You’re off to a meeting, flying to a conference, or simply got a hectic day to get through. You need an energy boost and don’t want a candy bar full of crazy ingredients. What do you do?

One healthy option is dried fruit, which, unlike their fresh cousins, can wait patiently in the pantry for over a year. We took a look at Dried Blueberries by Amport Foods, to see how good a (nutritious) deal we’re getting.

What you need to know:

Amport Foods is a family owned business selling mostly dried fruit for the past 50 years. Their products are available in various supermarkets including Wal-Mart.

A serving size is a quarter cup or 1-1/3 oz (4o grams). It contains 120 calories, a disappointing 2 grams of fiber, and a whopping 28 grams of sugar. There’s no fat and less than 1 gram of fiber. This baby’s calories come exclusively from the carbs (natural and added sugar). The vitamins and minerals on the label seem a bit lame, only 12% of the daily value for vitamin C, and only 8% of the daily value for Calcium. This is much less than fresh blueberries. The label does not tell the full story though – blueberries are a terrific source of cancer fighting antioxidants. And the dried version may contain just as much or even more antioxidants than the fresh version.

The ingredient list includes: Dried Blueberries, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Sugar, Malic Acid, Natural Flavor, Citric Acid.

Why wouldn’t the list include just one ingredient? Why add both HFCS AND sugar to an already sweet fruit, whose sweetness is accentuated even more when most of its water content is removed?

The malic acid adds a bit of tartness to the very sweet flavor, and the citric acid is used as a preservative (it is a natural preservative).

What to do at the supermarket:

Blueberries are hard to find fresh when not in season. Even in season they are sometimes prohibitively expensive. Frozen blueberries are comparable nutritionally and usually much cheaper and available year round. But dried is really the only practical grab and go snack option.

The added sugars are unfortunate, but it seems that even high end and organic producers add some sugar to the basic dried product. Amport’s product is therefore a reasonable choice. If you can’t find it, look for dried blueberries without added oil (used to prevent clumping) and without added sulfates (used as preservative)

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