strawberry season here in Florida, and inspite of the near record cold winter that we have had, there are numerous strawberries available. If you are tired of Strawberry Smoothies and Strawberry Shortcake (is that possible???), you might like to try this recipe for strawberry tarts. It is quick and easy to make, and really tastes yummy.

Easy Strawberry Tarts

Use your favorite pastry recipe for the tart shells or buy frozen tart shells at the grocery store.

Ingredients:

1 small package of French Vanilla Instant Pudding

1 ½ c. whole milk

1 c. whipping or heavy cream

¼ c. confectioners sugar

1 pt. of strawberries

Wash, hull, and slice strawberries in half.

Follow directions on pudding package to make the French Vanilla Instant pudding using 1 ½ c. of whole milk instead of 2 cups.

In separate bowl, beat the whipping cream until light and fluffy. Add ¼.c of confectioners sugar slowly, and continue beating until it holds soft peaks.

Fold ½ of the whipped cream into the pudding mixture, and divide between 4 – 6 tart shells (depending on the size of each tart). Top each tart with several sliced strawberries arranged decoratively. Add a dollop of whipped cream to each.

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve

OOOPS

Sorry, I left off the the place in the Caribbean that banana rootstock were first received.
The full answer for number 4 is : Tomas de Berlanga, a Portugues Monk, in 1516 delivered banana rootstock to the island of Santo Domingo.

And the Winner Is!!!!!

Congratulations to AC, winner of our Banana Quiz. AC you have won a corsage box full of our delicious Banana Bites. Yum!!
Give us a call for when you want to pick them up, they will be fresh made that day.


For those of you who submitted answers but didn't win, the correct answers are as follows:

1) Which country is experiencing a blossoming of the ‘Morning Banana Diet’?
Japan

2) True or False: Bananas tend to increase blood pressure in adults?
False

3) Who is credited with bringing the banana from India to the Western World?
Alexander the Great in 327 BC

4) Which Caribbean Island was the first to receive banana rootstock in 1516?
Tomas de Berlanga, a Portuguese Monk, in 1516

5) True or False, the banana tree is related to the orchid and the lily.
True

6) True or False, Bananas contain an equal amount of potassium and sodium?
False, an average sized banana contains 467 mg of potassium and 1 mg of sodium

7) True or False, The origin of the word ‘banana’ comes from the Chinese word for finger?
False, it comes from the Arabic word for finger

Going Bananas!!!

Going Bananas!!!

Included in this blog entry:

Fun facts about bananas!

Banana quiz with fantastic prizes!

Banana salsa recipe

We have previously talked about strawberries and apples here on our blog, and the lowly banana was feeling left out. As you know, at Flowers to Eat we have several arrangements and products based on this wonderful fruit and our creative uses of it, so, let’s talk for a few minutes about the fruit eaten by more people in the U.S. than any other.

Bananas come gift wrapped in their own thick peel. Their creamy flesh is enjoyed by men, women and children of all ages.

The banana plant grows 10 to 26 feet high and produces clusters or “hands” of 10 to 25 fruits. It‘s not a tree, it is actually the world’s largest herb!

While bananas were enjoyed by people in Asia and Africa several thousand years ago, they were introduced to the U.S. in the late 19^th century.

In spite of their thick peel, bananas are really fragile in nature and quite perishable. They need to be handled gently. Bananas were originally enjoyed in the U.S. only by people who lived near the seacoast towns where the ships, delivering them from the tropics, would dock. With today’s rapid transportation methods and refrigeration, bananas are now easily transported around the world.

Bananas are one of our best sources of potassium, an essential mineral for maintaining normal blood pressure and heart function. The potassium found in bananas may also help to promote bone health. Potassium may counteract the increased urinary calcium loss caused by the high-salt diets typical of most Americans, thus helping to prevent bones from thinning out at a fast rate.

