5 Delicious Ways to Use Up Strawberries

So it’s June and my strawberries have stopped bearing. (They’ve always been more May-bearing, actually.) It was a lovely harvest with plenty of fresh berries as well as a few gallons in my freezer for future use. The problem, if you can call it that, is I have limited room in said freezer. I need to start using up some of them to make room for the rest of the fruit and veggies coming my way this season. What follows are my suggestions for five delicious ways to use up strawberries.

Shakes. This is an obvious choice. Hubs has a shake nearly every morning for breakfast, which is a perfect use for some of the softer, less than stellar berries. I’ve been doing more shakes myself, and when I compare the price of organic strawberries with mine grown the same way, it’s a bargain. Not to mention the satisfaction that comes from growing something yourself!

Salads. Moving on to the midday meal, strawberries make a refreshing addition to a light summer salad. Take your favorite salad greens, slice about one fourth of a cup of strawberries per serving on to the greens, toss in a couple of tablespoons of pecan halves, and top with my homemade balsamic vinaigrette: 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, 2 tablespoons of a good extra virgin olive oil, 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard, and 1 or 2 teaspoons of sweetener of choice (sugar or honey for those without diet restrictions). Whisk these together until mixed and dress salad. Yum!

Pound cake. I love to serve cut up strawberries mixed with a little sweetener (to make the berries release their juices) over pound cake and topped with my whipped topping of choice. Here’s a fantastic low carb pound cake recipe I absolutely love. I often make this for Fourth of July.

Ice cream. In keeping with the dessert trend, I’m a fan of strawberry ice cream. We recently received an electric ice cream maker for a gift, and we’ve been making low carb versions of the favorite summer treat. For a really simple recipe, take two cups of heavy whipping cream and two cups of frozen strawberries, sweetener or sugar to taste, and blend in a blender. You can either finish making in an ice cream maker or freeze in a large container that you put in the freezer and stir every hour or so until it reaches the desired consistency.

Preserves. My best berries will be made into strawberry preserves that I’ll be giving away as gifts in Christmas baskets. I found this jam recipe on Pinterest recently from the website Return to Simple, and it looks pretty good.

So there you have my five delicious ways to use up strawberries. Try one of these simple ideas today!

Related post: My Three Essential Tips for Growing Strawberries