Add more Strawberries to your Diet

10 health benefits of strawberries

             Whether fresh or frozen, there's no denying that strawberries are a popular fruit especially when it comes to ice cream recipes — but they also pack a healthy punch. 

If you’re not already a fan of strawberries, you should be. After having a healthy meals, and you don't have time to make even an easy desserts, strawberries are sure to please. Not only are they juicy, summery and delicious, they’re a bona fide superfood, too. Nutrient-rich and packed with antioxidants (like vitamin C), strawberries offer a wide range of health benefits, some of which may surprise you. (Wrinkle-prevention? Yes please!). 

Here are some healthy benefits that you should know. 

Strawberries boost immunity

"Strawberries are an excellent source of vitamin C," says Toronto-based registered dietitian Madeleine Edwards. Most mammals—except for humans—have the ability to produce vitamin C naturally, which is why it’s so important to get your daily requirement. "One serving of strawberries contains 51.5 mg of vitamin C—about half of your daily requirement," Edwards says. "Double a serving to one cup and get 100 percent." Vitamin C is a well-known immunity booster, as well as a powerful, fast-working antioxidant. A 2010 UCLA study discovered that the antioxidant power in strawberries becomes “bioavailable” or “ready to work in the blood” after eating the fruit for just a few weeks.

Strawberries promote eye health

The antioxidant properties in strawberries may also help to prevent cataracts—the clouding over of the eye lens—which can lead to blindness in older age. Our eyes require vitamin C to protect them from exposure to free-radicals from the sun’s harsh UV rays, which can damage the protein in the lens. Vitamin C also plays an important role in strengthening the eye's cornea and retina. While high doses of vitamin C have been found to increase the risk of cataracts in women over 65, researchers from the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm note that the risk pertains to vitamin C obtained from supplements, not the vitamin C from fruits and vegetables.

Strawberries help fight cancer

Vitamin C is one of the antioxidants that can help with cancer prevention, since a healthy immune system is the body’s best defense. A phytochemical called ellagic acid—also found in strawberries—is another. “Ellagic acid has been shown to yield anti-cancer properties like suppressing cancer cell growth,” says Edwards. “Strawberries [also] contain antioxidants lutein and zeathancins. Antioxidants are scavengers to free-radicals and neutralize the potentially negative effect they can have on our cells,” she says.

Strawberries keep wrinkles at bay

The power of vitamin C in strawberries continues, as it is vital to the production of collagen, which helps to improve skin’s elasticity and resilience. Since we lose collagen as we age, eating foods rich in vitamin C may result in healthier, younger-looking skin. But vitamin C isn’t the only naturally-occuring wrinkle fighter found in strawberries. Researchers at Hallym University in the Republic of Korea concluded that ellagic acid visibly prevented collagen destruction and inflammatory response—two major factors in the development of wrinkles—in human skin cells, after continued exposure to skin-damaging UV-B rays.

Strawberries fight bad cholesterol

According to the Heart and Stroke Foundation, heart disease is one of the leading causes of death among Canadian women. Luckily, strawberries also contain powerful heart-health boosters. “Ellagic acid and flavonoids— or phytochemicals—can provide an antioxidant effect that can benefit heart health in various ways,” explains Edwards. “One way includes counteracting the effect of low-density lipoprotein, or LDL—bad cholesterol in the blood—which causes plaque to build up in arteries. A second way is that they provide an anti-inflammatory effect, which is also good for the heart.” Researchers at the Clinical Nutrition and Risk Factor Modification Center in Toronto studied the effect of strawberries on a cholesterol-lowering diet and concluded that adding strawberries to the diet reduced oxidative damage, as well as blood lipids—both of which play a role in heart disease and diabetes.

See more: 

http://www.besthealthmag.ca/eat-well/healthy-eating/10-health-benefits-of-strawberries?slide=5

Rum Raisin Ice Cream

Crazy fun way to enjoy Rum and Ice Cream

So many desserts, so little time! In turn, I have my own instant boozy dessert — one that works just as well for when I’m hanging solo as it does at the end of a dinner party.  My hard and fast Rum Raisin Ice Cream only calls for three simple ingredients, and your favorite ice cream recipes . When combined, I guarantee you they deliver pure culinary bliss.

