3 Tasty Berry Recipes for High Blood Pressure Control

Berries are possibly the largest sources of anti-oxidants among all fruits. These antioxidants not only give them their vibrant and beautiful color, they also go a very long way in protecting your body and keeping it healthy and beautiful! This is because the polyphenols or anti-oxidants in berries actively fight free radical damage in the body. While this is great for overall health, it is also very good for your arteries and veins.

Berries of all kinds – blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, goji berries, lingon berries and all other berries you can think of – are rich in antioxidants. And since the free radicals in the blood cause maximum damage to the blood vessel walls, loading up on berries means you are actually protecting your blood vessels. And healthy blood vessels equal to lower blood pressure.

In addition to this, studies have shown that berries also have other positive effects on heart and vascular health. Research has shown that consuming berries on a daily basis improves platelet function, and also increases the amount of good cholesterol (HDL) in the body!

So, over all, you will only benefit from including more berries in your diet. And to help you with that, we have actually brought you 3 delectable recipes…

1. A Goji Berry Breakfast Granola
2. A Berry Smoothie for Blood Pressure
3. Berry Cobbler with Oatmeal

And now on to the recipes…

You can serve this granola with skim milk or crunch on it as it is! Don’t add any extra sugar, though.

• Old fashioned oats – 3 cups
• Coconut flakes – 1/3 cup
• Goji berries – 1/3 cup
• Slivered almonds – 1/3 cup
• Light brown sugar – ¼ cup
• Scraped vanilla bean – 1
• Ground cinnamon – ½ tsp.
• Agave nectar – 1/3 cup
• Grapeseed oil – 1/3 cup

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit and line a baking sheet with parchment.
2. Combine oats, coconut, almond and cinnamon in a bowl.
3. Take a small saucepan and heat together the sugar, vanilla bean seeds, agave and oil till sugar dissolves.
4. Pour this over the dry ingredients, mix to combine and spread over the parchment.
5. Bake for 20 minutes, mixing once halfway through.
6. Break up with your hands when a little cooler and mix in the goji berries.

And now we move on to our smoothie…

This smoothie is packed with ingredients that lower your blood pressure like blueberries, beet , carrot etc.
So, here’s what you actually need:

• Frozen blueberries – ¼ cup
• Carrot juice (unsweetened) – ½ cup
• Raw beet (peeled and grated) – ¼ cup
• Raw almonds – ¼ cup
• Applesauce (unsweetened) – ¼ cup
• Ground ginger – ½ tsp.
• Freshly squeezed lime juice – ½ tsp.
• Ice cubes – 1/3 cup

And to make the smoothie, just throw all the ingredients in a blender and blitz!
And finally the yummy one you can even have for dessert.

Normally desserts are not very commonly advised on a high blood pressure controlling diet. However, here is one healthy dessert that you can have! It tastes yummy and it is healthy for your blood vessels!

• Frozen mixed berries – 2 pounds
• Quaker Instant cinnamon spice oatmeal individual packets – 3
• Lemon juice – 1 tbsp.
• Margarine or Smart Balance butter – 225 grams
• Sugar – 2 tbsp.
• Cooking spray

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and spray a glass cobbler pan with the cooking spray.
2. Place the berries, sugar and lime juice in a sauce pan. Heat gently. Wait till the sugar melts.
3. Pour the mixture into the cobbler or pie pan.
4. Take a bowl and pour in the oatmeal mixes.
5. Melt the margarine or butter and pour into the oatmeal.
6. Mix and spread over the berry mixture.
7. This needs to bake for 45 minutes or so.

It will come out lovely, fragrant and bubbly… cool a bit and enjoy!

Berries are a powerhouse of health – and as numerous studies have shown, they can be extremely good for lowering blood pressure too! So try out these 3 berry recipes for high blood pressure – and maybe you can cut down on your blood pressure medication!