Using Cherries Every Day

Recently I attended a meeting with the Cherry Marketing Institute, which helps cherry farmers in the United States get the word out about the health benefits of cherries. They compiled a list of easy ways to enjoy cherries every single day.

Unlike their fresh cousins that show up only during the summer, tart cherries are available every month of the year. You can find dried and frozen tart cherries, as well as cherry juice (or juice concentrate) anytime you want. Here are a dozen ways you can include this new "Super Fruit" in your daily routine.

1. Grab and Go – Get your antioxidants on-the-go with an easy "do-it-yourself" trail mix using dried cherries, almonds and whole-grain cereal. Or add dried cherries to ready-made granola.
2. Brighten up Breakfast – Swap your typical berries for dried cherries and add them to your cereal, oatmeal, yogurt or pancakes. Just a cup of dried tart cherries gives you one whole serving of fruit!
3. Make Salads Sensational – Add dried cherries to tossed salads, fruit salads and chicken salads for added taste and nutrition.
4. Switch from Blue to Red – Make a change from your standard blueberry muffin recipe and use dried or frozen cherries instead. Visit www.choosecherries.com for delicious cherry muffin recipes.
5. Straight from the Bag – Keep a stash of dried cherries on hand for an antioxidant-rich snack break. Buy single-serve packages or portion out those bought in bulk to keep in your purse, desk or gym bag.
6. C is for Cookie... and Cherries – Enjoy a new twist on the standard oatmeal raisin cookie by using dried cherries instead of raisins.
7. Greater Grains – Add dried cherries to couscous, rice pilaf, grits, risotto and pasta.
8. Be Smooth – Blend frozen cherries with cherry juice concentrate and lowfat yogurt. Add a straw and you have a sensational smoothie for breakfast or a snack.
9. A Perfect Parfait – Keep a bag of frozen cherries in the freezer and grab a handful when hunger strikes. Thaw them for a few minutes and then layer with lowfat vanilla yogurt and granola.
10. Fruit Fizz – Make a refreshing cherry spritzer by adding cherry juice concentrate to ice cold seltzer water – a refreshing treat on a hot summer day.
11. Mix it Up – Look for cherry juice blends, like cherry apple juice. Or, make your own blend and combine ready-to-drink 100% cherry juice with another juice favorite.
12. Juice on the Run – Grab a single-serve bottle of 100% cherry juice or fill a water bottle with diluted cherry juice concentrate as you head out to the gym. Some research suggests cherry juice may help reduce exercise-related joint pain!

Remember, you can purchase tart cherries in juice concentrate, frozen, or dried form all year long at The Red Barn.