Posted
by Megan Stuke
August 16, 2010 at 5:27 p.m.
Superfoods, super easy
At work, on Fridays, our on-staff painter and I like to splurge and have a pancake. Pancake Friday! It helps me get out of bed at the end of a long week. Usually I have the grill cook put blueberries in mine, because it makes me feel better about deviating from my usual wheat-toast-and-egg safety breakfast.
Blueberries are a superfood. I fancy myself the champion of superfoods. I imagine myself sporting a Wonder Woman cape, dashing in and out of kitchens and cafeterias, bombing them with blueberries, walnuts, and spinach. Always looking for ways to incorporate more superfoods into my otherwise tragically indulgent diet, I decided this weekend to embrace the heat and make a cool treat, enhanced by my favorite of the superfoods, the blueberry.
When it's this hot out, and when you're as busy as I am, baking is not an option. Heating up the oven is not an option, and spending time on putsy recipes that require special measuring and tools doesn't really appeal either. All I want to do is get to the pool, but quick.
The SuperPie is a cool treat that you can whip up in under five minutes. Seriously. Five minutes.
ingredients by meganstuke
In a mixing bowl, combine two blocks of cream cheese, one small can of sweetened condensed milk, 1 packet of dreamwhip powder, and 1 tsp of lemon extract (or you could use 2 T of actual lemon juice, but I didn't have a lemon on-hand). You don't even have to crack an egg or measure sugar for this baby.
Beat with a mixer until everything is well-combined, and then fold in a cup and a half of blueberries.
filling by meganstuke
Pour into a graham cracker crust. Let me just say this about the crust. Making one from scratch is infinitely better, but I had a storebought one in the pantry and I simply could not resist the siren song of the easy way out.
Making a graham cracker crust is really not hard, and I sort of hate myself for cheating, so don't follow my lead. You are better than that. Make your own.
Pour the filling into the pie crust, garnish with a few extra blueberries, and pop it into the freezer for a couple of hours.
blueberry icebox pie by meganstuke
Come to mama.
slice by meganstuke
Superfood Blueberry Pie
2 blocks cream cheese
1 packet Dream Whip
1 tsp lemon extract
1 small can sweetened condensed milk
1.5 C blueberries (a few reserved for garnish)
1 graham cracker crust
Oranges are also a superfood, and while I am not really wont to just sit down and peel and orange and eat one, I am all about the beautiful clementine. Clementines, if you haven't tried them, are the orange's sexy little sister. They are petite, and sweet, and really easy to peel.
A clementine salad is an easy side, and it ain't your mama's fruit salad.
Into a small bowl, toss three clementines, peeled and sectioned, half a diced cucumber, a few paper-thin shavings of red onion, and a handful of blueberries (leftover from when you made that pie). Whip together a dressing of 3 tablespons red wine vinegar, 2 tablespoons of Kirsch (cherry brandy), 2 tablespoons of sugar. If you wanted to really up the superfood ante, you could add in a few chopped walnuts, which also make the list.
clementine salad by meganstuke
Even Mr. Meat and Potatoes finished his grown-up fruit salad, which is a great testimony to any non-meat product.
Clementine Salad (for two)
3 Clementines, peeled and sectioned
handful of blueberries
1/2 cucumber, diced
several very thin shavings of red onion
3 T red wine vinegar
2 T cherry brandy
2 T sugar
Here is a complete list of superfoods. The beauty of the superfood is that you can eat something that is typically not on your "health food" menu but still feel at least a little bit good about it. I mean, that pie doesn't quite qualify as a diet item, but you can rest easy at least feeling like you got your antioxidants for the day.
There are so many ways to incorporate them into every-day cooking, I think I'll start myself a little challenge and make sure that I incorporate at least two every day.
Beans
Blueberries
Broccoli
Dark Chocolate (!)
Garlic
Oats
Oranges
Pomegranate
Pumpkin
Red Wine (!)
Salmon
Soy
Spinach
Tea (green or black)
Tomatoes
Turkey
Walnuts
Yogurt
I'm off now to make myself a spinach and salmon salad with a little yogurt dressing. But first I have to find my cape.
Comments
Lawrence.com does not necessarily agree with comments posted below - responsibility lies with the relevant user alone. Read our full policy.
momgreenreno (Jan Reno) says…
This is hilarious! I can't believe I helped create the clever food column writer! You are right about the super foods and I will make the pie ASAP!! Also a blueberry lover....
chocolata37 (anonymous) says…
Okay, I am making this tomorrow for "Dessert Tuesday" I actually want it right now :)
chocolata37 (anonymous) replies…
The Blueberry Pie that is ;)
janie (anonymous) says…
I'll take the two challenge and raise you one. Turkey and tomato sandwich, thanks YiaYia. Broccoli, tomato & brown rice dinner, thanks leftovers. Definitely Blueberry pie tomorrow. Do you really have a cape?
meganstuke (Megan Stuke) says…
After having the pie again last night, I transferred it to the fridge because it's freezing too hard. Also might be yummy to add some cool whip to lighten the texture. Still, it's deeelish as-is.
tony88 (anonymous) says…
With all due respect to this great list of superfoods, I see a different list for each "complete list" of superfoods. I would add some items:
Quinoa (the most complete protein)
Sardines (higher concentration of DHA and EPA than salmon and with less mercury)
Flax seed
Wheat germ
Avocado
Brown rice
Lentils
Honey
tony88 (anonymous) says…
oh, eggs also
meganstuke (Megan Stuke) says…
You are totally right. I should not have said "complete" - I have also seen many of these items on other lists.
Sorry for the oversight! I'd welcome any more additions...
tony88 (anonymous) says…
I'll throw my daily super oatmeal recipe. I've never actually measured any of the contents out, but i'll make my best guess.
1/4 cup or so - quick rolled oats (if using rolled oats, crush some up a bit to make more flour-y)
cinnamon to taste (usually a few dashes)
dash of salt
1 tsp - ground flax seed
2 tsp or so - wheat germ
mix all these dry goods together.
add dried fruit (usually about 1/4 cup cranberries with small amounts of blueberries sprinkled in)
add 1/4 cup crushed walnuts
add about 1 tbsp or so honey
add enough boiling water to get the texture you like, and stir together.