My Food Obsession: Strawberries

Strawberries… Mmmmmmm…

I’m a big fan of strawberries and purchase these year round, but I certainly tend to increase my intake when they are in peak season. With my local grocery store having strawberries on sale, I’ve been buying strawberries in bulk.  This means I have to find ways to consume them before they go bad.

Lucky for me, only a few strawberries have been wasted this season. Here are my favorite ways to consume them:

Smoothie

Being a runner in the almost-always hot and humid Orlando, there’s nothing more that I enjoy post-run than a cold, delicious smoothie… and a cold shower. In fact, I’m in enjoying one right now! A smoothie that is (I’ve already taken my post-run shower).

Here’s what’s in today’s smoothie:

• fresh strawberries
• half a banana
• blueberries
• vanilla yogurt
• honey
• vanilla soy milk
• oatmeal

I have heard that adding spinach or kale to smoothies are great added sources of calcium and vitamin C, and I’m toying with the idea. I’ve been told you can’t taste this odd addition, especially in any smoothie that includes bananas. However,  I think I’m having the hardest time saying goodbye to my pretty pink smoothie and welcoming a green smoothie.

Salad

One of my favorite salads is super easy to make:

• spinach or spring mix salad
• goat cheese
• sliced fresh strawberries
• sliced almonds
• grilled chicken breast (or if you’re in a hurry, buy a rotisserie chicken from the store and add pieces of chicken to your salad)
• raspberry vinaigrette

For Donnie’s salad he skipped the cheese so I added garbanzo beans instead.

Fruit Salad

Sunday we made our all-time favorite fruit salad, including mango, strawberries, kiwi and blueberries. Mmm…

Yogurt Parfait

Donkey: Have you ever met a person, you say, “Let’s get some parfait,” they say, “Hell no, I don’t like no parfait”? Parfaits are delicious! — Shrek

Just layer granola, yogurt, strawberries (and other berries) and go! Best paired with half of a Whole Foods bran muffin. 🙂

Pancakes

Topping my pancakes with whipped cream and fresh strawberries might be one of my favorite ways to consume strawberries, but definitely the least enjoyed. This is a rare, but delicious treat for me. Hmmm… my birthday is coming up…

Party Snack

I recently went to a bridal shower where one of the hostesses served finger sandwiches made with Nutella and strawberry slices. For a week after I was eating wheat bagels with Nutella and strawberries for breakfast. Raise your pinky while eating and I promise you’ll feel like such a lady while eating them.

And of course, you can always just wash a strawberry and pop it in your mouth. Mmmm…

How do you eat your strawberries?

Tags: fruit salad, pancakes, smoothies, strawberries, strawberries in salads