Hello, young padawan,
Here we are, the strawberry season is back! I know, I don’t need diamonds and pearls to be excited, but let’s admit that strawberries are a blast. I could eat them on a head full of lice (or almost, ed).
However, you do not need me for that; you know how to bite them. So I came up with the idea of sharing a lovely snack recipe, which can also be a dessert if you like; and because I also think there will be one or two adorable Padawans (pain in the ass) who do not like strawberries. Yes, it exists; I even ate their share.
It is a fast and easy recipe because the granola is prepared in advance and last a long time, because it is full of vitamins and minerals essential to maintain iron health (literally, ed), what more? The magic touch? I also thought of bringing spices and a touch of mint to raise the whole thing. So, “back in the saddle”, Russell! (Do you like Aerosmith? ed).
strawberry
It is an excellent source of folic acid, potassium, and fiber. Also rich in vitamin C and antioxidants, it will both stimulate your immune system and make you more beautiful and younger lol, or in any case bring your cells all you need for beautiful skin and fight against cellular aging. Finally, the flavonoids it contains help maintain good heart health.
Why choose them farmer or organic vs conventional?
According to the Environmental Working Group corporation (EWG): “USDA scientists tested 1,174 batches of conventional strawberries (about 89 percent of which were grown in the U.S., with the rest coming from Mexico, and one which came from the Netherlands). Almost all samples – 99 percent – had detectable residues of at least one pesticide, some 30 percent had residues of 10 or more pesticides. The dirtiest strawberry sample had residues of 23 different pesticides and breakdown products.
Carbendazim, a hormone-disrupting fungicide that damages the male reproductive system, was detected on 16 percent of samples. The EU has banned it because of safety concerns.
Bifenthrin, a pyrethroid insecticide, which was found on more than 29 percent of samples, is an insecticide that the Environmental Protection Agency and California regulators have designated a possible human carcinogen.
As disturbing as these results are, they do not violate the weak U.S. laws and regulations for pesticides in food.” (source: EWG-2019)
GRANOLA
You know, in this blog, that we like to focus on grains and oilseeds, and there is a reason why.
Even with different grains, oilseeds, and dried fruits, the general granola recipe helps to reduce the risk of stroke, type II diabetes, heart disease, asthma, maintaining a healthy weight, reducing inflammation in the body and the risk of colorectal cancer.
And do I have to remind you that we are made to run naked in the woods and eat seeds, roots, and berries? (Yes, I’m back again with my random joke, ed).
Strawberry salad, but not only …
for two servings
(Plus huge granola that will last for weeks. Indeed, if you turn on the oven, make it profitable…)
A punnet of strawberries
6 beautiful mint leaves
Two pinches of vanilla powder
Two pinches of cinnamon
One star anise
A cup of plain unsweetened vegetable yogurt (like soy yogurt)
For the granola : (a big recipe that will last you weeks)
4 cup of organic oat flakes
2 tsp powdered vanilla
3 tsp cinnamon
A pinch of salt
4 tbsp of maple syrup
2 tbsp of coconut oil
1/4 cup of almonds
1/4 cup of pistachios
1/4 cup of cashew nuts
1/4 cup of pine nuts
1/4 cup squash seeds
1/2 cup of sunflower seeds
A handful of organic banana chips
A handful of organic coconut chips
3 handfuls of goji berries (or raisins, or cranberries, or dried apricots cut into small pieces … or a handful of each!).
RECIPE
For the strawberries bowl : (to do while the granola is cooking… )
Cut the strawberries in 4 lengthwise, mince the mint leaves and put them all in a salad bowl, with vanilla, star anise, and cinnamon. Mix well and place in the refrigerator.
For the granola :
Preheat the oven to 356°F, remove the baking tray and put it on the worktop.
Using a cutting board and a good knife, coarsely crush the almonds, pistachios, cashews and pour them in a bowl. Add pine nuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, oatmeal, spices (vanilla and cinnamon) and salt.
Then add the coconut oil (previously melted in a bain-marie if you live in Michigan, just kidding, meaning: if it is solid because of the temperature), and the maple syrup then stir well.
Spread the mixture on a sheet of baking paper placed on the oven tray, and cook it for about 20/25 minutes, stirring halfway through cooking, and checking it regularly, especially if it is your first granola. The mixture should be golden brown but not burnt, of course.
When the granola is nicely browned, let it cool about an hour before putting it in a jar (but you can make your little snack when the mixture is lukewarm, of course, ed).
What I do to help it cool faster: I put my baking tray on a silicone pad on my worktop next to my ceramic hob, I hold it with a slight inclination to one hand using a cloth, and with the other hand I pull on the baking paper to make it come on my ceramic hob. Once the granola is on its cooking sheet, away from its hot tray, it cools much faster.
When the granola is at room temperature, add the banana and coconut chips and the dried fruits. You can even add some dark chocolate chips but shhh! I did not tell you anything. Mix well with a spoon, then grasp the two long sides of the baking paper to form a kind of “U,” and tilt the mixture into a large glass jar. If you aim well everything will be fine. “Good luck.” (Do you have it? The reference? What, you’re not a fan of Liam? ed).
Excellent in non-dairy yogurts but also with fruit salads (and ice cream in summer !!), this little but full of energy granola will get your back after a sports training or intense shopping.
The benefits of doing this yourself are that you know exactly what’s inside, that’s why I advise you to choose your groceries organics. The granola can be kept for about two months in a closed glass jar.
PRESENTATION
In your nicest bowl, put the soy yogurt, half a cup per person, then add three tablespoons of your sexy granola for each, and finish with the strawberry salad, thinking of removing the star anise.
Accompany this wonderful snack with a nice cup of sobacha (recipe here), or rooibos with a vanilla flavor, or cinnamon! (This is a tea without theine because we have not eaten all this good iron contained in oilseeds, grains, and strawberries to don’t enjoy it. Do I have to remind you that tea prevents the absorption of iron? ed).
If you do not have a great shape from hell after that snack, I quit! (or I return my apron, as we say in French, ed.)
XO.🍓
Sources :
Pesticides + Poison Gases = Cheap, Year-Round Strawberries 2019, EWG – 2019.
EWG’s 2019 Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce™ – 2019
Whole grains council, what are the health benefits ?
