Super Summer Strawberries

While the summer is known for bringing out the heat, one cannot forget how it also brings out the summer fruits! It is always important to buy fruits whenever they are in season because it is more cost efficient, cleaner, and overall just tastes better. One of the summer fruits is one of my absolute favorite fruits, the strawberry! Today we will be going into the health benefits found in the super strawberry and fun ways to use them in recipes.

To understand the health benefits of strawberries, we first need to find out what exactly are strawberries made out of. Strawberries mainly consist of water and a small amount of carbohydrates. Out of the carbohydrates, around 27% of it is in the form of fibers, which are beneficial to digestive health. The main vitamins that are found in strawberries are vitamin c, manganese, folate, and potassium. These vitamins are essential for many body functions like the immune system, tissue growth, and regulating blood pressure. In addition to getting these great vitamins from summer fruits, check out these superfood supplements that can boost immune function, naturally increase stem cell production, and support your body’s overall health (get 20% off your first order of Essentials–packaged superfoods for overall health).

Now for the health benefits of consuming strawberries, they can range from protecting the heart to lowering your blood pressure. One of the benefits of consuming strawberries is that they provide a healthy source on unprocessed sugar. This means that consuming strawberries shouldn’t lead to big spikes in blood sugar levels, which is essential for people with diabetes. Furthermore, it is also beneficial in preventing Type 2 diabetes because it can help regular blood sugar levels by slowing down glucose digestion. Other health benefits of strawberries include improving blood antioxidant status, reducing inflammation, and improving vascular function.

Strawberry Lemonade Recipe

Prep Time: 10 Minutes

Ingredients:

1/2 pound of Strawberries
4-5 Lemons
6 cups of Water
Sugar or Honey to taste

Steps:

First start off by washing and prepping the strawberries and lemons. This means cutting the lemons in half and the strawberries into thin slices. Make sure to get rid of the strawberry leaves!
Juice your sliced lemons and add them into a container with the sliced strawberries. Blend or mash based on preference until the two are mixed together well. Mashing the strawberries provide more of a pulpy consistency.
Next begin adding sugar or honey slowly into the mixture and mixing every so often to make sure everything is incorporated. Once you have reached your desired sweetness you can move on to the next step. (If you find that the sugar isn’t dissolving, try adding a little bit of warm water to the mixture.)
After reaching your desired sweetness level, add your six cups of water to the mixture in a pitcher.
You can either set it in the fridge to cool or serve with ice.

There you have it! A simple and refreshing beverage to cool you off during this sweltering summer season.

Sources:

https://www.webmd.com/diet/features/nutritional-benefits-of-the-strawberry#:~:text=These potent little packages protect,free%2C low-calorie food.