Enjoy the benefits of quality strawberry recipes.

I haven’t done an article on nutrition in a while.  So, I thought I would write this piece to enlighten everyone on a delicious health food with some strawberry recipes. 

It’s hard to find someone who doesn’t enjoy good strawberry recipes.  Making them taste so good must be mother nature’s way of letting us know we should be eating them.  If you’ve ever tried a strict and clean diet, you know any leeway you can get on eating a tasty snack, you will take.  Strawberries are just the choice  for that. 

Packed with phenols and phytonutrients, these little guys bring many health benefits along with their great taste.  They are also high in vitamin C, maganese, and fiber.  Strawberries have been found to protect the heart,  fight cancer, and help with inflammation.  The anti-inflammatory properties of strawberry lessen the activity of an enzyme whose overactivty has been shown to contribute to unwanted inflammation.  Strawberries also contain antioxidants which has shown to protect cell structure and prevent oxygen damage to the body’s organs.

As a child, I know my parent’s told me to eat my carrots to keep my eyes strong bright.  Research published in the Archives of Ophthalmology showed eating 3 or more servings of fruit per day may lower your risk of age-related macular degeneration, the primary cause of vision loss in old adults.  This was compared to persons who consume less than 1.5 servings of fruit daily.

If you’re going to be eating strawberries, they should only be purchased a few days prior to use. Choose berries that are firm, plump, free of mold, and which have a shiny, deep red color and attached green caps. When you pick strawberries, they do not ripen further.  Avoid those that are dull in color or have green or yellow patches since they are likely to be sour and poor quality. Medium-sized strawberries are more flavorful than those that are larger. When finding strawberry recipes look at what is added to the fruit. You don’t want to ruin the healthy part of the dish.

Here is a tasty dish from EatingWell.com you can try next time you’re feeling like using some strawberries:

Green Salad with Strawberries & Goat Cheese

Ingredients: 

• 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup or brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Freshly ground pepper to taste
• 3 cups baby spinach
• 3 cups watercress, tough stems removed
• 2 1/2 cups sliced fresh strawberries 1/3 cup fresh chives, cut into 2-inch pieces
• 1/2 cup toasted chopped pecan
• 1/4 cup crumbled goat cheese

First, whisk maple syrup (or brown sugar), vinegar, oil, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Add spinach, watercress, strawberries and chives; toss to coat. Divide the salad among 4 plates and top with pecans and goat cheese.

Nutritional Information:

Per serving: 215 calories; 17 g fat (3 g sat, 9 g mono); 4 mg cholesterol; 15 g carbohydrate; 5 g protein; 4 g fiber; 209 mg sodium; 454 mg potassium.

This is only one of many strawberry recipes out there. Enjoy this dish which as you can see will be great to help get in those healthy monosaturated fats. You can find many more tasty snacks to enjoy in Tom Venuto’s ebook, Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle.

Travis