Simple Recipes to Use Leftover Blueberries

Blueberries are quite expensive, but many people buy them in punnets, and if not eaten, this causes food waste. Those who buy blueberries throw away around 336 each year, due to buying too many (most are sold pre-packaged) or not eating them quickly enough.

Only rinse blueberries just before eating (the ‘silvery bloom’ is what protects them). Once bought, they only keep in the fridge for a few days.

Try this delicious lemon blueberry cake (Rainbow Nourishments), simple to make with just a few everyday ingredients, no egg replacers required. The batter is even designed, so the blueberries don’t sink to the bottom!

Keep this recipe away from pets, as citrus is toxic (also in cleaning products). Read more on food safety for people and pets (many foods are unsafe for children, pregnancy/nursing and animal friends). 

Just bin citrus scraps as acids could harm compost creatures (same with rhubarb, tomato and allium scraps – onion, garlic, shallots, leeks, chives). For tinned ingredients, fully remove lid or pop ring-pull over holes before recycling (pinch top closed), to avoid wildlife getting trapped. 

It’s worth investing in a good juicer and grater, as this makes juicing and zesting citrus foods so much easier, and you get more out of the fruit, to avoid food waste. The grater also can double up for grating vegan cheese and other foodie items.

It’s best to store whole lemons in the fridge, in a drawer or covered container.

These blueberry muffins (Rainbow Nourishments) are simple to make, pop the batter in silicone cupcake liners. They only need a few ingredients (no egg replacer required) and have a crunchy sugar topping. You can add optional cinnamon.

No-bake blueberry cheesecake

Save on bills with this blueberry cheese recipe (Running on Real Food). No whipped cream or cheese or biscuits here, you just replace with soaked cashews, coconut cream, pecans and maple syrup with cinnamon.

Blueberry banana cinnamon smoothie

This blueberry smoothie (The Simple Veganista) is as healthy as it is tasty. Includes protein-rich nut butter (choose organic to avoid palm oil).

Giant vegan blueberry tart

If you’re feeling a bit more ambitious, try this blueberry tart (Full of Plants). Created by a French chef, the homemade crust is filled with juicy berries, and served with vegan vanilla ice cream.

Why Are blueberries so popular?

Blueberries have soared in popularity in recent years, their sweet taste meaning so-called affluent ‘yummy mummies’ feed them as a ‘healthy treat’ to children. People on diets often ‘pop some blueberries’ as a snack, over a slab of chocolate or cake!

Pack’d sells organic frozen blueberries (certified by the UK Soil Association) in paper packaging. This is a good way to avoid plastic punnets, support organic farming and avoid food waste.

However, although they can be grown in England (the season is from July to November), farmers have mostly  given up growing them, as they have been squeezed out by cheap imports. Today, nearly all punnets sold in supermarkets are from Peru (which also has cold winters).

One farmer gave his surplus crop to charity, and is now consider selling off his land for building development. This is what happens, when parents choose expensive imported fruit, instead of local organic produce.

We looked up the ‘finest’ range of blueberries from a major supermarket online, and found that the punnet contained a combination of fruits from ‘Chile, Egypt, Spain, Morocco, Peru, Portugal, South Africa and Zimbabwe and UK’ .

Why so, if this high-priced item could be supplied by local farmers? And they aren’t even organic, with reviews like ‘squishy and tasteless’.

A recipe for homemade blueberry compote

Homemade Blueberry Compote (The Simple Veganista) is a great way to use up leftover berries. You can cook up fresh or frozen berries with lemon and sugar, to make a tasty topping for porridge, pancakes or vegan ice-cream.

To sterilise jars, put jars, lids and rubber seals on hot dishwasher cycle (fill with hot water, while warm).  Or wash in hot soapy water, and ‘cook’ in pre-heated oven (to 160 degrees C) for 15 minutes (again fill with hot water, while still warm). Only put hot jam into hot jars, to avoid thermal shock.