Strawberry Season Snack! (Plus, PB'n'J . . . Salad!)

I love strawberry season!  There is no fruit that makes me quite so happy as a fresh springtime strawberry! This fruit is so versatile in recipes as well as fantastic all on it's own!

We were able to get 2 lbs of fresh strawberries over the weekend from Costco and I am greatly enjoying them!

My absolute favorite way to enjoy strawberries is to stuff them/make them into little 'sammies.'
We like to use softened cream cheese sweetened with a little local raw honey. Sooooo, good!

These snacks feel like an luxurious indulgence, yet they are so healthful and easy that there's really no reason why they couldn't become a regular thing! At least during strawberry season.

Another way that I enjoyed them this past weekend was on a salad. Now I have been eating strawberry spinach salad for over a decade, but this time I decided to try a little experiment based on my Peanut Butter and Honey Salad.

Since I had strawberries available, I figured it was about time I tried out my favorite sweet salad with a strawberry "jam" twist! I didn't actually make jam though . . . All I did was crush some of the berries in a bowl with my potato masher and stirred in a bit of honey (which proved to be unnecessary because the berries were already plenty sweet.) and then I drizzled this raw strawberry goodness over my salad along with my usual peanut butter dressing and some sliced strawberries.
It was lovely!

 If you love strawberries as much as I do, and/or if you miss having a good ol' PB'n'J sandwich because you cannot digest bread anymore; I recommend you try this salad! It's superbly refreshing!

Peanut Butter & Honey . . . Salad?

One of the most useful things I've learned about food since I cut out grains and cane sugar is that anything that makes a good sandwich can make a better salad!

Yes! It's true! Just think of your favorite sandwich combo, and then replace the bread with a bed of greens. Some of the possibilities here seem obvious . . . BLT, Philly Steak & Cheese, Meatball,  Tuna salad, BBQ chicken, Taco, etc . . . What wasn't so obvious to me was that this truth is not limited to savory sandwiches.

One of my favorites from my childhood was Peanut Butter and Honey. Especially if the peanut butter was crunchy. I liked smooth peanut butter with jam/jelly combos, but for some reason the combo of honey with nut chunks has always been extra yummy to me.

Since I've been married, yet before I discovered my digestive issues with bread, my family would often make peanut butter honey sandwiches for lunch. We discovered adding a layer of regular butter to the bread was key to making it extra good---Not too dry, and it kept the honey from soaking into the bread. (And Elvis: PB and Banana was also a family fave.)

After discovering that I couldn't eat bread anymore I gave up on the idea of enjoying this flavor combo for a few years. it was sad though, and hard. Then last Summer after watching my husband and kids still enjoying their PBHs I suddenly had the inspiration to try it out with my sandwich to salad theory. I had already been eating things like chili, stir-fry, stroganoff, bbq meat, and other such dinner menu items over salad. (It's also true that anything you can eat over pasta or rice is great on salad.)

Anyway, I tried it, and . . .  Surprise!!!!!
It was AMAZING!!! The nostalgic flavor I had missed was there in full force! It was even richer and more satisfying than a sandwich because I didn't have the flavor of bread competing with the PB and honey. Spinach is especially good at disappearing into the background and allowing other flavors to shine.  After enjoying this discovery for a few months I finally managed to take some photos to give some of you some inspiration of all the many possibilities this salad combo offers.

Start with a bed of salad greens . . . in this case organic baby spinach, and organic Spring Mix from Costco.

 Put about a tablespoon each of peanut butter* and butter* into a small dish and place in the oven on warm until the butter is melty.

 Stir until you have a smooth peanut butter dressing.

 Top your salad with the dressing . . .

 Drizzle on some local raw honey* . . .

