strawberries

Strawberries are in season, so take advantage of the sweet and juicy fruit with a healthy low-calorie dessert that tastes like oh-so-decadent strawberry cheesecake. It's made with a handful of ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen, so it's a cinch to whip up; you'll be amazed it's under 150 calories per serving.

These are topped with sliced almonds, but you can get creative and use blueberries, dried cherries, chopped cashews, crystallized ginger, a sprinkle of granola, or a few chocolate chips.

Continue reading to find out how to make this fiber-filled recipe.

Those perfectly ripe Summer strawberries can be irresistible, and there's no reason you shouldn't heed their fragrant call. The fruit is a healthy powerhouse for many reasons: strawberries are packed with vitamin C and antioxidants for disease-fighting properties and heart-protecting properties.

Of course, there are many ways to eat strawberries besides by the handful or atop your morning granola or afternoon fro-yo fix. Don't know what to do with all your farmers market strawberries? Here are five creative ways to incorporate strawberries into your meals.

• Balsamic vinegar snack: If you're looking for a healthy snack or dessert that's not too sweet, try tossing a pint of strawberries with a teaspoon of balsamic vinegar. The acidic addition pairs well with the sweetness of your Summer strawberries, and the versatile dish works well as an ice cream topping or by itself.
• Sliced in salads: Toss a handful of strawberry slices in your next salad for a subtly sweet kick. Here's a spinach strawberry salad recipe to try.
• Strawberry mojito: Is it happy hour yet? Use a few slices of strawberries to sweeten your favorite cocktail, without the need for all that added sugar. We like this strawberry mojito recipe for a refreshing way to beat the heat.
• Strawberry water: For a drink that won't possibly induce a hangover, try a rehydrating strawberry-coconut water concoction using this recipe for strawberry water.

Pizza on the barbecue makes a great Summer meal: it's fast and easily customizable to your guests — and, let's be honest, who doesn't love pizza fresh off the grill? So after your guests have finished their savory pizza pie, satisfy everyone's sweet tooth with a strawberry and chocolate pizza à la mode.

To make it easy, pick up premade pizza dough at your local market and chocolate chips since they melt so easily. Right before grilling your pizza, intensify the flavor of the strawberries by lightly sautéing them in a pan with a pat of butter.

Top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and watch everyone gobble up this delicious treat. If you're feeling even more adventurous, let your guests select their topping like peaches, nectarines, or other berries, and try Nutella or other varieties of chocolate chips for your pizza topping.

Grill up your pizza dinner and save a little dough for this indulgent sweet pizza pie.

• Your new Summer standby: strawberry chia jam — Eating Bird Food
• When your short on time, grab these healthy packaged foods — Prevention
• Why slowing down your workout may be the secret to skinny — Shape
• Get inside the head of Olympic volleyball player Misty May Treanor — Fit Bottomed Girls
• Reusable shopping bags linked to food virus — are yours at risk? — Blisstree
• Celeb trainer Harley Pasternak's tips for slimming down before bikini season — FabFitFun
• You know the pros of yoga, now learn the cons — Mind Body Green
• Do you feel like chicken tonight? Try this Greek-inspired recipe — The Fitnessista

Berry season is right around the corner, and if a big bowl of strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries didn't excite you before, maybe this news will: eating at least two servings of berries per week can help delay age-related memory loss in women. A recent Harvard study followed 16,010 women over the age of 70, finding those who ate berries slowed memory loss by almost three years. Researchers cite the plethora of antioxidants packed into these small fruits as being the reason. If preventing memory loss weren't enough, here are five more reasons why you should up your berry intake.

1. They help with weight loss: Berries are loaded with the antioxidant anthocyanin, which has been shown to alter the activity of genes found in human fat cells, making it more difficult to put on weight. Blueberries, specifically, have been shown to diminish stubborn belly fat.
2. They are good for your brain: Investigators with the US Department of Agriculture Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging in Boston found that the polyphenols in berries help the part of the brain that takes care of regular maintenance and "housekeeping." Blueberries and strawberries were said to contain the most polyphenols.
3. They are good for your eyes: Berries, especially blueberries and raspberries, contain lutein, which is important for healthy eyes and sharp vision.
4. They help protect against disease: Berries are brimming with carotenoids, an antioxidant that has been shown to reduce the risk of cancer. Other phytonutrients in berries have been shown to protect against heart disease, diabetes, and arthritis. Those deep hues pay off tenfold when it comes to maintaining the health of your body.
5. They help slow down the aging process: The powerful antioxidants in berries prevent free radical damage in your body, and less free radical damage means slowing down the aging process to help you live longer!

Amped up for berry season yet? Mix things up by making one of these healthy berry recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and cocktail hour!

My favorite desserts to make for big family meals or dinner parties can come together in a matter of minutes, or even as an afterthought. They don't require ingredients that are hard to find and they are visually impressive. Such is the case with this simple strawberry tart. I got my hands on some bright red strawberries recently and immediately craved them on top of a buttery crust with a healthy dollop of freshly whipped cream.


All you need are strawberries, a sheet of frozen puff pastry, whipping cream, and sugar to create a beautiful Spring dessert. Puff pastry can be a little bit tricky to work with. You'll want to thaw it ahead of time, but it needs to be kept cold so that you can easily work with it. After that, all you need to do is plop it on a baking sheet, slice and arrange your strawberries nicely, sprinkle a bit of sugar and bake until it begins to turn golden brown and the strawberries cook through. Finish with a dusting of powdered sugar and a dollop of homemade whipped cream.

Ready for this fast and easy recipe? Keep reading.

For the first time this year, I saw signs of the new season at the farmers market: purple-green Spring onions and lush, shiny strawberries. I was so enthralled that I decided to toast the first berries with a timely cocktail.

This drink has a fruity-floral bouquet, with a clean finish from the mint and ginger. It's also not too sweet.

When I served it to my guy, he took one sip and said, "This might be the best cocktail you've ever made for me." The only downside? It has no trace of alcohol flavor, so I could have easily had five more. For the stellar recipe, read more.

I've never been drawn to premade margarita, sweet and sour, and bloody mary mixes, mostly because I can make the aforementioned from scratch. Needless to say, I was hesitant when I heard about The Perfect Purée, a Napa Valley-based company that produces a wide range of exotic fruit purées designed for combining into beverages. That is, until I tried one in a cocktail.

If you can't locate, say, white peaches, yuzu, or blood oranges in your area, this product is truly the next best thing. Unlike most other cocktail blends out there, these purées are extracted from fresh fruit and flash-frozen to preserve freshness.
At a recent tasting, this cocktail — an eclectic recipe of tequila, apple brandy, and Campari with passionfruit, pomegranate, and blood orange purée — was so enjoyable that I asked the company for the recipe. Here it is.