Tag Archives: strawberries

Yogurt with Strawberries and Pistachios

For a summer breakfast or brunch, especially when it’s too hot to bake, here’s a quick, easy, and healthy recipe that looks really pretty, too! Yogurt with Strawberries and Pistachios could also double as a snack or dessert. It’s made with Greek yogurt, fresh strawberries, honey, and pistachios—a really yummy combination! If you’re not a big strawberry fan, you could use other fruit like blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, kiwifruit, mango…really, just about any fruit you like!

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Strawberry Orange Mint Cooler

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This is an easy, fruity drink to make–perfect for enjoying on a sunny spring day! This cooler has strawberries that you mash, or muddle, to release the juices, and then you add in the orange juice for a really great fruity combination! If you need to make a larger amount of servings, just multiply the ingredients by the number of servings you need–you could even mix up a large batch in a pitcher!

When I was mashing up my strawberries, I found it was easier to do that in a medium-size bowl, and I used a spoon to mash them. But you could also mash them right in the glass if that works best for you.

STRAWBERRY–ORANGE MINT COOLER by NancyCreative, adapted from Martha Stewart

Makes 2 servings

Half a pint (8 ounces) of strawberries, hulled

4 fresh mint leaves

2 cups orange juice (or tangerine or mandarin juice)

mint springs for garnish, optional

Divide strawberries between 2 (10 or 12-ounce) glasses. Add 2 mint leaves to each glass. Muddle (or mash) strawberries until they are crushed and juicy (you can use a spoon or muddler to do this). Add 4 or 5 ice cubes to each glass, then fill each glass with 1 cup of orange juice. Garnish with mint sprigs, if desired.

If you want a slightly fizzy drink, use 1 cup juice mixed with 1 cup sparkling water. It will be less sweet, but the fizziness is nice!

This would be a great beverage to serve at a spring breakfast or brunch. Maybe even on Easter! What types of fruity beverages do you like to make?

Linked to Inspire Me Monday.

Very Berry Smoothie and Whole Food’s Frozen Berry Blend

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Do you ever shop at Whole Foods Market? I love going there whenever I have the chance! The closest one to me is about an hour and a half away, so I stock up on things when I go. I recently heard about some new products in the Whole Foods Market 365 Everyday Value brand of organic frozen fruits and veggies. I was excited to have a chance to try some out, too, compliments of Whole Foods!

The new item in their organic frozen fruit selection is the Frozen Berry Blend, which I used in my Very Berry Smoothie recipe. I also picked up some frozen blackberries to make a Blackberry Crumble, and I’ll be sharing that recipe with you soon. There’s also some new organic frozen veggie blends that I’ll be trying out and telling you about …the Organic Southwestern Blend, Mediterranean Blend, and Leafy Greens Blend. Don’t those all sound good and healthy?

But for now, I’ll tell you more about the smoothie I created with the Frozen Berry Blend, which is a delicious combination of strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries. I just love this smoothie–it’s one of the creamiest, smoothest, smoothies I’ve made! I’m sure the organic frozen fruit made a big difference in the taste, too. When it comes to berries, it’s good to use organic since so many pesticides are used on berries grown the conventional way.

Here’s the smoothie recipe…I hope you get a chance to try it out! It’s great for breakfast or anytime you’re wanting a healthy snack.

VERY BERRY SMOOTHIE by NancyCreative

1 (10-ounce) package (or about 2 1/2 cups) frozen blend of strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries
1 medium banana
1 cup vanilla yogurt
1 to 2 Tablespoons honey
1/4 cup low-fat milk

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Since this is a thicker smoothie, you may need to stop the blender and stir the mixture with a spoon or spatula to help it along. Then continue blending. Makes 2 servings.

Do you like to eat healthy? What’s your favorite healthy snack?

Strawberry-Walnut Spinach Salad

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This easy-to-make salad is tossed with a homemade honey-sweetened dressing that is so good! Although this is a spinach salad, you can substitute your favorite mixed salad greens for the spinach if you like. It’s a good and healthy way to enjoy fresh strawberries in the summertime! Make sure you wait until just before serving before you toss your greens with the dressing to prevent your greens from wilting. This recipe makes about 8 servings.

