Black Raspberry Morning Muffins October 28 2023, 0 Comments

Early mornings can be hard to start on a positive note, especially as December arrives and the sun rises later than you do. These muffins might mirror those early morning hues, but that's only because they are infused with the power of black raspberry anthocyanins to energize your day! Filled with carrots, apple, nuts, and dried fruit, these morning muffins are packed with healthy whole foods, with a hint of sweetness and zing from orange juice to brighten up your morning routine.

They are great on their own, or you can try them with our black raspberry pumpkin butter spread.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups (240g) whole wheat flour, lightly packed*
• ¼ cup (20g) BerriHealth Black Raspberry Powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp ground ginger
• ½ tsp table salt
• ⅔ cup avocado or vegetable oil
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 3 large eggs at room temperature
• ½ cup orange juice
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups grated carrots
• 1 cup grated apple
• ½ cup dried cranberries, cherries or raisins
• ½ cups chopped walnuts or pecans
• Optional: sprinkle some pumpkin or sunflower seeds on top

Notes:

*We tried a few different types of whole wheat flour, and the weight in grams for 2 cups of flour was different for all of them. We recommend using a scale if at all possible!

 

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Spray muffin pans with nonstick spray or use cupcake liners (we prefer liners made with parchment paper).
2. In a small bowl, cover the dried cranberries, cherries or raisins with hot water. Drain after 20 minutes, then set aside.
3. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, salt and Black Raspberry Powder. 
4. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the oil, brown sugar, eggs, orange juice, and vanilla. When nicely blended, mix in the grated carrots and apples.
5. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and stir together a few times with a rubber spatula. Then fold in the drained, dried fruit and nuts until just combined with no pockets of flour left. Do not overmix.
6. Fill to just below the top of the muffin cup or liner with batter. Sprinkle a few pumpkin or sunflower seeds on top of each muffin if desired.
7. Bake for 22-27 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out without any raw batter (there can be muffin crumbs on the toothpick). Take the muffin pan out of the oven and allow the muffins to cool for 5 minutes. Then, take the muffins out of the pan and cool on a wire rack until you’re ready to enjoy!
8. Store in the refrigerator in a covered container for up to a week. You can also freeze your muffins to make them last longer.

 

Rich and Creamy Black Raspberry Ice Cream May 27 2017, 0 Comments

Super Simple Black Raspberry Ice Cream

Now that the weather is finally starting to warm back up, it's always a good excuse to indulge in ice cream! This black raspberry ice cream could not be simpler. There's no need to cook and strain any berries. Instead, we used our Black Raspberry Extract. No extra work required, and the taste is pure, sweet and delicious!

 Here's how we made it:

 Ingredients:

• 1 cup whole milk
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 (more or less to your taste) teaspoons BerriHealth's Black Raspberry Extract
• 4 ounces chopped semisweet chocolate (add more or less if you like and save some to sprinkle on top)

 

Directions:

Combine milk, sugar and salt in a medium bowl.  Whisk the ingredients together until the sugar has completely dissolved. Add the cream, vanilla and Black Raspberry Extract and stir with a rubber spatula until nicely blended. Now cover the bowl and pop it in the refrigerator for 2 hours or overnight is fine too. After the cream mixture has chilled, pour it in your ice cream maker and follow the manufacturer's instructions. Toward the end of the churning cycle, add the chopped chocolate.  Serve immediately for a soft ice cream or freeze for a couple of hours for a firmer ice cream. Top with some chopped or shaved chocolate. Simply delicious!

Now, if you have a bit more time and want a creamier custard, try this recipe from the New York Times: The Master Ice Cream Recipe.  Blend in about 6 - 8 teaspoons of Black Raspberry extract (you can always add more!) before putting the cream mixture in the refrigerator. Be sure to check out the video for great tips on making ice cream: How to Make the Recipe Video

 

 Enjoy!

 

 

Black Raspberry and Purple Kale Smoothie - An Anthocyanin Rich Treat November 01 2016, 1 Comment

 

Anthocyanins provide the beautiful array of colors we see in autumn leaves, and certain types also happen to be the powerful antioxidants that researchers believe may keep our cells working like they should. As you can see below, black raspberries are full of these amazing molecules:

Black Raspberry and Purple Kale Smoothie

We love to find creative ways to add vegetables to smoothies. In this case, purple kale not only adds healthy fiber to a tasty snack, but it also contains anthocyanins which gives the leafy veggie it's signature dark-purple look. Try it out!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 2 teaspoons BerriHealth's Black Raspberry Powder or 1 tsp Black Raspberry Extract
• 2 dates
• a handful or so of purple kale with stems removed
• 1 banana fresh or frozen in slices or chunks
• 5 ice cubes
• 1/2 cup orange juice (a total of 1 cup of orange juice)

Directions:

• Place the ingredients in a blender in the order listed.  
• Start on low speed and increase to high until your drink is smooth and delicious.

