Blueberries make seasonal, nutritional meals

Cooking 101

Before the summer and warm weather fade into fall, take advantage of the seasonal fruits still available in the grocery store. Blueberries are one of those fruits and can be used to add nutrition and taste to ordinary meals. Toss some in cereal, grab some for an afternoon snack or throw a handful in a green salad. Not only do blueberries taste great, but they provide antioxidants and disease-fighting nutrients to keep you healthy. Blueberries will keep for several days when stored in the refrigerator, so grab a few and eat them whenever the craving occurs.

Blueberry Pancakes
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 stick butter or margarine, melted and cooled
Approximately 1 cup whole milk
1 cup fresh or thawed and drained frozen blueberries (about 8 per pancake)
Vegetable oil or butter, for cooking

In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. In another bowl, lightly whisk the eggs into flour mixture. Combine butter and one cup milk in the bowl, then whisk mixture into the batter. The batter should be thicker than heavy cream. If the batter is too thick, add more milk.
Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add oil to prevent the pancakes from sticking. Spoon about three tablespoons of batter onto the skillet to form a pancake. Repeat. Drop seven or eight blueberries on pancakes. Cook until bubbles form on the pancake surfaces then flip until golden — about three minutes.

Fruit and yogurt parfaits
3 cups vanilla nonfat yogurt
1 cup fresh or defrosted frozen strawberries in juice
1 pint fresh blueberries
1 cup good quality granola

Layer 1/3 cup of vanilla yogurt into the bot tom each of four tall glasses. Combine defrosted strawberries and juice with fresh berries. Alternate layers of fruit and granola with the yogurt to keep granola crunchy.