Dem's da Berries!

The phrase "Them's the berries" means that's the way it goes and ain't nothing we can do about it. I am not sure where it originated from. Today I am talking about berries though, and thought it would make for a good subject title.

Until a year or two ago, I did not realize there was a difference between blackberries and black raspberries. I was just starting out my weight loss journey and the blackberries were just coming in season and priced low. I gleefully bought some and looked forward to eating them. Imagine my surprise when the berries tasted tart and almost sour! Where was that rich luscious sweet tasting berry I recalled eating as a child?

Back in Minnesota, (near Frost, MN...yes that is a real town in the frozen north) where I grew up, we picked wild red raspberries in the woods along the river in the middle of farming country. Sometimes we found black raspberries. OH MY! Those were like finding gold! They are so sweet and mmm mmm good!

When I saw them in the store I was so excited that I would be able to have such goodness again! Well, I was sure disappointed! I thought the problem must have been that these were mass produced and not organic. I had found a few organic foods that had more flavor. I watched to see if any blackberries ever came in that were organic. When I did finally find some, I bought them and again anticipated with glee, the sweet juiciness I was going to taste. Again, bitter... literally ...a bitter tasting fruit.

Was I losing my mind? I KNOW I have had black berries that were sweet! I got online and looked up black raspberries and that is when I found out there IS a difference between them and blackberries.
The blackberries are on the left and the black raspberries are on the right. The easiest way to tell them apart is that the raspberries are cored out and are kind of like little hats. Oh, and there is such a thing as a sweeter tasting blackberry. Our relatives from Canada brought some down one year, that they picked near where they lived. THOSE were sweeter than any I have ever bought at a store. They still were not as good as black raspberries though.

I still prefer most berries that are organically grown. They just seem to have a better flavor 90% of the time. I have gotten very picky about my berries too! I most often buy strawberries. Driscoll's supplies most of the strawberries in this area. Do you know how to spot the organics fast? Look at the labels!
The green Driscoll's label on strawberries, blueberries, and others will be the organic ones.

These yellow labels on the strawberries mean they are not organic.

The prices currently are $3.99 for a 16 ounce box of organic strawberries and for the same price you get two boxes of non-organic strawberries. I have been counting how many strawberries are in a 16oz. box and they run from 16-25 berries, depending on size of the berry, in each container. That means they are between .25 and .16 for each individual berry. You get between two and four servings of berries, from $1.00 to $2.00 per serving, depending on how you measure them. Why am I talking prices? Mostly to hit home that though strawberries are really good for us, they are really expensive too. I do not feel bad for taking several LONG minutes to check out each and every box to find the best one for my money! I used to feel somewhat foolish. However, now that I know just how much that under ripe one costs as well as the odd moldy one, I am a LOT more picky! And woe be unto a bagger if they bruise my strawberries!!! I often use the self checkout and bag my own groceries, just so I can protect my investment. The baggers don't mean to do wrong, but they are not paying for MY produce. I am, and I am going to be picky.
By the way, I love strawberries and yogurt for dessert. Sometimes I will add a bit of sugar or Agave syrup for a sweeter treat. Not too much as I do not want to ever come close to looking like this person:

Seriously? Pull your pants up! This would be a great advertisement against sugary sweets. The photo is from a site that has pictures taken at real Walmart stores all over the country. The way some people dress is appalling! No wonder fat people get ostracised. So many of us dress so badly!

That's it for today folks. I hope you have a wonderful 4th of July!