This recipe is easy to change to fit your tastes.  A little more kale, a different juice or try some almond milk instead. Let your imagination guide you and enjoy your creation!

 

6 Reasons to Choose BerriHealth's Black Raspberry Powder Instead of Capsules February 19 2016, 0 Comments

Our team at Berrihealth is all about growing the best black raspberries so we can create amazing, authentic products with them. One product we've never made are black raspberry capsules, which are filled with small amounts of black raspberry powder and sold in a variety of health food stores and online. We've outlined plenty of economic and scientific reasons why not on a previous post, but we were curious just what people were getting inside these black raspberry capsules. We decided to crack open black raspberry capsules from three leading companies and take a look at the powder. Quite frankly, the results shocked us:

To have an effective black raspberry powder, you've got to start with a great black raspberry. Here at Berrihealth we have an exceptional partner in Sturm's Berry Farm, a family-run farm that has been harvesting black raspberries for over 70 years!  Each summer, we take these carefully cultivated whole berries, including the seeds, pulp, fiber and skin, to create our premium black raspberry powder.

So how do you know if you are getting the good stuff? Well, a good black raspberry powder should look, smell, and taste like a black raspberry!

Reason Number 1: The color is important.  As you can see above, there is a ton of variation in color between what is inside these 3 capsules and our authentic black raspberry powder. Black raspberries are full of dark-colored pigments called anthocyanins, which are powerful antioxidants and are one of the key healthy compounds found in the berry. The dark burgundy color typically associated with those anthocyanins is clearly missing in the capsules we looked at.

Reason Number 2: the whole berry matters. If you want all the benefits of black raspberries, you need to have the whole berry, including the seeds and fiber! The easiest way to find this out is to see how well a company knows what is going into their products. Ask them where they get their berries, and if they use whole berries to produce their powders. Another easy clue is by reading the back label of the package and checking the fiber content on the facts chart.    

Reason Number 3: it should actually taste like a black raspberry! Authentic black raspberries should have an intense, rich fruity flavor with just a little tartness. The powder we tasted from capsules 1 through 3 ranged from bland to downright unpalatable and chalk-like. Taste is a great way to test the quality of the black raspberry powder you are taking, and even help judge if it is actually made from authentic black raspberries.

So a lot of these capsules aren't very good, but why aren't we making capsules?

The bottom line is, we don't think that capsules are what is best for our customers, so we don't make them. Our complete stance on black raspberries can be found in another blog post that outlines reasons 4, 5, and 6: Debunking 3 Black Raspberry Capsule Myths. 

Essentially, the average capsule contains the equivalent of only 1 1/2 berries, meaning you would need to take over 13 capsules to equal 4 grams of our powder. That's a lot of capsules. Plus the cost of the capsules can end up being over 3 times that of our black raspberry powder! Lastly, taking the powder in an encapsulated form greatly diminishes the effectiveness of the berry, because it does not have direct contact with the areas in the upper GI region of your body. 

We hope this has given you six good reasons to really think about how you are taking your black raspberry powder, and where you are getting it from! Just like when you buy fruit at a farmer's market, quality and authenticity matter.

 

A Fast, Delicious and Nutritious Protein Shake February 03 2015, 0 Comments

 

Black Raspberry Chocolate Protein Shake

Fast, delicious and nutritious!  The black raspberry chocolate protein shake is sure to become your go-to drink in the morning. Two scoops of chocolate protein powder, 3 teaspoons of black raspberry powder and about a cup of your favorite milk.  A quick whirl with an immersion blender and you're done!

Want to take it to the next level?  Add a half of a frozen banana, ½ cup of frozen berries, ½ cup of Greek yogurt and a teaspoon of chia seeds.  Mix it in a blender and you’re ready to head out the door to work or a work out.

The great thing about our black raspberry powder is all the prep work has been done for you. It’s recipe ready any time. No freezer or refrigeration is needed. Plus, because it is in powder form, your body can absorb so much more of all those great antioxidants and nutrients!

A Very Special Hot Fudge Sauce February 02 2015, 0 Comments

   

Black Raspberry Hot Fudge Sauce

Silky hot fudge cascading over scoops of creamy ice cream. Tuck a chewy brownie or a thick slice of chocolate cake underneath and it's hard to beat that for a dessert!  But if you want to surprise your family and friends with a rich, sweet layer of flavor, try adding our Black Raspberry Extract to your next hot fudge sauce.

Since many people have not had black raspberry, you get to treat them to a unique experience that is absolutely delicious. And as an added bonus, you make a healthier version of hot fudge because black raspberry extract is loaded with nutritious antioxidants and anthocyanins. You serve an indulgent dessert minus the twinges of guilt.

Black Raspberry Hot Fudge Sauce is easy to make. Use your favorite hot fudge recipe and when you’re all done making it, just stir in the black raspberry extract to the warm sauce. How much you add is up to you. For a subtle hint of special sweetness, blend in just a couple of teaspoons. For a complex fruity burst of flavor, add ⅛ - ¼ cup of extract to about 2 cups of sauce. The fun part will be you get to do a lot of taste testing!

