Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Need a last minute Valentine's idea? Make your own chocolate covered strawberries for your sweetheart!

Chocolate covered strawberries are a popular gift for Valentine's day. They can be a little pricey if you purchase them, so I always opt to make my own. All you need is a good-quality chocolate, fresh strawberries, and some white chocolate for drizzling.

To ensure that the strawberries stay nice and fresh, I wash them in a 4-to-1 solution of water and vinegar (you can find more details on the method here). Allow the berries to soak for a little bit, drain, and pat dry with paper towels. Washing the fruit with a little bit of vinegar kills bacteria and helps the berries stay fresher, longer.

To melt the chocolate, I prefer to use the double-boiler method but have included microwave instructions if you opt . No matter which way you do it, you need to stay right by the chocolate--don't walk away! Semisweet or milk chocolate is best for melting. I've tried to use dark chocolate, but it does not melt as well. You really need a chocolate that has enough fat to melt to the right consistency. Once the chocolate is melted, dip your strawberries and decorate with melted white chocolate.


Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Ingredients

• 1 pound fresh strawberries
• 8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
• 4-5 ounces white chocolate chips

 Directions

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside. Rinse strawberries and pat dry with paper towels (you can find my method for washing fruit here).

2. Fill a medium size saucepan one-third of the way with water. Bring the water to a light simmer. Pour semisweet chips and a smaller size saucepan and place saucepan into the simmering water. Once chocolate begins to melt, stir continuously with a rubber spatula until melted and smooth.

3. Dip Strawberries into melted chocolate and place on parchment paper. Melt white chocolate chips in the same manner and pour into a small Ziploc bag. Cut off one corner of the bag and pipe melted white chocolate onto the dipped strawberries. Refrigerate strawberries for 30 minutes or until chocolate is set. Enjoy!

Microwave instructions: Place chips into microwave safe bowl and microwave on medium to low power in 15 sec increments. Stir well after each increment until chocolate is smooth. This should only take 30-45 seconds total for the amount of chocolate used.

Strawberry Banana Smoothie

I've been on a bit of a health kick lately. I've been trying to get back in shape and get my nutrition in check. One of the my main problems is I don't get enough fruits and vegetables. I've tried several smoothie recipes lately. Some good and some that tasted like grass! I finally decided to start making them to my liking. I figured if I want to get healthy, I need to enjoy the ingredients I use! I started out by making one with my two favorites: strawberries and bananas, and have slowly come up with other variations. This smoothie works great for a pre-workout meal, snack or breakfast on the go. Here is my recipe for my favorite smoothie:

Strawberry Banana Smoothie

Ingredients:

1 ripe banana

5-6 frozen or fresh strawberries

3/4 cup cold milk

2 teaspoons sugar 

1 tablespoon flaxseed

5-6 ice cubes

Throw all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. About two minutes. If the smoothie is too thick just add a little more milk, a tablespoon at a time until smooth consistency. Pour into a glass, add a straw and enjoy! 

Banana-Berry Version: Make as above but add blackberries and blueberries for an added berry punch!