Strawberries – tempting red berries with spectacular taste and sweetness
Little M is addicted to strawberries! She can eat them day and night, and we have to fight her just to get a bite. Needless to say – our strawberry plants need to work overtime to meet our demand.
Berries, including strawberries, are rich in antioxidants and polyphenols, they have many other nutrients, vitamins, and minerals that contribute to the overall health benefits of these berries.
In general, berries are the best option for a LCHF lifestyle. In South Africa – strawberries are probably the easiest to find and when in season the best value for me. Strawberries contains carbs, so it should be an occasional treat (if you are trying to loose weight), but can be enjoyed. The net carb count (total carbs – fiber) for 100g of strawberries are 6 g. This means that strawberries should not lead to big spikes in blood sugar levels, and are considered safe for diabetics.
Strawberries also contains plenty of vitamins and minerals:
- Vitamin C: An antioxidant that is important for the immune system and skin health
- Manganese: This trace element is important for many processes in the body
- Folate (B9): One of the B-vitamins, important for normal tissue growth and cell function. Folate is particularly important for pregnant women and the elderly
- Potassium: A mineral that is involved in many essential body functions, such as regulating blood pressure
To a lesser extent, strawberries also contain iron, copper, magnesium, phosphorus, vitamin B6, vitamin K and vitamin E.
Now that we have covered some of the health benefits of strawberries – lets look at some fun ways of eating them. Our personal favourite – straight from the garden. Little M normally gets to eat them all, so we have to settle for shop bought strawberries.
Recently we made strawberry jam with some extra strawberries laying around (not sure how we managed that) – and totally loved it. It was so easy to make and you can adjust the sweetness to the level you like. I am not a big fan of sweet stuff so this was just perfect for me. Strawberry jam goes great with pancakes or even toasted mug bread for breakfast.
With temperatures raising and summer almost in full swing – at least here in South Africa – another great way to use strawberries are in popsicles. These are great for kids (and adults) and so healthy. We made two variations – one with rooibos tea and one with coconut milk and banana. Little M enjoyed both and we will stock up on these for the summer months. The great thing about these recipes are that you can add any berries of your choice – blueberries also works great.
Low carb living can be enjoyable and family friendly. If you need more assistance, please check out our Services and let us help you improve your life.
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