This week’s ingredient: Blueberries!

Not only are blueberries in season, but they are an inexpensive and low-calorie (84 calories per cup!) snack. They’re loaded with elleagic acid, which prevents cell damage, as well as vitamins C and E, manganese, and both soluble and insoluble fiber. Still, be sure to wash them before eating, because they are among the foods upon which pesticides are most frequently found.

Easy Meal Ideas

1. Toss with a salad, oatmeal, or yogurt for a sweet boost to mealtime standards.
2. Serve with cool-whip or other crème for a refreshing dessert (hold me back…!)
3. Did you know many health stores sell dried blueberries? If you’re tired of raisins or thought craisins too sugary-sweet, these babies might be the perfect portable snack.

The Recipe: Blueberry Tiramisu

There’s no dessert quite like tiramisu. It’s not quite cake, it’s lighter than pudding, fluffier than cream pie, and definitely hits the sweet spot. Here’s a twist on an old Italian favorite, modified from a Kaboose recipe to include blueberries and the lighter Neufchatel cheese (available at Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods, baby). Best part? No steamy baking required!

Ingredients

3 cups blueberries
1 pound Neufchatel cheese
1-1/2 cups heavy cream
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
40 lady fingers
2 cups hot water
3 tablespoons instant espresso powder
2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa

Instructions

·  Puree the blueberries (make sure to remove stems first, if any). In a large bowl stir puree into the cheese and set aside. In a clean bowl, beat the heavy cream, sugar and almond extract until soft peaks form. Stir one-third of the whipped cream into Neufchatel mixture. In two more additions, fold the remaining whipped cream into Neufchatel mixture.

·  Line the bottom of a baking  pan with half the ladyfingers. Stir 2 cups of hot water into espresso powder and cocoa until smooth. Brush half the espresso mixture onto the lady fingers.

·  Spread half the Neufchatel mixture over the ladyfingers. Repeat layering with the remaining lady fingers, coffee and Neufchatel mixtures.

·  Chill for at least 4 hours.  Top with fresh blueberries. Serves 24.

Brain food should be healthy foods that stimulate your thinking, but I mainly use it as an excuse to eat during finals.  When I started feeling sluggish after downing a bag of Skittles during my most recent study-a-thon, I decided to put down the bag of Sun Chps and look into what really constitutes “brain food.”

Here are the top 4 foods you should be eating to help stimulate your brain power in both the short and long term.

Fatty fish:  Fish high in omega-3 fats, such as salmon, bluefin tuna, and anchovies can help your brain in multiple ways.  A study in Finland determined that frequent fish eaters are less likely to be depressed than those that eat fish less frequently.  Another study found that eating fish or seafood at least once a week can diminish your risk for developing dementia later on.  This in no way means that you should pile your plate sky high with sardines in hope to avoid dementia.  While fatty fish contain high levels of omega-3s, they also contain trace amounts of mercury which can actually cause harm to the body in large amounts. To get just the right level of omega-3s to stimulate that brain, look to eat about 2 to 3 servings of fish per week.

Blueberries: Blueberries, along with other fruits and vegetables, have been shown to decrease the onset of brain degeneration due to Alzheimer’s disease.  Blueberries, due to their high phytochemical content, have also been linked to improved memory status and function.  Although blueberries are one of the best, other fruits and vegetables with high antioxidant contents can be just as effective.  Nosh on other (seasonal!)  fruits and vegetables to get your daily dose.

Coffee: Everybody knows about the energy-boosting effects of caffeine.  Caffeine is one of the quickest ways to give you a quick jolt of energy to get through studying, driving, or a long night.  What makes coffee extra great, however, is it’s antioxidant content.  Coffee is the single largest source of antioxidants in the American diet.  Antioxidants, like those in blueberries, can improve memory and brain function.  Just be sure that you don’t drink too much coffee as it can make you jittery and sleepless, which can actually decrease brain power. (Not to mention all that study time lost to frequent trips to the bathroom.)

