Strawberries - Superfood but Super Risk?

Go Organic with Strawberries. Strawberries sprayed with pesticides are hard to be washed off. Basically all fruit which are eaten with skins like apples, peaches, blueberries, cherries, etc, are good to buy organic so you don't have any threat of consuming pesticides.

A good trick to washing strawberries and probably all fruits is to soak them then rinse. Fill a bowl with water and soak your fruit for 10 minutes, then rinse. I heard this tip and was shocked when I saw the bowl of water from soaking strawberries.

According to an article, 11 Things you should buy Organic, had this to say about strawberries:

In addition to having up to 13 pesticides detected on the fruit, according to an Environmental Working Group (EWG) analysis, conventional "strawberries have a large surface area and all those tiny bumps, which makes the pesticides hard to wash off, so you’re ingesting more of those chemicals," explains Marion Nestle, PhD, a professor of nutrition and public health at New York University and author of What to Eat.

Also, see our simple recipe for banana muffins.
Jan

Dinner tonight: Tonight is fish night. Gorton's haddock tonight with lemon and tartar sauce. Mashed sweet potatoes with butter and cinnamon, and snap peas.

Simplest Recipe Challenge - Today Banana Muffins

I saw this banana muffin recipe on 5 Ingredient Fix on the Food Network and I'm excited to try it. My mother used to make banana bread when I was young and I've never made it for my kids yet. I love easy recipes that my kids can even help with so this seems like a winner. Steph and I will be making this and will report back with our review.

4 ripe bananas

1/3 cup raw agave syrup or honey

1 stick unsalted butter

1 large egg

1 3/4 cups self-rising flour

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper muffin liners.
Peel the bananas and add to a large bowl. Add the agave syrup and mash the bananas with a fork until very liquefied but still a little lumpy.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan or skillet over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the milk solids have turned a nutty golden brown.

To the brown butter, add about 1 cup of the mashed banana mixture and whisk to combine. Cook for a few more minutes until a darker golden color is achieved. Add to the remaining mashed banner mixture and whisk to combine, then whisk in the egg. Fold in the flour, in 2 batches, with a rubber spatula, until just combined; do not over mix. With an ice cream scoop, evenly divide the batter among the muffin tin cups.
Bake in the center of the oven until golden brown and the tops spring back when pressed, about 25 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then transfer the muffins to a rack to cool completely. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Take the simple recipe challenge. We're looking for the best, simple ingredient recipes to share with our readers. If you have a great recipe send it to stephandjanblog@gmail.com or comment below and we'll try it and review it. You'll also be eligible for our "Power Foods" book giveaway autographed by Martha Stewart.

Jan