Summer is in full swing and what better way to take advantage of sweet and seasonal fruits than with these scrumptious blueberry crumb bars. Whether you pick your own blueberries or get them from a farmers’ market or grocery store, make sure that you reduce your exposure to synthetic pesticides and support healthy soils by choosing organic berries!

The Research

A study published in Scientia Horticulturae compared how the use of nitrogen-based fertilizer versus conventional nitrogen fertilizers affected highbush blueberry plants. The study demonstrated that blueberry plants grown with organic fertilizer had 36% more mycorrhizal fungi, which protect blueberry plants from pests, and higher soil microbial activity. Additionally, there were 70% more antioxidants in the leaves of plants grown with organic fertilizer. Overall, the use of organic fertilizer helped reduced the development of disease in the plants and improved soil biodiversity.

Ingredients

Crust:

• 2 cups organic steel oats
  

  Photo Credit: slettvet

• 1 ½ cups organic all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup organic dark brown sugar
• 2 tsp lemon zest
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp organic cinnamon
• ¼ tsp organic nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 large organic egg
• 1/2 stick of organic unsalted butter (melted)
• 1/2 cup cold-pressed, organic coconut oil
• ½ cup organic yogurt

Blueberry Filling:

• 4 cups organic blueberries
• 3 Tbsp dark brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp fresh, organic lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp cornstarch

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F and grease an 8" x 8" baking dish with butter. In a large bowl combine oats, flour, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt; mix well. Add the egg, coconut oil, butter, and yogurt to the oat mixture and stir until blended. In a separate bowl, gently combine all of the ingredients for the blueberry filling. Gently press 3/4 of the crust mixture in the bottom of the greased pan until the bottom is covered. Pour the blueberry filling on top and distribute evenly. Crumble the remaining dough mixture over the top of the blueberries and bake for 45 minutes. Let the bars cool completely before slicing and serve with vanilla ice cream.

Banner Photo Credit: Dilyara Garifullina; unsplash.com