Seasonal Eats: Strawberries

In case you aren't already in love with strawberries, I have some reasons to get the love fest with this berry started! They are a low-calorie food loaded like a billionaire with antioxidants known as phenols. Phenols not only give strawberries their irresistible red color, but they also fill this berry with heart-protective, anti-cancer, and anti-inflammatory properties. A veritable trifecta of benefits.

Strawberry season is here; so the cost of a pint should be falling and they should be abundant at your local farmers market. You want to load up on strawberries because they are loaded with vitamin C. One cup of strawberries provides well over 125 percent of the daily RDI of vitamin C, and having high amounts of vitamin C in your blood results in burning more fat. You might recall that organic fruits contain more vitamin C than conventional, so I think it is well worth it to splurge a bit on organic berries. Another reason to go organic with these strawberries is they have one of the highest amounts of pesticide residue when compared with other produce.

You can make some lovely strawberry muffins or mix the berry with balsamic vinegar for a new taste sensation. My favorite way to eat them, however, is straight up — not sliced, no extra sugar, no cream, I just pop them straight into my mouth — after giving them a good rinse of course.