We can’t help but notice that blueberries are getting bigger–not just in the size of individual berries but the package sizes themselves. One local grocery chain of ours no longer stocks the small half pints that used to be standard and are appropriately sized for the pace and frequency toddlers eat them; another makes them significantly less prominent than the bigger–like, hundreds o’ blueberries–pints.
Now, if you’re like us, even if you have a blueberry-dependent child there is simply no way to consume that many blueberries before they go squishy, bitter, and/or inedible. You can’t win that race, even if you try to increase blueberry consumption–and you’ll lose, if only in having to watch your child engage in the excruciating/annoying task of judging individual berries for their adequacy and consumption. (This is a daily occurrence in our household.) Thus, a dilemma: we cannot eat all these darn blueberries, but can’t not have blueberries.
You see where this is going: find a way to put them into other things your child will consume. So if you’ve found yourself with a surplus of blueberries, whether from a big grocery haul, a local farm visit, or an enthusiastic toddler who suddenly lost interest, here are some fun and creative recipes for leftover berries that will use up your stash while keeping your little ones happy:
First, here are some recipes already on the site that make good use of lots of blueberries and appeal to toddlers:
–Berry Souffle
–Blueberry Overnight Oats
–Blueberry Cobbler
–Toddler Salad
Second, here are a few non-recipe recipes you can make when the mood and/or need arises:
Blueberry Smoothie: Add one cup of almond milk, two handfuls of blueberries, one (or two) bananas, two scoops of pumpkin puree, a scoop of peanut butter, a glug of vanilla extract, a shake of pumpkin pie spice, a drizzle of honey, and two ice cubes to a blender; blend until smooth.
Yogurt Bark: Add as many blueberries as you want to use to a bowl; add in two or three big scoops of yogurt and a scoop or two of peanut butter, then mix until blueberries are fully covered in yogurt. Drape a piece of parchment paper across a baking pan or long and flat plate, then scoop and spread the blueberry-yogurt mix out onto the parchment paper, flattening and smoothing out as much as you can. Freeze for two hours. In a small bowl, melt half a cup of chocolate chips with a tablespoon of butter by microwaving for 60-70 seconds; immediately drizzle the melted chocolate all over the frozen blueberry bark until the top is covered. Return to freezer for 15 minutes, then serve. (Note: you may want to let bark pieces sit out for a few minutes before your child eats them, as they’ll be pretty darn cold…)
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