They are also a good source of vitamins B6 and C. They have been tied to new diets, touted as a means of losing weight when combined with a glass of room temperature water. Bananas have also been associated with ameliorating the potassium depleting effects of heavy soda drinking, with assisting babies and very young children suffering from intestinal disorders, with providing soothing protection from ulcers, and possibly with reducing your risk of age related macular degeneration.

Talk about a single food item providing so many benefits to us! Bananas are a gold-mine of goodness!

Do you think you know a lot about bananas? Take our quiz below by cutting and pasting it with your answers into an email. Send it to info@flowerstoeat .

If you answer all the questions correctly, we’ll give you a 4 piece box of our delicious Banana Bites! I’ll publish the correct answers to the questions next month on our blog.

Banana Quiz

1) Which country is experiencing a blossoming of the ‘Morning Banana Diet’?

2) True or False: Bananas tend to increase blood pressure in adults?

3) Who is credited with bringing the banana from India to the Western World?

4) Which Caribbean Island was the first to receive banana rootstock in 1516?

5) True or False, the banana tree is related to the orchid and the lily.

6) True or False, Bananas contain an equal amount of potassium and sodium?

7) True or False, The origin of the word ‘banana’ comes from the Chinese word for finger?

Banana Salsa

2 medium-size ripe bananas, chopped

½ c. chopped green bell pepper

½ c. chopped red bell pepper

3 green onions, chopped

1 Tbs fresh cilantro

2 Tbs light brown sugar

3 Tbs. lime juice

1 Tbs oil

¼ tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper 1 small jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped (optional)

Combine first 10 ingredients, stirring gently.

Add jalapeno pepper, if desired.

Cover and refrigerate at least 3 hours.

Excellent on Redfish and other light fish.

See our latest Press Release

Click on the following link to see our latest press release!

http://www.1888pressrelease.com/flowers-to-eat-now-offering-nationwide-shipping-to-meet-grow-pr-176368.html

Kiwifruit, the Super Fruit for today's health conscious consumer

Super Fruit now included in Flowers to Eat bouquets!

Did you know that the kiwifruit has been named number 1 for nutrition, and awarded SuperFood status?

According to a Rutgers University study of the 27 most popular fruits, kiwifruit was first; bite for bite, it provides more nutritional punch than all the rest!

Just one serving of kiwifruit contains more potassium than a banana, the vitamin C of two oranges, and all the fiber in a bow of Bran!

Flowers to Eat now has 4 arrangements that include this Super Food. Beautiful to look at, delicious and healthy to eat!

For more information on the kiwifruit, and delicious recipes, go to www.familykiwi.com

Health Benefits of the Strawberry and a Yummy Recipe

Did you know that adding fresh strawberries to your diet, whether they are in salads, smoothies, or on their own, is a great way to get the servings of fruit that are recommended for a healthy immune system? With all the concern about influenza of all types, this can be especially important at this time of the year.

What's so nutritionally good about strawberries?
Strawberries contain a range of nutrients, with vitamin C heading the group. They also contain significant levels of phyto-nutrients and antioxidants, which fight free radicals. These antioxidant properties are believed to be linked to what makes the strawberry bright red.

In addition to vitamin C, strawberries also provide an excellent source of vitamin K and manganese, as well as folic acid, potassium, riboflavin, vitamin B5, vitamin B6, copper, magnesium, and omega-3 fatty acids.

So many uses for strawberries!
Strawberries are among the most versatile of fresh fruits. As you can see from our website, we use them in our fruit bouquets as well as in our Gourmet Chocolate bouquets, giving you plenty of variety to choose from. Look them over and choose your favorite to boost your consumption of fruit each and every day.

To your Good Health!

Recipe for a Strawberry Banana Smoothie
1 medium banana, peeled and quartered
8 medium strawberries hulled and rinsed
1 cup low-fat or skim milk
1 container (6 ounce size) Vanilla Yogurt
1 Tbs. protein powder (optional)

Blend together for a healthy and nutritious start to your day.