Tag Archive | strawberries

Strawberries: 9 Reasons to Pick Your Own

Jun11

strawberries 9 reasons to pyo

Nothing says summer like fresh strawberries!  Pick-Your-Own Strawberries is just beginning in our area of Massachusetts this week, and we couldn’t be more excited!  Yesterday, my daughters and I just went on our first berry-picking excursion of the season at our favorite local berry farm.  I’m sure it will be the first of many because strawberries don’t stay around for long in our house before my girls devour them!

Here are 9 reasons why we love to pick our own strawberries:

June 22, 2014 051

1.  It’s fun! 

Strawberry picking signals the beginning of summer for me, and it is like a little scavenger hunt finding the perfect strawberries to feed my family.

2.  It costs less.

A quart of strawberries at our local farm stands cost about $6.50, but if you pick your own and bring your own containers, you can get considerably more strawberries for the same price.  You may be able to get them “on sale” at the grocery store for much less, but the quality is nowhere near that of the strawberries you pick for yourself.

3.  They are fresher.

June 29, 2014 007

Can’t get any fresher than picked right off the plant!

4.  They taste better.

Picked at the peak of ripeness, my girls think strawberries taste better than candy! (I LOVE that!) 🙂

5.  Great pictures.

I LOVE taking pictures, and strawberry fields are a wonderful location to get some great shots!

6.  Support local farmers.

Keeping your money in the community and helping other local families is always a good thing!

7.  Healthier – fewer chemicals.

Even if your local farm isn’t “certified” organic, many of them do not spray pesticides directly onto the fruit, especially if they are allowing you to pick your own.  Talk to your farmers to find out their exact procedures, but generally in talking with my local farmers I have found that their practices are much safer than that of commercially grown produce.   Just being able to talk to the farmer is a benefit in itself.  Although strawberries are part of the “dirty dozen” and it is recommended to always buy organic, I would buy local strawberries that are not organic over organic strawberries in the supermarket any day!

8.  It’s better for the environment.

Buying local reduces your carbon footprint.  Make sure to bring your own containers to save money and eliminate the need for packaging.

9.  You get to choose the strawberries you like best! 

There’s nothing worse than paying a premium price for strawberries in the grocery store, only to have to throw away half the container because the strawberries are rotten or not suitable for eating.  Picking your own ensures that you are only paying for the BEST strawberries.

If you’re wondering what to do with all of the delicious strawberries you have picked, be sure to check out my blog post Strawberries: 9 Ways to Eat Them.

Strawberries: 10 Ways to Eat Them

Jul7

10 Ways to Eat Strawberries

Nothing says summer like fresh strawberries!  In my previous post 9 Reasons To Pick Your Own Strawberries, I mentioned that I had been on 6 fun-filled strawberry-picking excursions with my daughters last month (and I’ve even been again since that post!)  One would think we would have more strawberries than we know what to do with, but the truth is I’ve been having trouble keeping the strawberries long enough to make anything out of them.  My girls devour them (sometimes even before we get home!)  It wasn’t easy, but I did manage to save some strawberries to make a few things. Here are 10 delicious ways to use those fresh-picked, juice-dripping strawberries!

1.  Eat them just as they are!

Of course, this is the healthiest (and our favorite) way to eat them, and they don’t last long.

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2.  Chocolate-Dipped Strawberries!

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Who doesn’t love the combination of chocolate and strawberries, right?  And truly, they couldn’t be easier to make! It requires 2 ingredients – Fresh picked strawberries & Baker’s Dipping Chocolate (you can find this in the baking aisle of your local grocery store – next to the chocolate chips.)

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Simply melt the chocolate as instructed, dip your strawberries, place on a tray on waxed paper, and enjoy!  If you prefer the chocolate a little bit harder (as we do), place in the refrigerator for about 10-15 minutes.

3.  Strawberry Jam

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This was our first attempt at making strawberry jam.  Although this particular recipe didn’t go over well with my family, I’m including it in here anyway since we spent the time making it.  Based on the reviews, it is very popular and it does seem like most people enjoyed it.  We halved the recipe since I didn’t know if we would like it and I wasn’t sure how much it would make.  It ended up filling 4 mason jars (8oz each).  Since I normally try to minimize the amount of sugar I put into recipes (and this time I didn’t), for us it seemed way too sweet.  I think next time I would use much less sugar.  You can find the recipe we used here: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/strawberry-jam/

4.  Strawberry Parfait

July 2, 2014 207 crop parfait

This is one of our favorite choices for breakfast.  Simply use your favorite yogurt, fresh strawberries (chopped) any other desired fruits, and granola.  Layer and enjoy!! 🙂

5.  Strawberry Banana Smoothie

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Nothing beats a refreshing, fruit-filled smoothie on a hot day!  You can use any fruit you have on-hand, but here is one of my favorite combinations:

  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 cup fresh strawberries
  • 1 cup fresh pineapple, chopped into bite-sized pieces
  • 1 frozen banana

Blend all ingredients together until smooth.  Enjoy!! 🙂  Note:  Make sure at least one of your ingredients is frozen to make your smoothie cold.  In the absence of frozen fruit, you may want to add some ice to make it cold.  If this doesn’t appeal to you, try my other Strawberry Banana smoothie recipe, my Strawberry Banana Peanut Butter smoothie, or create your own yummy combination!

