Strawberry

A colorful trio of fresh fruits, coupled with the spiciness of jalapeño pepper, enlivens the flavor of mild tilapia.

This exciting, inviting fruit salad is especially delicious served with grilled pork or chicken.

As a first course or light dessert, this dish is a showpiece!

Experiment with different varieties of apple and with seasonal fruit when you make this refreshing salad.

Have fun at breakfast with this terrific taste combination of mini waffles, cinnamon-sugared fruits, and yogurt. Or serve later in the day with frozen yogurt as a different way to enjoy an old-fashioned ice cream “cone.”

Get up and go with this satisfying breakfast drink. For a frosty presentation, put empty glasses in the freezer for just a few minutes while you are preparing the drink.

Does your morning routine need a wake-up call? This smoothie will energize you—and might even make you look forward to getting out of bed!

Turn a serving of your favorite fruit into a delectable dessert with an extra-easy sauce reminiscent of cheesecake.

Blend sweet strawberries with white grape juice and a bit of wine for a fruity drink or a refreshing ice.

Here’s a modern twist to a comforting favorite. It’s perfect not only for dessert but also as a starter for a summer brunch.

Serve this brilliantly colored salad of mixed salad greens, blueberries, mandarin oranges, and pears with Grilled Sirloin with Honey-Mustard Marinade (page 176).

Serve this chilled fruit soup as a light summer appetizer or with your favorite sandwich or salad.

This sparkling drink is ideal as a refreshing spritzer for brunch or on a hot summer day.

This is a great, colorful treat to serve when hosting a girls’ night or cocktail hour. It’s fun and extremely easy to make in large quantities, since you’re just skewering one piece of marshmallow, strawberry, and banana on each skewer. When buying hot fudge, you may need to read the nutritional information to determine whether or not it’s fat-free. Some brands say “fat-free” directly on the label, but others that are may not say so. Just be sure that “0 g fat” is listed on the nutrition label.

When strawberries are in season, this recipe is not only extremely affordable, it’s amazingly scrumptious. With each bite, you taste fresh strawberries followed by a hit of chocolate that lingers perfectly. I’ve come to love this recipe as a topping for low-fat whole-grain waffles and low-fat pancakes, as a dip for cinnamon flatbread sticks, and even as a topping for fat-free vanilla or chocolate ice cream. Whether your strawberries were cold or not when you started preparing this tapenade, it’s best to refrigerate it until they are fully chilled after being mashed.

This dessert is great to take out the door, to sell at a bake sale (if you store the cups in a tub of ice), or even to just open the refrigerator to. There’s just something so much more appealing about food that’s ready to go. Feel free to make this in any resealable plastic container you have sitting around your kitchen. But if you want it to look like it was made by the pros, next time you go to a warehouse or club store, buy 12-ounce clear plastic take-out cups with lids. If you’re making a lot, line them up and fill them assembly-line fashion. If you have a few extra minutes and want the shortcakes to be even more decadent, try following this recipe using the Sexy Strawberry Tapenade (see page 207) instead of plain strawberries—a 1/4-cup serving of the tapenade has only 50 calories and 2 grams of fat. Just layer a serving (or two) of the tapenade between the angel food cake and whipped topping in a 12-ounce cup, and you’re in for an extra-special treat.