Strawberry Season

It's strawberry season at last. I love to grow as many as I can, because strawberries are one of the most polluted crops in terms of pesticide usage and organic strawbs are expensive. Supermarket strawberries are chosen for their durability in transport (they are so easily damaged) as opposed to their taste.

If you can grow them, do. They are very low maintenance, high value crop – both in health & monetary terms. Just ensure you plant through a membrane to keep the weeds down and net them to keep the birds off and you'll have a wonderful harvest - I have 18 plants, and they keep us in strawberries for breakfast every day for 2-3 weeks. Now that is what I call luxury. If you harvest them in the heat of the day, the taste is magnified, although you have to eat them immediately, as they won't last - not that they do anyway!

Strawberries are a low Glycaemic Load fruit, as are all the berries. That means they won't cause your body to store fat as some fruits do.

Yes, that's right, fruit can contain enough sugar to cause your body to store fat, which is why I recommend people avoid tropical fruit – and too much fruit in general - if they want to lose weight.

I also recommend that, whichever fruit you eat, you eat it with a little protein, which will prevent your blood sugar rising too high and your body going in to fat storage mode.

Strawberries are in the top 20 fruits for antioxidants called polyphenols that reduce inflammation.8 strawberries contain more vitamin C than an orange and are regarded as an aphrodisiac in rural France.

Strawberries are one fruit I don't recommend for children under the age of two years. This is because strawberry intolerance is quite common - it is actually the seeds that cause the problem, not the flesh and leaving introduction until a child is two, with a fully mature digestive system will reduce the chances of reacting. Other people who should avoid strawberries - and indeed any fruit with tiny pips or seeds (raspberry, kiwi, figs, tomatoes etc) are those with crohn’s or ulcerative colitis, for the simple fact that the pips may get lodged in one of the ulcers on the gut wall, causing inflammation, pain and potentially infection.

My fave super quick, not too fat-storage-inducing, delicious and impressive dessert is dark chocolate coated strawberries.

It’s a pretty simple recipe. Melt chocolate. Dip strawberries in. Refrigerate. Eat. Enjoy.

How do you eat yours?