Strawberries are by far my favorite berry, because nothing beats strawberries in terms of taste, health benefits or beauty. When it comes to strawberries I try to stay local, which can be hard sometimes because they are starting to get sold all year around. However, the local and seasonal strawberries outperform the ones from Spain by far. Their taste and sweetness is pretty insane, and I normally eat about a pound a day in the summer. I love strawberries in my breakfast oatmeal bowl, in baked goods such as cake or crumble, but they are also amazing in jams or my favorite berry chia pudding.
HEALTH BENEFITS OF STRAWBERRIES:
- As all berries, strawberries have plenty of anitoxidants, which protect our skin from harmful free radicals, making it glow from the inside out.
- The minerals and vitamins found in strawberries help protect against various chronic illnesses such as hypertension, cholesterol or heart disease.
- Strawberries are also one of the best sources of vitamin C – with 110% of your daily recommended intake, they have almost as much vitamin C as red bell peppers (160%). Vitamin C helps protect the immune system – so strawberries are literally immunity guards!
- New strawberry research has also found an interesting benefit of strawberries on blood sugar levels. Strawberries do not let your blood sugar level pike even when eaten with refined sugar. This means that strawberries will not give you sugar lows, but help you stay energized and satisfied for hours.
- The manganese that is present in strawberries also helps boost the metabolism.
STRAWBERRY-RECIPES:
STRAWBERRY CREAM TARTS
I have to admit that my blog has a new favorite. These delicious strawberry tarts are probably the best summer dessert ever. They are made out of a crunchy buckwheat base, a heavenly creamy strawberry cream layer, and antioxidant-boosting fresh strawberries on top. It probably does not get any better than this, I promise. Everyone, including my family, loved them! It’s almost hard to believe that something that delicious is actually good for you – but I promise, every single ingredient has some health benefit of some sort.
STRAWBERRY AND WATERMELON SMOOTHIE
It’s finally summer time in Germany and I have been soaking in Vitamin D this week. Since it is supposed to get extremely hot at the end of the week, I just wanted to post this quick and delicious way to stay hydrated during the upcoming warm weather. Smoothies are probably the best quick energy boost you’ll find and they are such an easy way to fuel your body with some much needed vitamins and minerals. This strawberry and watermelon smoothie is packed with amazing goodness.
PEACH AND STRAWBERRY CRUMBLE
Since I studied in North Carolina, I feel very strongly connected to the U.S. Southern states. I love the laid-back way of life, the sweet accents, the amazing weather, the beaches, and of course the peaches. Luckily, I got to go back last month to visit my sweet North Carolinian friends. Of course we also took a little road trip down South to visit the lovely city of Charleston. The long drive down the highway was filled with large billboards advertising one of the South’s signature items: peaches.
RHUBARB STRAWBERRY BANANA ICE CREAM
Spring has finally arrived in Germany and that means you see people wandering around with ice cream scones in their hands everywhere. Ice cream reminds me of summer, warm weather, vacation, ice cream dates, and barbeque with friends. Since the temperatures have been gradually increasing these past few weeks, I have been craving ice cream myself, which is why I went back to my favorite snack last summer: frozen bananas. This may sound strange but it was my go-to-snack in the United States when I was writing my bachelor’s thesis, and it kept me sane during that time. It’s the healthiest ice cream you will ever find, and completely free of nasty additives or refined sugars.
ASPARAGUS SALAD WITH STRAWBERRIES AND MANGO-VINAIGRETTE
I recently heard someone say that asparagus season is making Germans go totally crazy. I think this is hilarious, and completely true. No other vegetable is having such a huge impact on people’s lives and behavior as asparagus has. But why is that? For once I think that eating asparagus is a very social thing in my country. Eating asparagus the traditional way is an event for the entire family, it almost feels like a holiday feast if you will. Every family has its own unique way of “celebrating” asparagus, and whenever you’re invited to a friend’s house where asparagus is served differently than at your house, something doesn’t feel quite right.