This is a great idea for all of us who have a dust-encrusted little bottle of spiced rum at the back of the cabinet, purchased for some long-forgotten easy desserts recipe and never used again. A great idea to pair with your healthy meals and end your dinner. 

3 Ingredient Rum Raisin Ice Cream

Serves 1

1 scoop Haagen Dazs vanilla ice cream
1 ounce Spiced Rum
1 tablespoon Sun Maid Mixed jumbo raisins

Source : 

http://www.thekitchn.com/insanely-delicious-edible-cocktail-recipe-3ingredient-rum-raisin-ice-cream-the-10minute-happy-hour-187094

Gluten-Free Chocolate Almond Cookie Pumpkin Ice Cream Sandwiches

During hot days, you won't allow them to melt in you hands, it should be in you mouth. But since summer is over, we can still eat them and relish every taste of it. 

But when they start getting all melty. You shove one in your mouth to save it from its melty self. You take a bite and get pumpkin ice cream all over your chin and in the ends of your hair. You could just put them back in the freezer, but you’ve already come this far. Just finish the dang ice cream recipes. It’s really good. 

Let's get started with this awesome but so easy dessert recipes... (yummmmy!! Can't wait til I get this into my mouth... LOL!!! )

What you need to make this Ice Cream Recipes:

• 3 cups blanched almond flour 
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 cup arrowroot powder 
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup of coconut oil, melted
• 3/4 cup maple syrup
• 1 tbs vanilla extract
• 1 pint pumpkin ice cream (or other ice cream of your choosing--anything will work!)

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Line your baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl combine your almond flour, baking soda, salt, arrowroot powder and cocoa powder. Whisk until it is well combined.
4. In a separate bowl combine your melted coconut oil, maple syrup and vanilla extract. Whisk until it all comes together.
5. Add your wet ingredients into your dry ingredients and mix together well with a spoon or baking spatula. Make sure you don't have any dry pockets.
6. Spread your cookie batter out on the parchment paper. Try to form it into a rectangle. It doesn't have to be perfect, as you can square out your ends later, but try to aim for a rectangle shape. Make sure the batter is spread out evenly so that it will cook evenly. Using your spatula, or a clean set of hands, smooth out your batter.
7. Bake for 10-15 minutes. They are done when the top of the cookie starts to look dry and begins to crack at the surface. Be careful not to overcook.
8. Let the cookie cool on the baking sheet for up to an hour. You want to make sure that your cookie has completely cooled before you try to assemble your ice cream sandwiches.
9. Once your cookie has cooled, remove your ice cream from the freezer and allow it to soften to a point where it is very spreadable.
10. Using a sharp knife, cut your cookie vertically down the middle to create two even halves. Square up your ends.
11. Scoop and spread your ice cream to cover one of your cookie halves. You are going to want a decently thick layer of ice cream. I would aim to have at least a 1/2 an inch thickness evenly spread out over the entire cookie.
12. Once you have gotten your desired ice cream layer, carefully flip the other half of your cookie onto the ice cream layer, creating a sandwich. Gently press down with your hands to make sure that the top cookie is gently adhered to the ice cream.
13. Place the ice cream sandwich as is in the freezer for several hours or up to overnight. You want to make sure that the ice cream has completely solidified again and is no longer melted.
14. Once your ice cream has completely firmed up, you are ready to cut your ice cream sandwiches. With a sharp knife cut the big ice cream sandwich into tinier and more manageable ice cream sandwiches. I cut strips lengthwise and the cut squares from those strips.

Now, you are ready to enjoy this Ice Cream Sandwich! Try not to eat at least two. I dare you. ;)

Credit to: 

http://soletshangout.com/chocolate-almond-cookie-pumpkin-ice-cream-sandwiches-gluten-free-grain-free/