Strawberry Facts

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Chances are you know what a strawberry is. If you've never heard of such a thing then hopefully this months post will convince you to give this adorable little fruit a shot.

There is a lot more to them then just a pretty skin. Strawberries are also an excellent source of Vitamin C and those tiny little seeds contain fiber. Today, there are over 600 varieties of strawberries. The sweet, slightly tart berries rank among the top 10 fruits and vegetables for antioxidant content. 

The benefits of consuming fruits and vegetables of all kinds, including strawberries, are varied. As plant food consumption goes up, the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and cancer goes down.

Below we have some info on choosing and saving strawberries.

Choosing Strawberries: Select those  which are plump, bright and even-coloured. Flavour varies with variety and ripeness.

How to Keep Strawberries: Remove them from the punnet (The little green container they're sold in) . It's best to place them unwashed in a single layer on paper towel on a plate. Cover and refrigerate. Use within 3 days.

Incorporating more strawberries into your diet: Strawberries are available fresh, frozen, freeze-dried, and in jellies, syrups, and jams. Make sure to check the label of frozen and dried strawberries for added sugars. When looking for jellies or jams, go for all fruit spreads without added sweeteners and fillers.

Here are some tips to incorporate more of this super food into your diet:

• Dice strawberries and add them to your chicken salad.
• Make your own fruit cocktail with fresh fruit and include grapes, pineapple, sliced peaches, and strawberries. Drizzle a small amount of honey on top of the fruit mixture for an extra sweet treat.
• Slice strawberries and add them to plain Greek yogurt with a drizzle of agave nectar and sliced almonds.
• Top whole grain waffles, pancakes, or oatmeal with fresh strawberries, or fold them into muffins and sweet breads. You can also blend strawberries in a food processor with a little water and use as a fresh syrup to top desserts or breakfast foods.
• Mix them into a spinach salad with walnuts and goat cheese.
• Toast a whole grain bagel and top with Neufchatel cheese (light cream cheese) and strawberries.
• Throw some frozen strawberries (unsweetened) in a blender with a banana, milk, and ice for a quick and easy strawberry banana smoothie.

Artichoke Facts

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Artichokes can be intimidating. The prickly, thick, cactus like vegetable is enough to send any good cook running, so why bother? The thing is after prepping and cooking the beast you come out feeling a bit more accomplished. And even your kids are bound to look up from their electronics long enough to give a round of applause and chow down.

Artichoke is rich source of minerals like copper, calcium, potassium, iron, manganese and phosphorus. Potassium is an important component of cell and body fluids that helps controlling heart rate and blood pressure by countering effects of sodium. Manganese is used by the body as a co-factor for the antioxidant enzyme, superoxide dismutase. Copper is required in the production of red blood cells. Iron is required for red blood cell formation.

Best time to get artichokes: Artichokes are most plentiful and taste the best during spring months, such as March, April and May.

Finding the right artichoke: It's best to look for artichoke's with closed heads, the leaves should form a tight laver around the rest of the vegetable. The artichoke should be firm and a bit heavy for its size. Don't worry if the stem is a bit brown, it just means it was cut recently. But if the stem is slimy or overly dry the artichoke is no good.

How to store artichokes: Artichokes are the freshest when they are kept loosely wrapped in plastic wrap and put in the fridge. Fresh artichokes will last about a week in the fridge.

Fruit and Veggie of The Month

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Here at LYFVE we like to do a little segment on what's in season for the upcoming months, which we call the Fruit and Veggie of The Month. Pretty straight forward right? All throughout the month of April we will focus on these two ingredients how to prepare them, what they're good for and, some spectacular dishes. Without further ado I introduce you to the fruit and veggie of the month.

Artichokes 

&

Strawberries 

Welcome Back LYFVE'ers !

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Hello everyone, after a very very long extended hiatus LYVFE has decided to dust off the ol' fruit stand and kick this blog back into high gear. So to get everyone's spirits up were starting up our new season with a fresh spring recipe sure to put a smile on your face.

Mint Pea Soup!

Ingredients: 

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 cups chopped leeks, white and light green parts (2 leeks)
• 1 cup chopped yellow onion
• 4 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
• 5 cups freshly shelled peas or 2 (10-ounce) packages frozen peas
• 2/3 cup chopped fresh mint leaves, loosely packed
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup creme fraiche
• 1/2 cup freshly chopped 

Directions

1. Heat the butter in a large saucepan, add the leeks and onion, and cook over medium-low heat for 5 to 10 minutes, until the onion is tender. 
2. Add the chicken stock, increase the heat to high, and bring to a boil. 
3. Add the peas and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until the peas are tender. (Frozen peas will take only 3 minutes.) Off the heat, add the mint, salt, and pepper.
4. Puree the soup in batches: place 1 cup of soup in a blender, place the lid on top, and puree on low speed. With the blender still running, open the venthole in the lid and slowly add more soup until the blender is three-quarters full. 
5. Pour the soup into a large bowl and repeat until all the soup is pureed. Whisk in the creme fraiche and chives and taste for seasoning. Serve hot with garlic croutons.