Is there something fairly just like the sweet-nectar aroma of completely ripe strawberries blended with a little bit of heat earth on a sunny day? This description brings again vivid recollections of my childhood, after I picked strawberries with my household within the Pacific Northwest on the close by U-pick strawberry farm. The strawberry farm’s coverage indicated you solely needed to pay for the quantity of strawberries you picked and positioned within the picket crates (not your stomach). So, oh how I gorged on the plumpest, ripest berries, toasty heat from the solar, letting the juices drip down my chin and onto my t-shirt!
When it’s strawberry season—which lasts lengthy in my neck of the woods in California, I simply can’t get sufficient of those candy, juicy berries. You’ll at all times discover a flat in my fridge, which I’ll use in cereals, salads, dips, smoothies, and fruit desserts. Better of all, they’re good as a brilliant wholesome snack plain and easy, simply give them a fast rinse, and gobble them up.
Past superb style, they provide highly effective vitamin. Strawberries—like all North American berries—are potent in plant compounds linked with well being advantages. Not solely are they full of vitamin C and fiber, they’re wealthy with disease-protective phytochemicals that lend them their shiny purple colours. A physique of analysis exhibits present that strawberries might help combat irritation, and scale back your threat of creating power illnesses, reminiscent of coronary heart illness, kind 2 diabetes, some sorts of most cancers, and neurodegenerative illnesses. That’s why I like to recommend consuming berries, together with strawberries, each single day. In reality, it’s possible you’ll need to purpose for 8-a-day of strawberries for good well being. Whereas they’re in season now, take pleasure in them as usually as you possibly can. However you can too flip to frozen (even dried strawberries) within the low season.
Take a look at my high 5 methods to make use of strawberries under, and watch the video for one among my favourite recipes that includes this berry: Berry Quinoa Energy Bowl, in addition to my Instagram Stay Plant-Based mostly Cooking Present the place I share my finest tips about cooking with strawberries!
High 5 Methods to Use Strawberries
1. Au Naturel. There’s little that may enhance upon Mom Nature’s recent, ripe strawberry, excellent and easy all on it’s personal. Simply rinse it, pop that high off, and munch it down. These crimson gems are the proper go-to snack or dessert.
2. Breakfast Topper. Energy up on strawberries for breakfast by including them to your cereal bowl, pancake or waffle, yogurt, or smoothie. Let these antioxidant compounds wash over your physique very first thing within the morning. Research even present you possibly can mitigate the dangerous inflammatory results of poor weight loss plan decisions by including strawberries to a meal. That’s how highly effective these little guys are.
3. Salad Enhance. I like sliced strawberries in salads. Simply combine them into your favourite greens, the extra pungent the higher (assume arugula, kale, spinach, child chard). Strive tossing with a balsamic vinegar and olive oil dressing, and add in just a few crunchy nuts for a mind-blowing salad.
4. Fruit Ahead Desserts. I’m an enormous fan of serving fruit for dessert. And a method to try this is easy, fruit-centric treats, reminiscent of crumbles, bars, and pies. Take a look at my recipe for Strawberry Coconut Almond Espresso Cake for starters.
5. Sandwich Filler. Do you know that sliced strawberries are great in all kinds of sandwiches, together with peanut butter on complete wheat, Mediterranean flatbread open-face sandwiches, pita sandwiches with hummus, and even toasted pizza-breads? Yep, simply unfold nut and seed butter in your favourite bread, then layer on the sliced strawberries.
Take a look at my Berry Quinoa Energy Bowl and video right here.
Discover out my favourite methods to make use of much more plant meals with these useful guides:
High 5 Methods to Use Tempeh
High 5 Methods to Use Persimmons
High 5 Methods to Use Quinoa