Egg Yolks: This one is constantly moving on and off of nutrition’s s**t list.  While egg yolks are infamous for having a high cholesterol content, they aren’t all bad.  Egg yolks have the highest concentration of naturally-occurring choline, which can increase the function of acetylcholine in the brain.  Acetylcholine works as a signal between the brain and the body so it can carry out nerve functions.  It has also been linked to decreasing the onset of “senility” in subjects.  Scramble a few eggs in the morning to get your fix.

I’m starting to think that there is some truth to the rule, “You are what you eat.” I think my muffin top would attest to that statement. In general, I stick to a healthy diet (of cupcakes), but when it comes time to crack the books I know that my typical eating habits will affect my scholastic performance. While I usually opt for a bag of M&Ms at the library, I now know that a giant bag of sugar is not the best thing to get me through the hours of cramming.

In contrast, there are foods out there that have been shown to improve memory retention and attention span. Read: The foods I should be eating. I am one who will do anything to pass an exam, even if it means eating my way to better grades. Because what could be better?

Eat? For better grades? Grad school may be for me after all.

When it comes to the basics, we all know the rules: “Don’t skip breakfast,” “Drink lots of water,” “An apple a day…blah, blah, blah.”But when it comes to college life, we need more than just a healthy diet – we need to feed our brains. So I’ve compiled a list of some snack foods to help our neurons rock and roll.

While there are a plethora of foods out there to give your brain a boost, not all are study-friendly. Salmon and eggs, for example, are great brain foods, but being the “smelly kid” has never been cool, so it’s not realistic to brown bag these snacks to munch on in your study groups. (However, these are fine foods to eat for breakfast or lunch before a big exam…alone in your apartment.)

A personal favorite study snack (which is perfect for winter exams) is hot chocolate. But not any hot chocolate: DARK hot chocolate. It is lower in calories than its milky brother, and has a moderate amount of caffeine to boot. Dark chocolate also has a suspiciously high amount of antioxidants (chocolate? good for you? I know!) and natural neural stimulants that increase blood flow and enhance your mood! This warm bevy will keep you alert and in a good mood, no matter how late you have to be in the ‘brary.

Speaking of drinks, green tea is known for being fabulous for our brain and body. My tastebuds never quite agreed (green tea tastes like dirt) until Arizona Tea came out with Blueberry Diet Green Tea. I’m not a fan of drinking my calories (unless the drink rhymes with “odka”), so I stick to this diet version (10 cals per serving). I bring one of these with me to the computer lab whenever I go and it definitely keeps my brain turned on. If Starbucks is more your style, try mixing 2 tea bags (like Orange & Spice with Green Tea) for a tasty brain beverage.

Perhaps you don’t believe me on the Blueberry Green Tea, but I think we all know that blueberries themselves are hella good. They are in season right now and are great for snacking (and dieting, if that’s your thing). Ounce for ounce, blueberries actually have a greater antioxidant capacity than most any other fruits or vegetables and contain 5 grams of fiber per cup! These are also perfect for eating in the library (some rules were just meant to be broken) – no one can hear you munch on them.

Note: If blueberries are not too accessible, Craisins are a good substitute. Dried berries last a long, long time (becuase, seriously, who has time to go to the freakin’ market?), so load up, refrigerate, and grab em whenever you need a little brain boost.

From my own experience, however, the olympian of brain-boosting foods are nuts. Almonds, in particular, are great for your general health, but cashews and walnuts are where I get my fix. Not only do these jewels contain healthy fats that stabalize your blood-sugar for hours, but nuts have been shown in recent studies to be associated with better memory retention and mood. Both very important things for a super long study sesh.

Truth be told, keeping your glucose levels afloat will have a similar affect on your GPA. Happy snacking!

My fellow editor in crime knows how much I love crust and fruit, so she recently sent me this recipe with the words “True story: this pie will make you drool” in the subject line of the email. Even though I’m a pretty stupid cook, I decided to try to make the thing the night I got the email — and you know what? It really wasn’t that hard. The whole presentation wasn’t Martha Stewart pretty or anything, but it tasted like heaven and Martha Stewart has 700 people helping her on a daily basis.