INGREDIENTS:

3/4 cup olive oil or canola oil
1/2 cup honey
1 Tbsp. poppy seeds
1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. dry mustard
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
10 well-packed cups baby spinach or mixed salad greens (or you can use some of both)
1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts (or you can substitute chopped pecans)
4 cups sliced fresh strawberries

In small bowl, whisk together the oil, honey, poppy seeds, garlic powder, dry mustard, and vinegar; refrigerate until chilled. In large salad bowl, place the baby spinach or mixed salad greens. Right before serving, add the chilled dressing and toss with the greens. If you are serving this in a big salad bowl, sprinkle all of the sliced strawberries over the greens and then sprinkle on the chopped walnuts. Or, you can divide the salad greens (already tossed with the dressing) onto individual serving plates and sprinkle each individual serving with the sliced strawberries and chopped walnuts.

If you want to make a smaller salad, just halve the recipe; that should give you about 4 servings.

Linked to Feature Yourself Friday, Foodie Friday, Hodgepodge Friday, Favorite Things Saturday, Sunday Showcase, Sundae Scoop.

Sprinkles’ Strawberry Cupcake Recipe

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A few days ago, I did a post about Sprinkles: The First Cupcake Bakery. And now I’m posting the Sprinkles recipe for their delicious strawberry cupcakes! I didn’t get the recipe from Sprinkles myself…my friend Stephanie told me it was at MarthaStewart.com. Somehow, Martha was able to get ahold of this wonderful recipe! 🙂 I made these cupcakes for a baby shower and they are really good. The cupcakes are sweet and light, and they’re topped with a creamy, buttery frosting. Both cupcakes and frosting are flavored with a strawberry puree that you make in your blender or small food processor. They are such a treat and perfect for any kind of summer get-together. This recipe makes 1 dozen cupcakes. BATTER INGREDIENTS:

2/3 cup whole fresh or frozen strawberries (unsweetened), thawed
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup whole milk, room temperature
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
2 large egg whites, room temperature

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners and set aside. Place strawberries in a blender or small food processor; process until pureed. This should make about 1/3 cup of puree. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a small bowl, mix together milk, vanilla, and strawberry puree; set aside. In a large bowl or your stand mixer bowl, cream butter on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Gradually add sugar and mix until butter and sugar are well combined and fluffy. Reduce the mixer speed to medium and slowly add egg and egg whites until just blended. Then, with mixer on low, slowly add half of the flour mixture; mix until just blended. Add the milk mixture; mix until just blended. Add the remaining flour mixture slowly, and mix until just blended. Divide the batter evenly among prepared muffin cups. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-23 minutes, or until tops are just dry to the touch (the original recipe says 22-25 minutes, but mine were done around 21 minutes, so I lowered the baking time…you might want to check the cupcakes at 20 minutes if your oven tends to run hot). Transfer muffin tin to a wire rack and let cupcakes cool completely in tin before icing. SPRINKLES’ STRAWBERRY FROSTING:

1/2 cup frozen strawberries (unsweetened), thawed
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, firm and slightly cold
Pinch of salt
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted (I didn’t sift mine, and it still turned out good!)
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Place strawberries in a blender or small food processor; process until pureed; set aside. In mixer bowl, beat butter and salt on medium speed until light and fluffy. Reduce mixer speed and slowly add confectioner’s sugar; beat until well combined. Add vanilla and 3 Tbsp. strawberry puree (if you have extra puree, save it for the next time you make a smoothie!); mix until just blended (do not overmix). Frosting consistency should be dense and creamy. I frosted my cupcakes by putting a large dollop on each cupcake and adding a strawberry on top. You can frost them your favorite way; putting little sprinkles on top would be cute, too. Here’s what the actual Sprinkles version looks like (photo courtesy of MarthaStewart.com):