Pour this sauce in a jar, tie a bow around it and you have a unique and luscious gift to take to neighbors over the holidays or to your friend's house paired with a container of gourmet ice cream. And for the chocolate lover in your life, you can always give your special someone a jar of this very special hot fudge sauce on Valentine's Day!  

 

Refreshing Black Raspberry OJ Spritzer July 24 2014, 0 Comments

 

 

Beating the Summer Heat 

As we slowly march into the middle of summer, we seem to stumble across those inescapably hot and humid days with more frequency.  Sometimes it is nice to whip up a quick, refreshing drink that tastes good but has more than just sugar in it.  We experimented with a lot of cool combinations, but one of our favorites was this simple orange juice spritzer.  It's easy to make, only has a few ingredients, and we've already put it to use on a few hot days in the last couple of weeks.

Ingredients:

• ½ - 1 teaspoon Black Raspberry Extract
• ½ cup of orange juice
• Club soda
• Ice
• Fresh orange slice

Directions:

Pour about ½ cup or more of orange juice into a large glass. Stir in ½ - 1 teaspoon of Black Raspberry extract and club soda.  Add plenty of ice, a slice of fresh orange and sip on a frosty spritzer with healthy black raspberry nutrients.

 

 

 

Enjoy!

Why We Don't Sell Black Raspberry Capsules February 20 2014, 1 Comment

There are a lot of companies out there that have made the decision to sell black raspberry capsules.  Despite demand for the product, we made a decision years ago to not go this route. Even after capsules were pushed on Dr. Oz and other websites, we have stuck with this decision.  To explain why, here is a press release we put out last year on the issue:

 

Freeze-dried black raspberry powder continues to be used in numerous clinical trials and has great promise as a functional food for wellness. The American Association of Cancer Researchers Annual Conference in April, 2013 revealed even more research on black raspberries, from slowing colon cancer growth to reducing DNA damage in oral cancer survivors.

Unfortunately, many companies trying to capitalize on the wealth of research information on the beneficial effects of black raspberries are flooding the market with black raspberry capsules. These capsules contain miniscule amounts of black raspberry powder, cost much more per nutritional serving, and inhibit the effectiveness of black raspberries in the mouth, throat, and esophagus. Most importantly, there is no research that supports taking black raspberry powder in such small quantities, or in capsules.

The recent capsule craze took off in 2012 when a segment on The Dr. Oz Show, titled “Cancer-Fighting Supplements,” highlighted black raspberries in capsule form. A guest on the show, Lindsey Duncan, ND, CN, correctly stated that black raspberries contain anthocyanins—potent antioxidant compounds that provide many health benefits. However, Duncan inaccurately described the quantity of black raspberries present in supplement capsules.

“One 300-milligram capsule is equal to four cups of black raspberries,” said Duncan. The truth is, even after the freeze-drying process removes most of the water from the berries, 300 milligrams of freeze-dried black raspberry powder is still only equal to approximately one and a half black raspberries— which is not nutritionally significant, and certainly not close the approximately 320 berries it would take to get to four cups of black raspberries.

To get a nutritional serving of berries according to USDA Guidelines, it would take one half a cup, or approximately 40 black raspberries. For just one nutritional serving, one would have to take twenty-seven (27) 300-milligram capsules. While Duncan stated that, “You want to get it in freeze-dried capsules,” taking freeze-dried black raspberries in capsule form has never been shown in research to have any benefit.

It is also important to note that due to the small amount of freeze-dried black raspberry powder in capsules, it becomes not only hard to consume enough capsules to equal one nutritional serving of black raspberries, but makes them a far more expensive option as well. When purchasing capsules, it can cost well over 200% more for the same amount of black raspberries in powder or extract form.

Placing black raspberry powder in capsules also prevents the beneficial phytonutrients present in black raspberries from coming into direct contact with the tissues of the upper GI tract, limiting the berries’ effectiveness. Instead, unencapsulated black raspberry extracts and freeze-dried powders are the most effective means of consuming black raspberries. They can provide a valid nutritional serving of black raspberries in a form that comes in direct contact with bodily tissues.

Gary Stoner, PhD, Professor of Medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin Division of Hematology and Oncology, and Professor Emeritus of the Ohio State University James Comprehensive Cancer Center, is one of the world’s leading researchers in black raspberries. Stoner’s research has shown that black raspberry powder may have cancer-protective effects on the tissues it comes in direct contact with, especially those in the mouth, esophagus, and colon. “The evidence that the compounds in black raspberries have a beneficial localized effect is compelling,” said Stoner.

While the small dosages found in black raspberry capsules likely won’t cause any harm, there is currently no scientific research to indicate that black raspberries are effective in such small quantities, or in capsule form.

Black raspberries, not to be confused with blackberries, are almost exclusively grown in Oregon, on the west coast of the United States. They have been studied extensively because of their high concentration of phytonutrients and antioxidants.