What You Need

9-inch frozen pie crust

3/4 c. plus 5 T. all-purpose flour

2/3 c. firmly packed golden brown sugar

1/3 c. granulated sugar plus 1 T. for the filling

2 t. ground cinnamon

1/8 t. salt

1/2 c. cold unsalted butter, cut into 3/4 in. pieces

5 c. blueberries

1. Prebake the frozen pie crust according to the package’s directions. (Don’t forget to poke holes in the bottom of the crust with a fork or else it will puff up and ruin everything)

2. Once your crust is done, preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

3. For the crumble topping (droooooool): Combine 3/4 c. flour, 1/3 c. of brown sugar, 1/3 c. granulated sugar, 1 t. cinnamon and the salt. Toss in the butter pieces to coat with the flour mixture. Using your fingertips (or if you’re a wuss, a pastry blender) squish the butter/flour mixture until it resembles pea-sized crumbs. Resist the urge to toss a handful of this delicious sand into your mouth, and set the topping aside.

3. Onto the blueberry filling: In a large bowl, combine the blueberries, the remaining brown sugar, the remaining cinnamon, and 4 T. of the flour. Stir gently to ensure that each little blueberry gets dusted with the dry ingredients. Sprinkle the remaining 1 T. of flour and 1 T. of granulated sugar over the bottom of the prebaked pie crust, spreading it evenly. (This turns the blueberry juice into a gooey, purple sludge.)

4. Sprinkle the crumble topping evenly over the blueberry filling. (Really pile it on there.) Bake the pie on a rack in the lower-third of the oven until the topping is golden brown and the blueberry filling is just starting to erupt; it should be bubbly, peeking through the buttery and delicious crumb terrain (about 50-60 minutes).

5. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely. Serve at room temperature

And for those of us who have trouble eating just one piece of pie at a time (I’m raising my hand here), this little invention is awesome. Individual pie slices? Yes please.

Here’s a simple Q&A to get this party started.

Q: What’s better than ice cream?

A: Ice cream cake, of course.

Q: What’s better than ice cream cake?

A: Ice cream cake that’s not very bad for you—low-guilt ice cream cake, if you will.

Q: How are you going to impress your friends and family on the 4th of July?

A: By making them this beautiful, low-guilt ice cream cake!

Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, roll up your sleeves and get ready, because this is the simplest ice cream cake EVER. It has four ingredients:

• 1 pint low-fat vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt

• strawberries

• blueberries

• powdered sugar (optional)

So, here’s what you do:

First, slice almost a cup’s worth of strawberries (you’ll need about another cup of whole strawberries for the cake’s top). Set them aside.

Take the ice cream out of the freezer and let it get a little melty around the edges so that it can be shaped and molded. When it’s reached that consistency, slide it out of the container. Cut the ice cream in half lengthwise. Take one half and do your best to mold it into a rectangle shape with a flat top (a knife can be helpful here). Create your rectangle on a fancy plate or serving dish. That’s your first layer for the cake.

After you’ve built that layer, arrange the sliced strawberries on top. If you have too many strawberries to fit in a single layer, you can double- or triple-layer them so that they all fit, but keep the cake as flat as possible.

On another working area, mold the second half of the ice cream into a rectangle that’s as close to the same size and shape as you can get it to the first rectangle. Stick it on top of the sliced strawberries. If you have spare ice cream or if the ice cream is really melty, you can use the extra to fill in the areas between the two layers.

On the top of the double-layer cake, set the blueberries and whole strawberries in a nice pattern of your choice. Stick the cake in the freezer—it can stay there until you’re ready to serve it.

As you cut slices, sprinkle powdered sugar on top of them. Beautiful, delicious, and a heck of a lot tastier than fireworks.

[Photograph courtesy of Flickr.]