6.  In a salad

I love strawberries in my salad!  I also like to add blueberries, grapes, pineapple, cashews, and chocolate chips in addition to the lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumbers! 🙂  The fruit adds a wonderful juiciness that practically eliminates the need for salad dressing.  YUM!!

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7.  In  your cereal

We love adding fresh berries to our cereal.  Yum!!

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8.  Freeze them.

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If you have more strawberries than you know what to do with, you can freeze them for later use.  To freeze, begin by removing the stems.  Lightly rinse them and allow to dry.  Then, place them on a piece of wax paper on a cookie sheet in the freezer.  Once frozen, transfer to a ziploc freezer bag.

9.  Topping for cheesecake, ice cream, or pancakes

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My kids absolutely love this stuff!! Here is the recipe we used (next time I’m going to double it!):

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups fresh-picked ripe strawberries
  • 1/3 cup white sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

  1. Wash strawberries and remove stems.
  2. Chop strawberries
  3. Combine sugar, vanilla, and 1 1/2 cups strawberries in a saucepan. (Set aside remaining 1/2 cup strawberries.) 
  4. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally.  Cook until sauce thickens, about 15 minutes.
  5. Remove from heat.  In a blender, puree mixture.  Add in the 1/2 cup strawberries you had previously set aside.
  6. Store in refrigerator.

The original recipe can be found here: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Supreme-Strawberry-Topping/Detail.aspx

I was also hoping to make strawberry pie and strawberry shortcake with fresh-picked strawberries this year, but unfortunately strawberry season is now over in my area so I’ll have to try those out next year.

10.  Strawberry Pie

Update 7/9/15:  I made Strawberry Pie with my daughters this season, and it was delicious!  The link to the recipe I used may be found on my blog Stacy Loves here.

strawberry-pie2

11. Strawberry Ice Cream

Update 6/16/16

This strawberry ice cream, made with freshly picked strawberries, is the perfect treat on a hot, summer day!  The recipe can be found on Stacy Loves here.

Strawberry ice cream recipe

What is your favorite way to eat strawberries?  Do you have a favorite use for strawberries that is not included here?  Please leave a comment below.

Strawberries: 9 Reasons to Pick Your Own

Jul2

June 6, 2014 075 a taste of summer

Nothing says summer like fresh strawberries!  After 6 fun-filled strawberry-picking excursions with my daughters last month, the season of strawberry-picking is unfortunately coming to an end in our area.

Here are 9 reasons why we love to pick our own strawberries:

June 22, 2014 051 June 29, 2014 007

1.  It’s fun! 

Strawberry picking signals the beginning of summer for me, and it is like a little scavenger hunt finding the perfect strawberries to feed my family.

2.  It costs less.

A quart of strawberries at our local farm stands cost about $6.50, but if you pick your own and bring your own containers, you can get considerably more strawberries for the same price.  You may be able to get them “on sale” at the grocery store for much less, but the quality is nowhere near that of the strawberries you pick for yourself.

3.  They are fresher.

Can’t get any fresher than picked right off the plant!

4.  They taste better.

Picked at the peak of ripeness, my girls think strawberries taste better than candy! (LOVE that!) 🙂

5.  Great pictures.

I LOVE taking pictures, and strawberry fields are a wonderful location to get some great shots!

6.  Support local farmers.

Keeping your money in the community and helping other local families is always a good thing!

7.  Healthier – fewer chemicals.

Even if your local farm isn’t “certified” organic, many of them do not spray pesticides directly onto the fruit, especially if they are allowing you to pick your own.  Talk to your farmers to find out their exact procedures, but generally in talking with my local farmers I have found that their practices are much safer than that of commercially grown produce.   Just being able to talk to the farmer is a benefit in itself.  Although strawberries are part of the “dirty dozen” and it is recommended to always buy organic, I would buy local strawberries that are not organic over organic strawberries in the supermarket any day!

8.  It’s better for the environment.

Buying local reduces your carbon footprint.  Make sure to bring your own containers to save money and eliminate the need for packaging.

9.  You get to choose the strawberries you like best! 

There’s nothing worse than paying a premium price for strawberries in the grocery store, only to have to throw away half the container because the strawberries are rotten or not suitable for eating.  Picking your own ensures that you are only paying for the BEST strawberries.

If you’re wondering what to do with all of the delicious strawberries you have picked, be on the lookout in the next few days for the next post.  I will share some ideas of ways to enjoy all of these yummy berries!  To make sure you don’t miss it, click on the follow button in the sidebar to follow this blog.

Strawberry Banana Smoothie

Apr7

This is a great smoothie to soothe a sore throat or cough.  My kids love the taste, and they love the pink color!  It’s also a great way to benefit from the healing properties of raw honey if you don’t like eating honey straight.  🙂

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Ingredients:
½ cup apple juice

½ cup filtered water

1 ripe banana

1 Tablespoon raw honey (local is best to help with seasonal allergies)

1 cup frozen organic strawberries

Instructions:
1.  Place all ingredients into blender except the strawberries.  Blend until smooth.

2.  Add the strawberries.  Blend until smooth.

Notes:  This smoothie is thick.  If you would like it thinner, add more liquid.  Do not feed raw honey to infants under 1.

Yield:  20 ounces