Strawberry Treats Forever
Nothing says springtime like strawberries!
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Father’s Day is the perfect day for casual, fun foods, and strawberries are the ideal choice. Everybody loves ‘em, and they’re not hard to prepare. Here are a few suggestions, straight from the California Strawberry Council:
Refreshing Salad: Toss torn spinach and romaine lettuce leaves with halved strawberries, fresh orange slices and sliced green onions in a large bowl. Dress with prepared reduced-fat vinaigrette whisked with lowfat sour cream and a little hot-sweet mustard.
Delicious Dip: Flavor plain nonfat yogurt with thawed lemonade concentrate. Mix in some freshly grated lemon peel and finely chopped toasted almonds; sweeten with honey, to taste. Serve in a small bowl as a dip for strawberries.
Breakfast Bonanza: Top small, toasted Italian bread shells with a mixture of ricotta cheese and coarsely chopped strawberries sweetened with honey and flavored with cinnamon. Cut into quarters and serve with coffee, tea or fruit juice.
Strawberries and Cream Dessert Sauce: In the container of an electric blender of food processor, combine strawberries with a little freshly grated lemon peel and sugar. Blend, turning machine on and off, until mixture is almost smooth. Mix in enough whipping cream to make a thick sauce. Spoon over ice cream, pound cake slices or fresh fruit salad.
Strawberry Snacks: Dip whole juicy strawberries into nonfat yogurt and then into a mixture of brown sugar and toasted sesame seeds.
Decadent Dessert: Dip whole strawberries into melted semisweet chocolate to cover 2/3 ofeach berry; chill until set. Completely cover the top of a prepared cheese cake with chocolate strawberries just before serving.
Fruited Skewers: Thread strawberries, thick banana slices and fresh or canned pineapple chunks alternately onto bamboo skewers. Serve with barbecue entrees, with Sunday brunch or as a refreshing summer snack.
Breakfast Parfait: In stemmed glasses, layer nonfat yogurt, granola cereal and sliced strawberries. Repeat layers, ending with strawberries. Serve for breakfast or brunch--or add a mint sprig, for a no-guilt, eye-appealing dessert.
Strawberries and Cream Cooler: In blender container, combine equal amounts of sliced strawberries, nonfat yogurt and nonfat milk. Sweeten to taste with honey. Serve in stemmed glasses with whole strawberry garnish with fresh mint sprig.