Sneaky Nutrition - Strawberries

Pretty in color, juicy, and sweet. And most kids like them. The latest Sneaky Nutrition star ingredient is a cinch. Three cheers for strawberries! There are so many ways to serve them and now we have come into their time of year to shine. So step up to the podium strawberries and take a bow! We applaud you! Thank you for your richness in Vitamin C--you even contain more than any of our friendly citrus fruits. Also, thank you for providing fiber, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, folate, and antioxidants for our needy bodies. And I hear that you are packed with two flavonoids that help fight off the bad (LDL) cholesterol. Is that true? And is there anything to the claims that you contain an acid that makes certain cancer causing chemicals inactive? Wow. If all these reports are accurate, you should indeed be presented with an award for your dutiful service to the human race! No wonder you're so popular--even though most folks enjoy you simply because you're so tasty. So for people like me (and other mothers) who don't like to be up front with the good-for-you thing, you are a great ally. Thanks again for being there!

I'm sure there are others out there who will join me in giving plaudits to this well known and extremely popular fruit. How can it be served? Let me count the ways. Well, you do that. Tell me your favorite way to serve strawberries. I'll tell you just one of my mine: In a bowl with a little sweetener sprinkled on and a tablespoon or two of vanilla ice cream. And since I always have to give a recipe on a Sneaky Nutrition post, I'll choose this one from my weight watcher days, which incidentally, I need to bring back. I enjoyed this for breakfast during strawberry season:

FRUIT SHORTCAKE

1 3/4 cup Bisquick Reduced-Fat Baking Mix (make your own--see below*)
1/3 cup sugar or Splenda
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
2 tsp orange rind
2 large eggs
2 Tbsp butter
1/3 cup fat-free evaporated milk
1 cup sliced strawberries (You can use blueberries, apples, chopped pineapple, peaches)

Melt the butter. Mix everything together except fruit. After well mixed, fold in fruit. Bake at 375 deg. for about 30 minutes. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.

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*Think about making your own baking mix and use instead of the Bisquick. There are several different recipes; this one was the one I used most when I used to do it . It has to be stored in the refrigerator, so if you have the room, it's a worthwhile investment of time. There are so many Bisquick recipes, but you may hesitate to use them because you don't want to use processed foods too much. This solves the problem:


BAKING MIX (Bisquick Substitute)

8 cups flour (part or all whole wheat)
1/4 cup + 2 teaspoon baking powder (alum. free)
2 teaspoons salt
1 cup shortening (try to find one with good oils)
2 cups nonfat dry milk powder
1 cup wheat germ

1. Sift together dry ingredients. 2. Cut in shortening. 3. Mix in dry milk and wheat germ.

Use to make biscuits, pancakes and waffles; use in Bisquick recipes.





Strawberries trivia: The United States honored the strawberry with a 33-cent stamp first issued on April 10, 1999. BTW, I hope you remembered that first class stamps went up again, this time a penny. So you'll need 42 cents to mail your letters and cards.