Strawberries 5 Ways: 5 Favorite Strawberry Recipes!

I love Florida! Oh so much! Yay for strawberry season!!

I was so excited to see that Brook Hollow Farm would be starting their season early this year. They are a hydroponic farm in Orlando and I LOVE them. I love not having to bend down to pick berries!! The farm is run by the sweetest couple, who live on property. While the majority of their farm is geared towards strawberries, they will also have blackberries and tomatoes soon! They make my heart (and belly) very happy! If you live in the Orlando area, you have to check them out!

Needless to say, I have been strawberry happy over here!! So I thought I would share with you some of my favorite ways to enjoy their red and juicy goodness!

Fresh!~ I mean this needs no explanation! Fresh strawberries each morning are bliss! Right off the plant? Even better!!

Smoothies!~ I always freeze a good handful or two so that I can keep them for smoothies!! My favorite is banana and strawberry with a hint of tangerine. I do the following...

1 half frozen banana

1 half fresh banana

3 frozen strawberries

1 half of a vanilla Greek yogurt

about 3/4 cup almond milk (add more or less for desired consistency)

1 drop of tangerine oil (smoothie must be in glass cup if oil is used)

Honey Mustard Tilapia with Strawberry salsa!~ This dish has been a favorite of mine for a while. I had found a similar recipe along time ago in a cookbook I had checked out from the library and tweaked it to create one more my style. Here's the recipe:

For fish baste-

2 small/medium tilapia filets 

3 or 4+ tablespoons honey

1 small squeeze yellow mustard (could change mustard based on taste preference)

Garlic Salt 

Season all Salt 

Preheat Oven to 420. Line pan with aluminum foil and coat with a bit of oil. Place fish on pan and season both sides with garlic and season all salt. In a small bowl mix honey and mustard together. I do a tiny squeeze of mustard because I prefer mine more of a honey base, but Babe like mustard so once I have basted my fish I will add a larger squeeze of mustard to baste his. Make sure to coat both sides of fish. I will also add a little pepper to his fish. It's great because you can really play to taste preference. Once preheated bake fish for 5-6 minutes on one side, then flip and bake for another 5-6 minutes. 

Salsa-

Handful of strawberries cut up

Pineapple chunks

Lime juice

1 tablespoon honey

While fish is cooking mix strawberries, pineapple, a few drops of lime juice and 1 tablespoon honey in a small bowl. Put in fridge until fish is done. Once the fish is cooked, top with salsa. I usually serve over/ with rice. I know you might be thinking, fruit and fish?! But oh my, is it delicious!! When in season I will also use kiwi or peach in the salsa.

Strawberry, PB & N Flatwich~ I discovered this delectable treat one afternoon while making Nutella sandwiches for the kids I nanny. You simply take the FlatOut pita wraps, swipe some peanut butter on one side and Nutella on the other and then slice strawberries and spread them across the middle and then fold in half. This is my favorite hiking day snack, because unlike a meat sandwich, the warmer the sandwich gets the better it is!! When I am eating it at home I will often put in the microwave for a few seconds (between 9-12). It makes the perfect little treat or a sweeter lunch! Great option for picky kiddos too!

Strawberry Water~ I have the hardest time remembering to drink enough water during the day, but when I have strawberries in the house it makes it A LOT easier!! I love strawberry water! Just cut the top off a fresh berry and plop it in the water! Keeps me refilling that water all day! Yay for hydration! To vary it up every so often I will add cucumber or blueberry with the strawberries. I also love to plop in a drop of grapefruit oil too to give my metabolism a boost (always use a glass bottle when adding essential oils)!

Strawberries make me happy and I can't wait to get back to the farm!

Happy strawberry season friend!! 

It's FRIDAY!! 

Words for Wednesday: See the Magic

I have always loved this quote by Roald Dahl. There is something so magical in this world, something so unique and wonderful and I pray that I always have eyes (and a heart) that are open to seeing it. There is beauty and magic all around us... It is that beauty that leaves me without a doubt in my mind that we have the most wonderful Creator; there is too much imagination in the colors of a sunset, the immensity of a mountain landscape or the music that is made by the crunch of Fall leaves underfoot for me to ever think otherwise. And I pray I am imparting that onto the next generation. Hearing my niece get so excited about Flo and adventuring and seeing the world makes me think that maybe I am doing my small part! 

Lord, 

Thank You for the beauty. 

Thank You for the wonder.

Thank You for the magic. 

Thank You for adventure! 

Here's to Wednesday and finding wonder. 

Where have you found yourself wandering lately? 

Where have you found magic?

QALO Adventure Rings!

Happy Friday Folks!! It's Friday, it's Friday! And Monday is a holiday! Do you know what that means?! That means adventure!! We are looking up local hikes to do this weekend and I can't wait to get out there! Especially now that we have our new adventure rings!

I am partnering with QALO Rings today and am super excited to share them with you! I found them when I started looking for a ring to get Babe for Christmas. He lost his wedding band years ago while wake boarding and, being the "on the ball" wife that I am, we never got around to replacing it. Sure, it was sad when his was gone, but after the initial loss I didn't really think it was that big of a deal and had just planned to get around to it sometime or another. Then we hit year 3 with no ring and I thought to myself, "it is time to do something about this!" Insert QALO!


QALO rings are the bomb! I know I just totally brought back 90's slang, but I am not kidding! These babies rock! QALO rings are a silicone based ring made for the adventurer in all of us! There are so many colors and styles to choose from.

I figured the best way to share the love with you is to share some of the reasons I think QALO rings are so great! So here they are....

5 Reasons I Love QALO Rings

1.) They are perfect for all sorts of adventures!! Hiking, climbing, wake boarding, going to the gym, working with your hands... QALO makes it super easy to be active! Each ring comes with it's own zippered pouch that can be clipped onto anything (gym bag, hiking backpack), so that when you need to switch out your metal band for your adventure ring (if you don't just wear it all the time) you can easily switch them out and have a safe place to store your other ring until you switch back. 

2.) The quality is superb! The rings are made of medical grade silicone; yes they are bendable and pliable, but that is their purpose. They are made to move with you! Though they are flexible, they are also strong! I will let you in on a little secret. Prior to finding QALO I had stumbled upon a set of rings on Amazon and thought I would give those a try. Bad idea! Babe took one look at them, tried one on and said nope! They were more rubber band than ring. QALO rings are well made and you can feel the difference. They sit more like a metal ring, don't squeeze your finger and allow for some give and take.

3.) They are super cute! Yes, I said cute! I love the availability of choices they provide. Each ring comes with a small imprint of one of their signature symbols (a heart, kettle bell, compass or axes). The color selection is right up my alley! I love a little color pop for adventuring!!
4.) They are really reasonably priced! Perfect for a money saving heart like mine! With rings ranging from $16 to $25 you won't feel bad roughing them up too much!! They are built tough anyways and made for getting active!! 

5.) And a personal perk! I love seeing a ring on my man's hand again!! Friends were always saying to me, "Why don't you get him a ring?! Isn't that kind of a big deal?!" And really it wasn't, I knew we were married, other people knew we were married, the ring was just the thing. But then I saw a ring on his finger again and my heart got way happy! It was nice to see that symbol of our promise to each other sitting right there on his finger!

QALO rings really are wonderful and they stick by their motto:
Quality*Athletics*Love*Outdoors=QALO