“Live in each season as it passes: breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit.” — Henry David Thoreau

Strawberry season has come and gone so quickly! Depending on where you are, the exact dates may be a little different than other parts of the country. Here in southern NH, most of the farm stands have already finished their strawberry picking season.

If you’re like me, the thought of picking fresh fruit is super exciting. So exciting that you may go out and pick entirely too much for your household to consume before they go bad. Let’s explore some different recipes you can try out to use up your strawberries and avoid waste. We will also dive deeper into the nutritional benefits that these delicious berries deliver.

 

 

Nutrition Corner

Strawberries are a wonderful source of Vitamin C as well as Vitamin A and folic acid. They are low in calories and full of flavor.

These delicious and bright colored berries also contain insoluble fiber which can help to move things along in the digestive track by bulking up the stool.

 

 

Freezing

A simple way to preserve your berries is to freeze them to use in smoothies, sauces, or as a topping. First, be sure to wash, dry, and hull your strawberries for easy use after they’re frozen. Next, place your prepared strawberries in a freezer safe bag or container and allow them to freeze completely. Additionally, be sure to label and date your strawberries!

One way you can use your frozen strawberries: defrost some of your strawberries overnight in the refrigerator, add a little sugar come morning (optional) and now you’ve got the perfect topping for your pancakes, French toast, or waffles!

 

Looking for a super simple smoothie recipe?

Below, is a basic guide for your smoothie portions. From here, add other types of fruits, juices, yogurts, or even your favorite protein powder to make it your own!

Simple Strawberry Smoothie

Photo by PhotoMIX Company on Pexels.com

• 1/2 C milk/milk alternative
• 1/2 C juice
• 1/2 C your favorite yogurt
• 1 1/2 C frozen strawberries

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Add more juice or milk if smoothie is thicker than desired.

Baking

Personally, one of my favorite ways to utilize fresh ingredients, adding it in to baked goods!

So, I made strawberry-banana oat bars. I had an overripe banana and wanted to mix it up from the usual banana bread. Also, I knew I wanted to use some of my strawberries, so here we are!

Now that I have made and tasted this recipe, I think I would try to make it sweeter and maybe use less banana. It felt like the banana took over the show and the strawberries were just in the background. However, it was still delicious! Another component to consider is your strawberries. If your strawberries aren’t super sweet, then like me, you may find yourself looking for a sweeter bar. If your strawberries are super sweet, it may be just enough to create the perfect bar.

So, what exactly would I change? I might try adding a glaze over the top when using not-so-sweet strawberries. This was recommended in other similar recipes for a sweeter bar. Additionally, I would either lessen the banana or increase the strawberries to create more harmony between the two. If you do increase the strawberries, be cautious about the amount of liquid that will come out of the strawberries in the oven. This recipe uses cornstarch to help soak some of that extra liquid and the amount may need to be adjusted.

Okay, enough of the rambling. Here’s the recipe I used:

 

Strawberry-Banana Oat Bars

1 C old fashioned oats

3/4 C flour

1/3 C brown sugar, packed

1/4 tsp salt (omit if using salted butter)

1/4 tsp cinnamon

6 tbsp butter, unsalted and melted

1 overripe banana, mashed

1 1/2 C strawberries, sliced small

1 tsp cornstarch

1/2 tbsp granulated sugar

 

1. Combine first 5 ingredients in a medium bowl. Add melted butter and mix until clumps form (like wet sand). Set aside 1/3 cup of crumble for the top layer.
2. Add the mashed banana to the rest of crumb mixture and mix until combined, then form into the bottom of a greased pan. I used an 8×8.
3. Layer strawberries on top of banana-crumb mixture, overlap may be necessary to fit all of your strawberries
4. Sprinkle corn starch and granulated sugar evenly over the strawberries.
5. Top with crumble that was set aside.
6. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes. Bump temperature up to 375 degrees F for an additional 15 minutes for browning and to help the bottom cook fully.
7. Cool fully before serving as the bottom crumb-banana mixture will be sticky when coming out of the oven.

Tip: These bars will cool faster when placed in the refrigerator. Additionally, they can be frozen once cooled and cut to last even longer!

The original recipe I modified to add the banana and some different flavors can be found here and was created as a dessert-style dish. However, I wanted to make it more of a breakfast item – hence it being less-sweet. But hey, who says you can’t have dessert for breakfast!? So, I will definitely be adding a glaze next time I make it.

Before baking…                                                                         After!

Anything and Everything Else

Truthfully, I will throw fresh strawberries on anything and everything I think they will taste good on like my morning toast or bagel with cream cheese, oatmeal – strawberries and cream, chocolate covered strawberry, a nice, hearty salad with chicken, cucumber, nuts/seeds, cheese, and dressing. Anything!

Did you try out any of these recipes/ideas? Tell me what you think!

Is there content you’re looking to see from my blog? Let me know what topics, foods, and/or recipes you want to learn more about!