Try a Brunch Berry Bruschetta
Combining whole-grain bread, low-fat cream cheese and berries can make a great brunch addition. And a berry bruschetta makes it easy to enjoy fresh, in-season berries of all kinds! Chockful of nutrition, here’s your brunch berry breakdown.
Blackberries
When it comes to berries, sometimes blueberries get all the glory, leaving blackberries in the shadows. But it’s time they be moved to the front of the line! Berries are low-calorie, low-sugar, and high-fiber foods. With 8-10 grams of fiber per cup, blackberries are no exception! They also can have more anthocyanins than blueberries. Anthocyanins are pigments that give the fruit its dark color and help protect our bodies from heart disease and cancer, plus they help boost our brain function.
Blueberries
Blueberries are still a great option. One cup of fresh blueberries provides about 84 calories, 1 gram of protein, 21 grams of carbohydrate, and nearly 4 grams of dietary fiber. That same one-cup serving provides nearly 25% of your daily vitamin C requirement! Blueberries also provide iron, calcium, potassium, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc, copper, folate, beta-carotene, choline, vitamin A, and vitamin E.
Strawberries
The very popular and delicious strawberry is a great way to add some color and great nutrition. Also, one cup of strawberries has less than 50 calories. What a great way to boost your immune system!
Hunter-gatherers valued these foods and for good reason: they were a natural sweetener and abundantly ready to gather. We can learn from this practice. Eating berries is a really great way for people to help satisfy a sweet tooth without adding lots of sugar. Plus the fiber helps to slow digestion, which then helps us feel full longer and avoid blood sugar spikes.
Check out this recipe to help you get your day off to a great start.
Recipe
Brunch Berry Bruschetta
Ingredients
- 1 loaf whole grain bread, sliced
- 1 (8 oz.) block low-fat cream cheese or Neufchatel cheese, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 pound strawberries, sliced
- 6 oz. blackberries or blueberries
Directions
- Toast bread in toaster and set aside.
- In small bowl, mix cream cheese and vanilla.
- In another bowl, toss the berries together.
- Spread cream cheese mixture on toast; top with berries. Enjoy!