 Here are some other optional toppings that you might enjoy to bulk things up:

• Nuts (almonds are shown because that is what I had at the time, but I think pecans are best because they are softer.)
• Flaked* or shredded unsweetened coconut*
• Organic dried fruit such as raisins* (or chopped dates*)
• Organic fresh fruit such as bananas* (remember the Elvis Presley?) 
• Or an organic apple*. (Organic is recommend for these fruits because they are on the dirty dozen list.)

If you are adding nuts, especially almonds, be sure to crush them so they are easier to eat over your salad.

 Slice your bananas . . .

 Add sliced apples if desired (I usually don't do the apples, I prefer the bananas by themselves; but you know, you can use what you have.)

 I always put salt and pepper on my salads, even my sweet ones because I like the way it enhances all the different flavors.

 Another possible seasoning that works well with PB and Honey is cinnamon.* (If you can get real, fresh cinnamon, that will of course be a plus.)

 Mix it all together and enjoy!

Mmm, the taste of nostalgia blended with high nutrition and success are so very sweet!



*Julie Surprise is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com

The Question of Tomato Sprouts

So I've had tomato seeds sprout inside the tomato three times now. The first time it happened was a few years ago and I freaked out and threw it away. In the past year or so, however, I've become rather interested in sprouts and wanted to try sprouting my own seeds to increase nutritional value.
So, when another tomato sprouted again recently, I decided to be brave and try eating it. The rest of the tomato seemed perfectly normal and it tasted wonderful. I added it to the sandwich in this other post.

It happened a third time on the 8th of August and I used part of it in a guacamole recipe and the rest I made into an open-face sandwich.

Organic Multigrain bread, fresh guacamole, tomato, sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Mmmm . . .

Still, I kept meaning to do a little research on this phenomenon and never got around to it till today (09-03-12). There are a lot of different opinions. Some people say they would never eat a tomato like this. Others say they have and do and that they are just fine and even tasty. Some people are worried this is a sign of genetic modification, others disagree and think it's a result of being kept cool for long periods in order to enable shipping longer distances. I really don't know what the real cause is.

I must confess, I rather wish I could be sure they are safe to eat. If it does turn out to be a result of GM, I will be rather disappointed.

I had learned years ago that tomatoes should not be stored in the fridge because it ruins their flavor. Apparently Italians never chill theirs but always keep them at room temperature. I figured Italians ought to know so I haven't refrigerated mine for years. 

When this kept happening I just figured that it got warm enough as they sat in the fruit bowl on my counter that the little seeds woke up. 

Hopefully someday I can shed some light on this little mystery.

Update: 07-11-15

We recently bought some tomatoes from Costco. They are non-gmo certified Houweling's Locally grown kind and nearly all of them ended up with sprouts inside, Today I have two left and I can see that they have little bumps forming on the skin where the sprouts are trying to break through.

This brought the question back to my mind again, about whether or not it is a sign of Genetic Modification, so I looked the brand up online to be sure they really are non-gmo. 

Then I did a little more research and found this article.  Which claims the phenomenon to be normal. Although I found another one that said eating tomato sprouts can cause gastric upset. I guess because tomatoes belong to the nightshade family their sprouts are a bit iffy? Anyway, My main thought now is . . . 'I wish I had somewhere to plant all these sprouts. Wouldn't that be awesome?'

What I Ate: 06-04-12

A sandwich worthy of Dagwood Bumstead. Okay, maybe not. At least, looking at his sandwich, I think he would disagree with me. Even so, I have to say, this sandwich was deeeeelectable!
Even without any meat. :}

Inventory (from top to bottom):

Slice nine-grain organic bread.

Mayonnaise (cringe*)

Sea Salt/Fresh ground Pepper

Slice sprouted tomato

3 slices avocado

Leaf lettuce

Slice fresh onion (if only it had been a red one!)

3 slices avocado

Sea Salt/Fresh ground Pepper

Slice sprouted tomato

Mayonnaise

Slice nine-grain organic bread

*Okay I confess, we still have this in the house, I swear once it's gone I'll not buy it again! I'm planning to make mayo homemade forever afterward.