Black and Blue Cardamom Smoothie

What I like best about golfing this time of year is the succulent blackberries that line the edges of some of the holes. There is something that feels very “hunter-gatherer” about picking wild berries, even if they are right next to perfectly manicured land meant for dedicating hours of leisure time to, something that was in much shorter supply before we developed agriculture and cities. Berry picking also takes me back to my childhood, it was one of the few times that I would have access to an unlimited amount of sweets, and when they were ripened on the vine and warmed from the sun I liked them even more than five cent candy. My grandparents used to take me to u-pick berry fields, where I unknowingly happily offered up free labor. When I got a bit older, one of my childhood houses had a huge cluster of raspberry bushes in the far corner of the back yard; it grew tremendously in the rich prairie dirt, and flourished under a heat I had not experienced before on the west coast. The branches were thick and prickly and I could not get very far without getting covered in tiny scrapes. To my joy, I am now tall enough to reach more berries now that I am fully grown, and the novelty has not yet worn off.

If you ever go foraging for wild berries, make sure they have not been sprayed, especially if they are near a ditch and you live somewhere with lots of mosquitoes. Pesticides and herbicides deemed safe for human consumption are bad enough, the chemicals used in wild areas can be very toxic and harmful to our bodies.

These berries, as their deep color alludes to, are very rich in nutrients. Blackberries and blueberries are both bursting with antioxidants, vitamins and minerals and they are a good source of fiber and carbohydrates. Cardamom is one of my most beloved members of my spice cabinet. It is traditionally used a lot in Indian cuisine and it is one of the components of the spice blend garam masala. It comes in pods (which are my number one ingredient for chai tea) or with the little seeds from the pod already ground up. It has a really distinct flavor that is kind of citrusy and peppery and almost even a little bit flowery, but like other spices that have been used for centuries, it does more than just add aroma and flavor. It aids in digestion (it’s actually related to ginger) and detoxification, acts as a diuretic and can help fight against inflammation. Folklore also suggests it can also be an aphrodisiac but there has not been enough scientific research done to support or dismiss those claims.