Mulberries: Stain under my nails… not dirt

We have a large mulberry tree in our back yard. It’s over 50 feet tall.

Mulberries 1

For the past week or so, around 6:00 each morning, I’ve been going out back, and gathering the berries that are on the tree. Tarp is laid on the ground, to catch fallen berries.

I also have long poles where I can whack the tree limbs, to bring down more mulberries. I gather the fallen mulberries into this 22 quart stock pot, daily.

Mulberry debris

Mulberries are washed outside and sorted, and the debris is placed into a separate bucket.

Mulberries storage bags 1

Once the mulberries are cleaned, they are placed in freezer bags and stored in the deep freezer. We regularly give our mulberries to others.

The entire procedure takes me about an hour to complete.

Naturally, my fingernails are stained…  The berry juice residue looks a lot like dirt, but I promise you, it isn’t.

On my to do list, is dyeing yarn with mulberries. I’ll be curious to see how that turns out. Success or fail, I will post pictures on Celebrate Life.

Naturally if it’s successful, I’ll be using the natural dyed yarn in my crochet and knitting projects.

Mulberry Smoothie; Healthy and Delicious

mulberry.05.31.10.jpgThe invasion of mulberries (in our back yard) is a definite sign that Summer is in full swing.

Mulberry harvesting is one of my most enjoyable gardening past times. The mulberries are thick. If you look down you won’t find a green grassy carpet instead you’ll find mulberries covering every inch of ground. You’ll also find them in the Mulberry trees too.

What makes mulberry picking even more enjoyable, is the variety of birds that pay us a visit during this time. They all converge to feast on those mulberries. There is such an overabundance of mulberries that you really don’t miss the ones that they eat. Mulberries are great in raw ice creams, mulberry jams, tossed into fresh and raw salads, sauces… they’re also delicious in smoothies too.

Yesterday, after arriving home from our carnival adventure, I decided to take some of the mulberries I had picked that morning and make a pitcher of Mulberry smoothie. Although this isn’t a green smoothie recipe the Mulberry smoothie is simple to make, and extremely delicious. I like the tangy (slightly bitter taste) of our mulberries so I normally don’t add anything besides a liquid (this time I used unsweetened apple juice) to sweeten it. However, you can choose another liquid or sweeten with a natural sweetener like honey or stevia.

Mulberry: Health Benefits
Mulberries are delicious, and they have the added bonus of being good for you too.

    • Mulberries are loaded with vitamins and minerals.

Mulberries contain; fiber, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, carbohydrates, iron and proteins which are great for ones health.

    • Mulberries have an antioxidant action.

Mulberries contain anthocyanins (pigments in the fruit) which also has an antioxidant action. Scientist has studied mulberries as a means to fight cancer and diabetes too.

    • Promotes health liver and kidneys
    • Helps eliminate constipation

I’ve used mulberries many times when I’ve had bouts of constipation and it has helped eliminate this condition.

    • Used to treat anemia.

Mulberries are high in iron, so is natural way to treat anemia naturally.

Mulberry Smoothie: Healthy and Delicious

    • 4 cups of Mulberries

fresh is best but if you are unable to get those, get frozen mulberries

    • 3 cups of apple juice

You can also try pineapple juice, or one of the natural sweeteners I mentioned above.

  • 2 bananas peeled and sliced

Directions

  1. Slice the bananas and place into a sealable container; freeze until hard.
  2. In an electric blender, combine the Mulberries, bananas, and bananas; process till smooth.

This smoothie is slightly thick, if you prefer a thinner smoothie add more liquid.

Instead of reaching for a sugary drink devoid of health benefits, why not choose a smoothie that’s not only taste delicious but is loaded with nutrients too? Enjoy!

Technorati Tags:
Recipe, Recipes, vegetarian, whole food, Smoothies